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    The Winter Tour is coming!

    Win a Skype author visit busStay tuned for the last leg of our Skype tour coming this winter!  For more information, please read the FAQ.

  • OhMG News!

    Oh MG! Middle-grade news CritterFebruary 4, 2012: Sweet Reads

    Check out these February new releases...

     

    January 29, 2012: Tweet Tips 

    Coming soon to a Twitter feed near you...

    The #MGlitchat team—which includes Mixed-up Files founder Elissa Cruz—will be hosting a series of Twitter chats in February called “Tips from the Pros.” Each week, authors, agents, editors and publicists will share their tips about writing and publishing MG books in today’s market. Want to join the fun? Check the MGlitchat blog for a list of dates, times, and guest experts.

     

    January 26, 2011: Ring! Ring!

    What’s it like to win the Newbery? “I picked up the phone, and it was like history changed,” Jack Gantos says of the call informing him he’d just won the Newbery Medal for his novel Dead End in Norvelt. For more about his reaction, check out this article in Publishers Weekly. It was a busy week for Mr. Gantos, who also won the 2012 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

     

    January 26, 2012: Jewish-Themed Books Honored

    Winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced January 17. The award is given annually to new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the All-of-a-Kind Family series.

    The gold medal in the older readers category went to Susan Goldman Rubin for Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein. Honor books were Lily Renee, Escape Artist: from Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer by Trina Robbins with illustrations by Anne Timmons and Mo Oh; Hammerin' Hank Greenberg: Baseball Pioneer by Shelley Sommer; and Irena’s Jars of Secrets by Marcia Vaughan.

    For more…

     

    January 23, 2012: The Newbery Medal Goes to…

     Jack Gantos for his middle-grade novel Dead End in Norvelt!

    According to the publisher, Dead End in Norvelt tells the “entirely true” and “wildly fictional” story of two months in the life of a kid named Jack Gantos, “whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is grounded for life by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets.” 

    Newbery Honors went to two books: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, which also won the National Book Award last year, and Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin.

    Other winners today were:

    • Kadir Nelson, who won the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans;

    • Joan Bauer, author of Close to Famous, and Brian Selznick, author of Wonderstruck, who received The Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience;

    • Susan Cooper, author of the classic The Dark Is Rising Sequence, who won The Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults; and

    • Guadalupe Garcia McCall, who won the Pura Belpré Author Award for Under the Mesquite.

    For a complete list of winners and honorees in all categories, visit the ALA Web site…

     

    January 23, 2012: Mixed-up Files Authors Honored at ALA

    A huge shout out to Wendy Shang and Sheela Chari, two of our very own Mixed-up Files members, who were honored at today’s ALA winter meeting. Shang was awarded The Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature for her middle-grade novel The Great Wall of Lucy Wu. Sheela Chari, author of Vanished, a middle-grade mystery, received the honor in the same category. The awards, which are selected by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, recognize works of exceptional literary and artistic merit that highlight Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage.

    For more on the awards...

      

    January 22, 2012: Esme’s Picks

    Esme Raji Codell, author of Sahara Special and other fine middle-grade titles, discusses her picks for the Newbery medal…


    January 19, 2012: The Mystery Revealed

     Finalists for the 2011 Edgar Award have been announced. The award, given annually by the Mystery Writers of America, is widely considered to be the most prestigious in its genre. In the running for best middle-grade mystery are:

    Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger

    It Happened on a Train by Mac Barnett

    Vanished by Sheela Chari

    Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby

    The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey

    Special congratulations to finalist and Mixed-up Files member Sheela Chari, who launched Vanished on our blog this summer!

    For more on Sheela and Vanished

    For a complete list of Edgar finalists in all categories, including young adult and adult…

     

    January 18, 2012: The OWL Hoots in March

    Jill, a 7th grade English teacher and blogger, is looking for authors, readers, and other bloggers to join her in celebrating March Middle-grade Madness on “The O.W.L.” blog (Outrageously Wonderful Literature for the Middle Grades).  Says Jill, “I'm putting together a fun March where I'll do nothing but highlight middle-grade books, but I need a little help.” Visit The OWL to learn more about writing a guest post, posting a review, or hosting a giveaway.

