S'Wonderland

When Alice follows a white rabbit down a rabbit hole, little did she know she was in store for growing and shrinking, talking animals, a mad tea party, and a trial.

I love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll for many reasons: the imaginative and lyrical writing, the delightful dialogue, the fantastic fantasy world, the colorful characters, the detailed illustrations by John Tenniel, and, most of all, the independent and thoughtful protagonist. I think the character of Alice is truly great. She's resourceful and spunky. The only big thing upon which Alice and I disagree: she, at the start, thinks books without pictures or conversations are useless. Nonsense, dear child!

A Booklist is Born

Thank you to Rebecca for prompting this booklist! May your class put it to good use.

Recommended Reading: Written by Charles Dodgson Himself
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll
The Selected Letters of Lewis Carroll
The Annotated Alice - the original text by Lewis Carroll and illustrations by John Tenniel with notes by Martin Gardner

If you have yet to read the original version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, please do. Project Gutenberg has posted the full text and illustrations online. You can visit Google Books.

Recommended Reading: Non-Fiction
Alice's Adventures: Lewis Carroll in Popular Culture by Will Brooker
The Other Alice by Christina Björk - This juvenile biography about Alice Liddell and Charles Dodgson offers humorous anecdotes (42!) and gorgeous illustrations. Sadly, I think it is out of print. Happily, I own a copy. Thank you, used bookstore! Highly recommended.

Recommended Reading: Fiction
Still She Haunts Me by Katie Roiphe - The story of an unlikely friendship between an intelligent man who fit nowhere and the spunky girl who inspired his best-known work. This is a fictional take on the friendship of Alice Liddell and Charles Dodgson, with Charles' real letters woven in throughout the book. Shelved in adult fiction/literature. Highly recommended.

Related Works of Fiction
The Problem of the Missing Miss by Roberta Rogow - Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dodgson team up to find a little girl who has been abducted. A fun, fast-moving historical mystery, shelved in adult fiction or mystery. No fantasy elements are involved. There are just enough references to each author's works to be cute, rather than overdone. To the best of my knowledge, the two men never met in real life. I liked how they worked together in this book. Thanks to Sarah for the recommendation.

Art and Gift Books
All Things Alice: The Wit, Wisdom, and Wonderland of Lewis Carroll compiled by Linda Sunshine
Dreaming in Pictures: The Photography of Lewis Carroll by Douglas R. Nickel
The Art of Alice in Wonderland by Stephanie Lovett Stoffel

Wasted Opportunity
The Baby-Sitters Club #121: Abby in Wonderland by Ann M. Martin - I love the BSC series and I love Alice in Wonderland, so I was plenty excited for this book. Sadly, it let me down. Abby attends an Alice-themed party thrown by her grandparents. The costumes*, the food, and the decorations were all appropriate for the theme, but Wonderland itself did not matter to the story. It could have just as easily have been a fifties-themed party or a Narnia-themed party. The plot of the book did not have any ties to nor parallels with Wonderland. I wasn't expecting it to become a fantasy, of course - BSC stories are dramatic and comedic, but firmly realistic - but I wanted Wonderland to matter, to have been chosen for a reason. In fact, the plot itself was not fully realized. When I read the final page, I felt as if the story was only half-over.
*The grandmother dressed like the White Queen, who is actually from Through the Looking-Glass. The illustrations on the cover did not quite match the descriptions in the book. But I digress.

Attempted Sequels - Related titles that left me lukewarm
Automated Alice by Jeff Noon
Alice Through the Needle's Eye by Gilbert Adair
The Roundhill by Dick King-Smith
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams

. . . and those I have yet to read:
The Looking-Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
A New Alice in the Old Wonderland by Anna M. Richards
Fantastic Alice edited by Margaret Weiss

Musicalice

My favorite film version of this imaginative tale was made in 1972. As I mentioned in a much earlier post, I first saw this movie as a child and was absolutely delighted to see a brunette Alice (portrayed by Fiona Fullerton) rather than a blond girl.

I refer to this film as "the 1972 British live-action musical Alice's Adventures in Wonderland starring Fiona Fullerton as Alice, adapted and directed by William Sterling, with music by John Barry and lyrics by Don Black based on those by Lewis Carroll."

