Posts Tagged ‘Children’s Books’

Saw the Movie? Read the Book!

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

These May movies are based on books:

Jurassic Park 3D (the 3D release of the 1993 box office smash hit)

is still based on the novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (iconic cover by the amazing Chip Kidd).

Hannah Arendt is a biographical film about the German Jewish philosopher. It isn’t based on any specific book,

but there are quite a few books about her, the times she lived in and her work, like The Portable Hannah Arendt.

Two Mothers is based on the short story The Grandmothers by Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing.

The Great Gatsby is based on the classic written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  If you haven’t read it yet, do!  Glorious use of language.  :-)

The Company You Keep is based on the novel with the same title by Neil Gordon.

L’Ecume des Jours is based on the French novel with the same title by Boris Vian.

It has been translated to English with the title Froth on the Daydream.

Epic is based on the novel The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce

(the same man who also wrote The Rise of the Guardians books).

Midnight’s Children is based on the modern classic by Salman Rushdie (originally scheduled for March).

Bookbits for April 9th, 2013

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013
  • Terrible, terrible news: Iain Banks has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Apparently he has been given less than a year to live.  Let’s hope he’s one of those rare individuals that defies medical science and will live and write for many a year to come!
  • In which Amazon buys something else most of us loved for the precise fact that it was independent: Goodreads “joins the Amazon family”.  JeroenW and I are rather less than ecstatic, although apparently Goodreads will remain independent.  Let’s hope so.

Many thanks to Tom, JeroenW, Sigrid, Steven and Joke for several of the above links!  If you have any book-related news links you want to share, mail blog@abc.nl.

Staff Review: Seven Wonders: The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

Reviewed by Lilia

Jack McKinley is just an ordinary kid who has weird dreams about mythical beasts or exploding volcanoes – and he’s also dying.  After he collapses on the street he is whisked off to a strange hospital, where he discovers he’s supposedly part of an ancient civilization, and one of the few who could find seven magic objects. The magic objects need to be combined in order to cure him and his new friends from their deadly disease, and will give them superpowers in the bargain.

A secret society is trying to keep the kids “under treatment” in order to enable them to get to the magic objects and to those powers, but at what price? And what are their real intentions? Do they want to save the kids from certain death, or do they want to use the superkids to conquer the world?

Jack doesn’t know what to think and will try his best to get free, but can he do that? And what powers does he actually have? He’s just a normal kid, with no special talents like his new friends have. Or so he thinks…

The title, Seven Wonders: The Colossus Rises, says it all. In this new series, of no less then seven books, Peter Lerangis tells a story of loneliness, new friendships and old loyalties, and how far someone will go to get power.

The Colossus Rises is a total roller-coaster from start to finish in the tradition of Percy Jackson. From the moment you read the first sentence you’re taken into heart-stopping sequence after heart-stopping sequence, all wrapped up in a very nice adventure. The beginning is not as gripping as the rest of the book, when the whole adventure unfolds, but if you hang in there for the first two chapters, your persistence will be rewarded. Jack lets you see how resourceful he can be and there’s more to 12 year-olds than you might think. And as the mystery unfolds, more questions than answers arise, keeping you enthralled with the series.

For kids aged 9 or older.

Lilia is ABC The Hague’s Children’s Book buyer.

The Adventures Of Super Lorelei by Barbara Rogoski

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

On Saturday, March 23rd, Barbara Ragoski will launch her book The Adventures of Super Lorelei, The Little Superhero with the Really Big Mission at the ABC Treehut in The Hague, from 12 – 14 hrs.

Entrance is € 3,- or free if you present a copy of the book + your ABC receipt for it at the door of the ABC Treehut.

About the book:

The Adventures of Super Lorelei, The Little Superhero with the Really Big Mission, is the first in a series of storybooks that follow the life of a remarkable teenage girl named Lorelei. She and her faithful dog Maxx come to Earth from the planet Harmonia with a secret mission: to help the people of Earth to find more peace, equality, acceptance and justice for all people – regardless of their sexual orientation or their difference. Lorelei is the first fictional superhero for children who happens to be gay. She stands up for gay rights and human rights and gives a clear message that bullying is not OK. Her life on Harmonia is described, why she was chosen for this important mission, her amazing superpowers and the special gadgets she will use on her mission to Earth. The book is designed for easy reading and to be a tool to start a dialogue for parents with their children, teachers with their students, and for socially-minded people to support its message. Super Lorelei is a new lesbian role model and an example of a noble champion for peace and justice. A little storybook with a really big message: Everyone has the right to live and love in peace!

About the author:

Barbara Rogoski is an American author, speaker, ordained minister and gay rights activist living outside of Amsterdam. She has written this book to draw attention to the violence and discrimination against LGBT people around the world and to create a gay superhero that children can look up to. Barbara came out of the closet at age 45 and began looking for lesbian role models in literature. She saw teenagers committing suicide because they were bullied or thrown out of their homes for telling their parents they were gay. Creating the character of Super Lorelei as role model and hero was Barbara’s way to create a tool to teach children about the need for tolerance, kindness and love for all people.

Barbara will do a short presentation called, “We Need More Heroes” about how she came to write the story of Super Lorelei and the messages she wants to draw attention to: the seriousness of bullying, teen suicides caused by bullying, reaching out to stop bullying, gay rights, human rights and the need for social justice. She will also discuss her plan to bring Super Lorelei into primary schools to give teachers a tool for dialogue to educate the young about these challenging issues. Barbara will then lead an open discussion about the book and its topics, and lastly will have a book signing for those who would like to buy the book.

Saw the Movie? Read the Book!

Friday, February 8th, 2013

These February movies were adapted from books:

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding is based on the novel with same title by Julia Strachey.

Great Expectations is based, of course, on the Charles Dickens book (or should that be the more thorough version by Edmund Wells?).

The Patience Stone is based on the novel The Patience Stone, by the movie’s director Atiq Rahimi.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is not actually based on the Brothers Grimm story but seen more as a sequel to it.

The Silver Linings Playbook is based on the novel with the same title by Matthew Quick.

Beautiful Creatures is based on the young adult book (part 1 of a series) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.