     

    January 16, 2012: The Medals Are Coming! The Medals Are Coming!

    Betsy Bird, New York City public librarian and School Library Journal blogger, reveals her predictions for the 2011 Newbery and Caldecott Awards here.... The actual awards will be announced January 23 at the midwinter meeting of the American Library Association. Stay tuned!

     

    January 4, 2012: Narrowing the Field

    Finalists for the 2011 CYBIL awards were announced this week. Awards will be given across a wide range of categories including fiction, nonfiction, fantasy and science fiction, graphic novels, and poetry. On the short list for middle-grade fiction is The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by our very own Mixed-up member Wendy Shang.

    For the complete list of CYBIL finalists...

    For more on Wendy and The Great Wall of Lucy Wu...

     

    January 4, 2012: Blogger Picks Indie Bests 

    Children’s author, editor, and “Rogue Librarian” blogger Edward T. Sullivan lists his picks for the best books from independent publishers in 2011…

     

    January 3, 2012: Author and Ambassador: Walter Dean Myers

    Walter Dean Myers, five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and two Newbery Honors, has been named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. Myers, who succeeds author Katherine Paterson, has chosen “Reading Is Not Optional” as the theme of his two-year term of service.

    “Walter Dean Myers is one of America’s preeminent authors of books for young people,” says Dr. Billington. “He is a lifelong advocate for reading for young people, and he has practiced what he preaches in schools and detention centers across the country.” 

    The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature is named by the Librarian of Congress based on recommendations from a selection committee representing many segments of the book community. The selection criteria include the candidate’s contribution to young people’s literature and ability to relate to children. The position was created to raise national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education, and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.

    For more about Myers…

    For more about the award…

     


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Middle-grade Book-to-Movie Picks

Book Lists, Giveaways

“The book was better than the movie.”     

“They totally changed that part!”     

It’s hard to translate fully realised worlds and characters of entire novels within 90 minutes of screen time, but there are plenty of great middle-grade book-to-movie adaptations worthy of a couple of bowls of popcorn.     

Here are some of my favorites!      

Buy @ indiebound.org

 HOLES by Louis Sachar: the book!     

Stanley Yelnats and his family are cursed with a long history of bad luck. A miscarriage of justice sends Stanley to a strange desert camp for troubled teens where the ‘campers’ spend their days digging holes in the sand. To what end? The mysterious reason behind the holes is a closely guarded secret by the warden and her posse. Hilarity ensues.     

4/4 Bookmarks!   

View trailer

 The movie!     

Sigourney Weaver is awesome as the lipstick wielding Warden Walker. The rest of the cast (from Caveman, Zero, Squid and Armpit) is pitch-perfect. A great book-to-movie adaptation with great scenery, music and as close to the book as you can get.     

4/4 Bowls of Popcorn!    


   

Buy @indiebound.org

 NIM’S ISLAND by Wendy Orr: the book!    

 Nim is an adventurous girl with a great imagination. When her scientist father disappears from their idyllic island home, Nim is left with only a pet iguana, an adventure novel and an e-mail link to her favourite author. A modern day, pint-sized Robinson Crusoe. 

4/4 Bookmarks!   

View trailer

 The movie!

 Adventure, a touch of danger and well-trained animals make for a highly watchable movie. Nim’s character, played by Abigail Breslin , outshines Jodi Foster’s role as reclusive author, Alex Rover, but both are still very entertaining.    

3.5/4 Bowls of Popcorn!     

 

    

Buy @indiebound.org

 THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX by Kate DiCamillo: the book!     

“Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish.”  What’s not to love?    

4/4 Bookmarks!        

View trailer

 
The movie!    

Great as an animated adaptation because, well, the main character is a MOUSE but more than that, the animation is gorgeous, moody and evocative.  Dungeon scenes are a bit dark but, conversely, Mig’s storyline is less harsh than in the book.     

3.5/4 Bowls of Popcorn!     

 

Here are a few more suggestions from Mixed Up Files authors and my bibliovideophile friends (please add your picks in the comments!):     

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (book/movie)
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (book/movie)
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling (book/movie)
How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (book/movie)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (book/movie)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (book/movie)
Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key (book/movie)
Hotel for Dogs by Lois Duncan (book/movie)
Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman (book/movie)
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (book/movie)
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (book/movie)
The Borrowers by Mary Norton (book/movie)
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (book/movie)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (book/movie)
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (book/movie)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (book/movie)
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (book/movie)
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (book/movie)
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks (book/movie)
Stuart Little by E. B. White (book/movie)
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (book/movie)
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary (book/movie)
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Raold Dahl (book/movie)
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (book/movie)

Remember, leave a comment HERE to be eligible to win a signed copy of What Happened on Fox Street.

Happy reading and viewing! 
 
Hélène Boudreau loves to read middle-grade books, listen to middle-grade books and watch middle-grade book-to-movie adaptations. Her own upper middle-grade book, REAL MERMAIDS DON’T WEAR TOE RINGS (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky) will be released Dec.1/2010 in book and audiobook format, though she can’t resist casting the characters in her head. You can visit her at www.heleneboudreau.com

15 Comments

14 Comments

  1. deniz  •  Aug 25, 2010 @7:08 am

    Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH!

  2. Caroline Starr Rose  •  Aug 25, 2010 @7:57 am

    Deniz, so funny you mention NIMH. It was my first book to movie experience, and it wasn’t pleasant. The changes were to much for me. That experience has always made me wary of book movies.

  3. Lois Peterson  •  Aug 25, 2010 @8:17 am

    Glad to see The Borrowers on this list. Haven’t seen the movie, but I can still recall many of the B books from childhood – aeons ago – ans this is a great reminder to track the movie version down at the video store. Great article, Helene.
    LP

  4. Tricia Springstubb  •  Aug 25, 2010 @8:33 am

    Wow–I am recommending NIMH as a read-aloud in my next blog entry. Must be something in the air.

  5. Sherrie Petersen  •  Aug 25, 2010 @8:48 am

    My favorite book to movie (though it might not be strictly middle grade) is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They did a brilliant job with that translation.

    Michelle Isenhoff Reply:

    @Sherrie Petersen, I agree, Sherrie. I enjoyed the adaptation of Dawn Treader, as well.

  6. Deb  •  Aug 25, 2010 @9:57 am

    Fantastic list, Helene! A couple to add:

    Series of Unfortunate Events
    Spiderwick Chronicles

    Hmmm, this gives me an idea for my book club, thanks!!

  7. Deb  •  Aug 25, 2010 @10:00 am

    Okay, lol, a few more,

    Because of Winn Dixie

    Anne of Green Gables

    Girl of the Limberlost (not sure if the movie is still about, but a great classic)

  8. angela ackerman  •  Aug 25, 2010 @10:22 am

    All I can say is poor, poor Rick Riordan. They really butchered his fabulous book when they made the movie. I hope people who have only seen the movie will not be put off and will still go out and get the book, because it really is a stunning piece of MG fiction that everyone should experience.

    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

  9. Jemi Fraser  •  Aug 25, 2010 @1:21 pm

    I was nervous about Holes the movie version but I thought they did a great job :)

  10. Wendy Orr  •  Aug 25, 2010 @11:48 pm

    How nice to be mentioned here with some of my own favourites!

  11. Mike Jung  •  Aug 26, 2010 @12:29 am

    One of my all-time favorite film adaptations is Alfonse Cuaron’s superb version of A LITTLE PRINCESS. That movie, as much as any other, creates a mesmerizing sense of how children can, even under severe duress, summon up and enmesh themselves in a world that springs entirely from imagination and belief in the possibility of wondrous, magical events.

  12. Cathe Olson  •  Aug 26, 2010 @7:37 am

    I just saw the new movie Flipped based on the novel by Wendelin Van Draanen. It was a great adaption (though I still like the book better).

  13. Heather Kephart  •  Aug 26, 2010 @5:08 pm

    What a great list! I can’t wait until my kids are older so I have an (official!) excuse to immerse myself in these movies.

  14. Michelle Holt  •  Aug 27, 2010 @1:55 pm

    As a big fan of The Tale of Desperaux was so sad to see the story butchered by the movie. The Lightning Thief is another example of great book/bad movie. A Series of Unfortunate Events was good and many of the Roald Dahl books to movies worked. We love Matilda at our house! I didn’t know they made a movie of The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. either-I’ll have to hunt it down.