...and yes, I say all of that in one breath.

I think Charles Dodgson would like this adaptation of his most famous story. It offers a beautiful score by John Barry (Somewhere in Time), and the lyrics by Don Black are nearly lifted directly from the page.

I found many scenes and musical numbers on YouTube, so I compiled a playlist. Then someone uploaded the film in seventeen parts on YouTube. THANK YOU! I have arranged those seventeen parts in order (plus some other Alice-related videos) so you may now watch the movie simply by clicking below:



The movie is available on DVD. The DVD is, of course, better quality than YouTube. Get it. Watch it.

I myself own two copies of the DVD. The soundtrack is available on CD, yet I do not own it because it is packaged with the soundtrack for Petulia, also scored by John Barry, and I just want the Alice soundtrack.

The icon I used for this post captures one of my favorite shots from the film. Look how well it matches Tenniel's illustration.

See all of the icons I made from the film. Thanks for the screenshots, Emily!

Additional Film and Television Adaptations of Alice

(If it's bold, I've seen it from start to finish. If it's italicized, I've only seen a few scenes.)

Film and television adaptations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland include:

Alice in Wonderland (live-action film, 1903)
Alice in Wonderland (live-action film, 1933)
Alice in Wonderland (live-action made-for-TV movie, BBC, 1946)
Alice in Wonderland (stop-motion film, 1951)
Alice in Wonderland (animated film, Disney, 1951)
The Adventures of Alice (live-action made-for-TV movie, BBC, 1960)
Alice in Wonderland (live-action made-for-TV movie, BBC, 1966)
Alice of Wonderland in Paris (animated film, 1966)
Alice in Wonderland, or, What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (animated made-for-TV movie, Hanna-Barbera, 1966)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (live-action musical film, 1972 - see above for reasons why it's my favorite adaptation)
Алиса в Стране Чудес (animated film, Russian, 1981)
Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (filmed stage play, 1982)
Fushigi no Kuni no Alice (animated film, Japanese, 1983)
Alice in Wonderland (made-for-TV two-part movie, CBS, 1985)
Alice in Wonderland (live-action + puppetry five-episode TV series, 1985)
Alice in Wonderland (live-action four-episode TV series, BBC, 1986)
The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987)
Alice in Wonderland (animated film, Australian, 1988)
Alice (live-action + stop-motion film, 1988)
Alice in Wonderland (live-action made-for-TV movie, NBC, 1999)
Alice's Misadventures in Wonderland (live-action film, 2004)

Related Films

I heard about Phoebe in Wonderland in August 2008 and was immediately interested. I watched the trailer online and want to see the film in full.

Alice, Meet Johnny Smith

The Dead Zone was a thought-provoking, creative television series. It brought Alice up more than once.

In Season 1, they closed an episode with a character reading aloud to Johnny from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, after having referenced the story a few times throughout the previous scenes.

Later, for an unrelated episode, they released a still image of Sarah and J.J. reading the book. (I made that picture into an icon.)

In Season 6, the episode Big Top revolved around an Alice in Wonderland-themed fair. The circus performers who were dressed as characters from the book had gorgeous costumes and props. Though I wouldn't wear them together, I seriously want Alice's dress and knee-highs. The episode also made multiple, important references to the show's pilot episode, which made me extremely happy.

Disney's Wonderland

I'd much rather read the original book or watch the aforementioned musical than watch the Disney film. The inaccurate parts of Disney's adaptation annoy me too much. They changed things from the book, then brought in elements from Through the Looking Glass only to change those too. I didn't care for their depiction of Alice as I felt she was not as strong nor as intelligent as she was in the book.

(As a side note, my favorite Disney film is The Little Mermaid. I prefer that film to the original story, largely due to the story's tragic and religious ending.)

Charles in Charge

All of the research I've done about Charles Dodgson makes me feel as though he was an intelligent man who loved math, photography, and storytelling, but he didn't quite fit in society. I do not think he was the creepy guy that some assumptive persons would lead you to believe. I think Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was a smart, creative man who didn't fit into society or at least didn't have equal peers, and I think Alice Liddell was honored by the story she inspired.

