There have been heaps of children’s books made into movies. Some of the movies are really good – the actors playing the characters are exactly as you pictured them and they stick to the story. Others are really bad and the story has been changed so much that it’s completely different from the book. Some of my favourite movies based on books are:
I’ve been looking forward to seeing The Adventures of Tintin since I heard the movie was being made, so I went to the very first screening on Boxing Day. All of the pictures and movie trailers I’ve seen for the film made it look amazing and I wasn’t disappointed.
The Adventures of Tintin is a mish-mash of three different Tintin stories, Secret of the Unicorn, Red Rackham’s Treasure and The Crab with the Golden Claws, so there are locations and characters from each of these books (minus Professor Calculus). The opening credits really set the scene with an endless action sequence that highlights lots of different Tintin stories. The movie opens with Tintin’s creator, Herge, making a guest appearance in the market where Tintin discovers the model of the Unicorn. The story rockets along like all good Tintin adventures and you meet some of your favourite Tintin characters, including Captain Haddock and Thompson and Thomson.
The motion capture animation is amazing, making the characters look real while still looking like Herge’s illustrations. The characters use their catch-phrases, including my favourite ‘Billions of blue, blistering barnacles!’ There are some brilliant action sequences throughout the movie, especially in Bagghar (this part made me crack up laughing as well). I saw the movie in 3D but I’m sure it’s just as great in 2D. Whether or not you’re a fan of Tintin you should go and see The Adventures of Tintin for your dose of action, adventure, and laughs. It’s perfect for anyone from 7-107. 10 out of 10 – my favourite movie of the year!
Throughout the Summertime Reading Club we’re going to be highlighting some of the great movies that are coming out these holidays. You may have noticed that there are lots of movies based on books – Hugo (The Invention of Hugo Cabret), The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, and War Horse (based on the book by Michael Morpurgo). We’ll be having lots of exciting giveaways where you can win copies of the books and movie passes.
Our first competition, starting Friday, is all about Tintin, so keep your eyes peeled!
I’ve been reading lots of short stories lately because we’ve been getting some cool collections of short stories in the library. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick is a collection of short stories written by 14 amazing authors, including Kate DiCamillo, Louis Sachar, Jon Scieszka and Lois Lowry. The stories are based on the original illustrations from the book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, in which there are only illustrations with a title and caption. If you’ve never seen The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, you should definitely get this from the library to have a go at making up your own stories to go with the pictures.
There are stories for everyone in this book, from the magical and funny to the strange and unsettling. There are naughty children, different dimensions, a wizard, floating nuns, aliens, ghosts, and a horrible stepfather who gets his comeuppance. All of the illustrations are amazing and you could make up all sorts of stories about them. I liked some of the stories more than others. Some of them are really strange and others just left me thinking ‘what just happened?’ My favourite story is The Harp by Linda Sue Park, about two sisters who are always bickering and get a spell put on them by a wizard. Get a copy of The Chronicles of Harris Burdick and discover this strange collection of stories from some of your favourite authors.
Print out the reading log [101KB PDF] or get one from your local library or the Summertimes booklet.
Read six books of your choice.
Get a parent, caregiver or librarian to register your reading online and be one of the first 500 to pick up your prize pack from your local library. All registrations go in the draw for the premier prizes.
There are so many great movies coming out in cinemas in the Christmas holidays, and the one I’m most looking forward to is The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn. The movie is based on three of Herge’s Tintin books – The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure.
Thanks to HarperCollins NZ, Random House NZ and Hardie Grant Egmont we have a MASSIVE Tintin prize pack to give away. The winner will get a copy of the amazing book, The Art of the Adventures of Tintin, a set of the Tintin movie tie-in books, a Tintin poster and a movie pass to go and see the movie at Hoyts. One runner-up will win a Tintin poster and a movie pass.
Thanks for entering our Tintin Competition. Here are our lucky winners:
What happens when some of the coolest children’s book authors and illustrators play a writing game that starts with one person’s ideas and ends with a novel of 27 episodes? You get The Exquisite Corpse Adventure. The title makes it sound like it should be a horror story, but it’s actually a weird, crazy, funny, out-of-control story put together by some of the coolest authors around. If you’ve read or participated in the FaBo story that Kyle Mewburn started, The Exquisite Corpse is the same idea.
The story starts with twins Nancy and Joe escaping from the circus, where they have lived since they were babies. With the help of different clues, Nancy and Joe search to piece together the Exquisite Corpse and find their parents. Each chapter is written by a different author, so just when you think you know what’s going to happen next, the story can go off in a completely different direction. The story is a little bit like Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth because they meet lots of weird and wonderful characters and get into some tricky situations. The first chapter hooks you in by imagining what could happen in the rest of the story:
“…there is a good chance that Nancy and Joe will have to deal with werewolves and mad scientists, real ninjas and fake vampires, one roller-skating baby, a talking pig, creatures from another planet…plenty of explosions, a monkey disguised as a pirate, two meatballs…and not just one bad guy but a whole army of villains.”
Pick up The Exquisite Corpse Adventure if you dare and be prepared to be taken on a wild ride. Recommended for 9+ 8 out of 10
Hi Guys. I have just finished the brand spanking new Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever book. This book is about Greg Heffley wanting to get money to play net kritterz, but along the way he gets into all sorts of mischief. Now the police are looking for him and then it starts to snow. The snow gets up to 2-3 feet high and Greg decides to make a new paper for the holiday bazaar while there is no power all because of Manny!!!!
Highly recommended A++++++++++++. I was glued to this book. It has 217 pages with awesome pictures. It took me a day and a half-2 days to read this awesome book. Recommended for ages 8- any age. Now I am so sad the book is finished=( !
There have been heaps of children’s books made into movies. Some of the movies are really good – the actors playing the characters are exactly as you pictured them and they stick to the story. Others are really bad and the story has been changed so much that it’s completely different from the book. Some of my favourite movies based on books are:
