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Page to Screen: Upcoming Kids’ Books Set for Film Adaptations
The search for the next big film franchise usually begins with a beloved book or series, if the 85th Academy Awards is any indication. If you watched the ceremony on February 26, you might have noticed...
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Media Mania: Journeying to Oz—The New Film and a Whirlwind of Portal Fiction...
Walt Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful (PG) tornadoes into theaters on March 8, in traditional, 3D, and IMAX 3D formats. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film envisions the origins of L. Frank Baum’s iconic...
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YA Underground: A Different Kind of Rating System
After surveying the kids in my facility, I created the following system to rate the books that they’re reading: one star = Wack, two stars = Bootsy, three stars = Koo, four stars = Clean, and five...
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Tom Cruise in Oblivion and a Round-Up of Spine-Tingling Reads for Teens |...
This sci-fi thriller from Universal Pictures opens in theaters on April 19, 2013. Based on a yet-to-be-published graphic novel (Radical Publishing) by movie director/writer Joseph Kosinki, Oblivion...
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On the Radar Teen: Mystery and Adventure for Teen Readers
For readers seeking a thrill of adventure from the safety of the nearest comfortable chair, the following new books are just the ticket. BRENNAN, Herbie. The Secret Prophecy. Balzer and Bray. 2012....
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Jackie Robinson: Remembering an American Hero | Watch and Read
Jackie Robinson wore the number 42 on his Brooklyn Dodgers jersey when he stepped onto Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947, and became the first African American player to break Major League Baseball’s...
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‘Iron Man 3′ Book Tie-ins | Media Mania
Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the arrogant, irreverent, and ever likable Tony Stark, ingenious industrialist and high-tech super hero in Iron Man 3 (PG-13), which arrives in theaters on May 3,...
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Page to Screen: Summer Reading Blockbusters, Dystopian Teen Lit, and...
As reviews for Baz Lurhmann’s whirlwind adaptation (PG) of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby come roaring in, movie fans can start setting their sights on future film versions of some of their...
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Superman Soars Again: Great Graphic Novels About the Man of Steel
Adorned in his familiar blue suit with S-shield insignia, swirling red cape, and rippling muscles, this legendary DC Comics character has hardly changed a bit in the last 75 years. The brainchild of...
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‘The Wolverine’ Returns: Graphic Novels for Teens | Media Mania
Hugh Jackman reprises his role as the Marvel Comics character fortified with the ability to self-heal, retractable Adamantium-enhanced claws, and a whole lot of attitude. The Wolverine (not yet rated),...
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‘City of Bones’ and More Kick-Butt Monster-Hunting Adventures
Adapted from the first book of Cassandra Clare’s wildly popular YA fantasy series opener (S & S/McElderry, 2007), The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (PG-13) bursts into theaters on August 21,...
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Page to Screen: From YA Bestsellers to Big-Screen Blockbusters
While the jury is still out on the big screen adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones, reviewers are raving about the surprise indie hit The Spectacular Now, based on Tim Tharp’s young adult...
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The Assassination of JFK: Revisiting an American Tragedy | Media Mania
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the earth-shattering day that President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot while riding in a motorcade during a campaign trip to Dallas, Texas. Premiering in...
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YA Novels Go to the Movies | Media Mania
From a soul-searing work of historical fiction to an array of dystopian tales that envision the not-so-distant future, four much-lauded teen-friendly novels have been adapted for the big screen, all...
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47 Ronin and a Sampling of Samurai Tales for Teens | Media Mania
A grounded-in-history legend, epic battle scenes, and elements of fantasy are intertwined in an action-packed 3-D adventure set in early 18th-century Japan. Keanu Reeves and a star-studded Japanese...
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‘I, Frankenstein’: A New Creature Feature and a Selection of Monstrously Good...
Opening in theaters on January 24, 2014, I, Frankenstein (PG-13) provides a fresh take on a classic character set in an alternate modern-day world. Two centuries after his legendary beginnings, Victor...
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Vampires Get Schooled: Spine-Tingling Supernatural Reads for ‘Vampire...
Percolating with fast-paced paranormal action and fang-sharp one-liners, Vampire Academy (not yet rated), an adaptation of the first volume of Richelle Mead’s popular young adult series (Razorbill,...
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’300: Rise of an Empire’ Reinterprets Ancient History with 21st-Century Flair...
Warner Bros. Pictures provides a second installment in a film series that vivifies the long-ago Persian invasion of Greece (480 BC) with a robust amalgam of larger-than-life storytelling, fantastical...
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AMC’s New Series, ‘Turn’, and Electrifying Espionage Reads | Media Mania
Turn, an AMC television series based on Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies (Bantam, 2006), tells the tale of America’s first espionage ring, an unlikely group of novice spies who were instrumental in...
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Marvel Superhero Blowout: Captain America, Spiderman, and the X-men | Media...
This spring has brought a bumper crop of big-budget films about the adventures of shield-flinging, skyscraper-swinging, mutation-mastering heroes. Supercharge your holdings and movie tie-in book...
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