Oh, if I could only have a little piece of each: I would love to inspire someone's story, and to share my own stories with the world. I am, at times, the White Rabbit for others, but then the results are for others, and I am peripheral yet again.

I am known to explain the difference between Dodgson and Lewis Carroll any time the opportunity presents itself. (Real name versus pen name. Real person, a really shy person, versus a famous name, a known author.)

The Book's Conclusion

I readily admit that I've never cared for the way the book ends. I have two main reasons for this: I felt as though her adventures hadn't quite reached a close, even with the trial and such. She makes a bold declaration, yes, but she was already bold and acted as such throughout the story. Then, when she wakes up, she has lovely thoughts and remarks, yet her sister's thoughts close the tale.

My Personal Conclusion

I love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Kim, a middle school teacher, requested a booklist for middle schoolers. I started listing away and had to stop myself before I hit 100 books. Then I typed this up and just keep going.

Please feel free to ask for additional titles and/or more information about any of the books I have listed below.

First, the absolute must-haves: realistic comedies and dramas set in middle school or with characters in that age group.

Contemporary Realistic Fiction
(alphabetical by author)
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
Just as Long as We're Together by Judy Blume
Here's to You, Rachel Robinson by Judy Blume
Leap of Faith by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Being Bindy by Alyssa Brugman
The Steps by Rachel Cohn
Two Steps Forward by Rachel Cohn
Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You by Barthe DeClements
Where I'd Like To Be by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Shug by Jenny Han
Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennifer L. Holm, artwork and illustrations by Elicia Castaldi, additional artwork by Matthew Holm
The Creek by Jennifer L. Holm
The Misfits by James Howe
The Girls by Amy Goldman Koss
The Truth About Sixth Grade by Colleen O'Shaughnessy McKenna
Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me by Lisa Papademetriou
Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters
Sixth Grade Secrets by Louis Sachar
Yours Truly, Skye O'Shea by Megan Shull
Skye's the Limit! by Megan Shull
The Broccoli Tapes by Jan Slepian
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis
Multiple Choice by Janet Tashjian
Tru Confessions by Janet Tashjian
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Click Here (To Find Out How I Survived Seventh Grade) by Denise Vega

. . . and series:

The Zibby Payne series by Alison Bell
#1 Zibby Payne and the Wonderful, Terrible Tomboy Experiment
#1 Zibby Payne and the Drama Trauma
#3 Zibby Payne and the Party Problem
#4 Zibby Payne and the Trio Trouble

Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowry
- Anastasia Krupnik
- Anastasia Again!
- Anastasia At Your Service
- Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst
- Anastasia on her Own
- Anastasia has the Answers
- Anastasia's Chosen Career
- Anastasia at this Address
- Anastasia Absolutely

The Alice McKinley series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
There are over twenty books in this series, following Alice from third grade through high school. Here are the titles set in middle school:
- The Agony of Alice
- Alice in Rapture, Sort of
- Reluctantly Alice
- All but Alice
- Alice in April
- Alice In-Between
- Alice the Brave
- Alice in Lace
- Outrageously Alice
- Achingly Alice
- Alice on the Outside
- The Grooming of Alice (the summer between middle school and high school)

Fantasy/Mystery/Science Fiction Series
OutCast quartet by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski
#1 The Un-Magician
#2 Dragon Secrets
#3 Ghostfire
#4 Wurm War

Owlboy series by Thomas E. Sniegoski, illustrated by Eric Powell
#1 Billy Hooten, Owlboy
#2 The Girl with the Destructo Touch
#3 The Terror of the Zis-Boom-Bah
#4 The Flock of Fury

Ghost trilogy by Bruce Coville
#1 The Ghost in the Third Row
#2 The Ghost Wore Gray
#3 The Ghost in the Brass Bed

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
#1 The Golden Compass (published overseas as Northern Lights)
#2 The Subtle Knife
#3 The Amber Spyglass
- Lyra's Oxford (short story, taking place after Spyglass)
- Once Upon a Time in the North (prequel)
- The Book of Dust (which may not be out until 2010)

The Young Wizards series by Diane Duane
#1 So You Want to Be a Wizard
#2 Deep Wizardry
#3 High Wizardry
#4 A Wizard Abroad
#5 The Wizard's Dilemma
#6 A Wizard Alone
#7 Wizard's Holiday
#8 Wizards at War
#9 Wizard on Mars

Fantasy/Mystery/Science Fiction Stand-Alone Titles
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Sisters, Long Ago by Peg Kehret
The Wish by Gail Carson Levine
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

. . . and stock up on these authors!

John Bellairs books, including The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt
Mary Downing Hahn books, including The Doll in the Garden
Margaret Peterson Haddix books, including Among the Hidden (the first in the Shadow Children series), Just Ella, and Turnabout

Classics
The Anne Shirley octet by L.M. Montgomery
#1 Anne of Green Gables
#2 Anne of the Island
#3 Anne of Avonlea
#4 Anne of Windy Poplars
#5 Anne's House of Dreams
#6 Anne of Ingleside
#7 Rainbow Valley
#8 Rilla of Ingleside

All-of-a-Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor
- All-of-a-Kind Family
- More All-of-a-Kind Family
- All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
- All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown
- Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
White Fang by Jack London
Call of the Wild by Jack London

Various titles by Noel Streatfeild, including
- Ballet Shoes
- Dancing Shoes
- Theatre Shoes

Historical Fiction
Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy
Runaround by Helen Hemphill
Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance by Marthe Jocelyn
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Lawson
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Maggie Valley Trilogy by Kerry Madden
- Gentle's Holler
- Louisiana's Song
- Jessie's Mountain
Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller
A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
(See the classics section above for even more historical fiction!)

Favorite Series
Nancy Drew
The Hardy Boys
The Baby-Sitters Club
Sweet Valley Twins (easy reads, yes, but far more appropriate for middle schoolers than the Sweet Valley series set in high school and college)
Junior High (which is sadly out-of-print)

Kim also asked for a shorter list for a specific boy, so I drew this up:

( Read more... )

Related Booklists: Gifted Middle School Readers, Clean Reads for Early Teens, If Then for Middle School

Every time I get a Scholastic book, I feel like a kid again. In elementary school, I declared Scholastic to be my favorite publisher because it gave me The Baby-Sitters Club. Now I'm an adult, and I still love Scholastic. Its various imprints include:

Candy Apple - Cute, quick reads for ages 8 to 12, mostly appealing to girls. Here's the Candy Apple line-up so far.

Graphix - The person who hired Raina Telgemeier to illustrate The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels should get a raise - and so should Raina - for introducing the stories to a whole new generation!

Klutz - I remember when Klutz books first started to come out. I was given the juggling book and squares. (They weren't round.) Now there are a countless number of crafty and creative do-it-yourself books and kits. Aren't the gift certificates cool? Also check out the Build-a-Book Literacy Event.

Point - In the nineties, you gave me horror titles by the likes of Richie Tankersley Cusick, Caroline B. Cooney, R.L. Stine, and Diane Hoh. You also gave me Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin. Now you give me Suite Scarlett by the fantabulous Maureen Johnson. THANK YOU!

PUSH - Praise to David Levithan. Lots and lots of praise.

Scholastic Reference - Informative for all and attractive to kids.

... as well as Arthur A. Levine Books, The Chicken House, Scholastic en Español, and more!

I grew up on a steady diet of classics and contemporary stories. I'd polish off a book from the 1800s, then pick up the Scholastic Book Order form and dream of writing my own book series.

In the 1980s, the series I read and enjoyed the most was The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin. At the library, I checked BSC books as well as Ann's stand-alone novels, along with beloved dusty classics, more favorite series, and non-fiction. I bought Martin's books from the library book sale whenever they were available and affordable, and I collected most of the new books as they were released. (This is thanks to my mother, who let me know that it was okay for us to spend a few dollars a month on books.)

When all is said and done, I own most (but not all) of the BSC books. I'm missing about twenty of the regular titles in the series and about twenty-five of the sub-series. I have read most of her non-series works as well.

Here's a bibliography of Ann M. Martin's works, with the proper chronology supplied by Wikipedia, and with titles/series I've read in bold print.

Series
The Baby-Sitters Club, which included:
- The Baby-Sitters Club Super Specials
- The Baby-Sitters Club Mysteries
- The Baby-Sitters Club Super Mysteries
- The Baby-Sitters Club one-shots (Secret Santa, Chain Letter, etc)
- The Baby-Sitters Club: Friends Forever
(Sadly, I have not read nor do I own ANY of the Friends Forever series.)

The Baby-Sitters Club Little Sister
(Italicized because I only read a few of these books. Karen was a decent character, but this series was too young for me, and I greatly preferred the BSC.)

California Diaries
(Italicized because I have only read a handful of this series. I wouldn't mind reading more. The California Diaries were definitely different - edgier than the BSC - which I liked, and I found it ironic that her series with two Sunshines was the series that finally showed that life wasn't always happy, as those books didn't always have happy endings. I also like the covers, especially Sunny, Diary Three. There are only 15 California Diaries. I really ought to own these too.)

The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class

Main Street
(This is her newest series. It has three titles so far, and at least two more are due in 2008.)

Short Sequences
P.S. Longer Letter Later (co-author: Paula Danziger)
Snail Mail No More (co-author: Paula Danziger)

The Doll People (co-author: Laura Godwin)
The Meanest Doll in the World (co-author: Laura Godwin)

Stand-Alone Novels
Bummer Summer
Inside Out
Stage Fright
Me and Katie (the Pest)
With You and Without You
Missing Since Monday
Just a Summer Romance
Slam Book
Ten Kids, No Pets
Yours Turly, Shirley
Ma and Pa Dracula
Eleven Kids, One Summer
Rachel Parker, Kindergarten Show-off
Leo the Magnificat
Belle Teal
A Corner of the Universe
Here Today
A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray
On Christmas Eve

Tidbits

Many authors contributed to the BSC series. Ghostwriters included Suzanne Weyn, Peter Lerangis, Nola Thacker, Ellen Miles, Jan Carr, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner. Editors included David Levithan.

Four of the original BSC books have been made into graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier, and I absolutely adore what she's done. Not only do the graphic novels stay true to the original storylines and text, but they stay true to the characters, who look as they have always been described. Even Dawn's ear piercings are correct!

Check out my other posts related to the BSC.

Watch The Baby-Sitters Special Christmas on YouTube.

Thanks to Milly Marie for prompting this post.

This just in: Middle school is HARD. It's bad enough that you have to deal with changing classrooms, let alone changing for P.E. in the locker room in front of classmates. You have to navigate your way between classes and through the cafeteria without losing your cool or your lunch. You have more schoolwork and homework to do than you did in elementary school. Your moods may suddenly shift, and your friends, siblings, and parents might suddenly seem like foreign life forms.

Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff by Jennifer L. Holm, with artwork and illustrations by Elicia Castaldi, is a unique look at one girl's seventh grade experience. It relays all of the fears and concerns of a typical middle school student, but in a very cool format. It really is told through Ginny's stuff: her to-do lists (she likes scratching out tasks as she completes them), her tests and essays, notes to and from her mom, her grandfather, and her teachers, her older brother's hand-drawn comics, even her report cards and bank statements (she makes money baby-sitting, then spends it and ends up with the same balance every month).

The concept is executed wonderfully. Holm and Castaldi have given Ginny a definite life and personality, just through her stuff. Castaldi's artwork is beautiful. News clippings, greetings cards, and store receipts all look authentic. It brought to mind The Baby-Sitters Club Chain Letter book from many years ago. Though the BSC book actually had letters you could unfold, cards you could open, and other trinkets readers could keep, I liked that Middle School was all right here on the page, so nothing could get torn or out of place.

Every single thing written, drawn, or otherwise included on the page is a part of the story. When Ginny dyes her hair against her mom's wishes, we see the receipt from the store where she bought the dye and other items, then the receipt from the hair salon where Ginny's mother takes her to fix her hair. When her mother remarries, a newspaper clipping describes the affair. When Ginny's older brother gets in trouble, he draws her comic strips to show what he did and to express his remorse. The comics are rendered by Holm's real-life brother, Matthew, who also works with her on the fun graphic novel series Babymouse.

A complete story is told here, just through one girl's stuff. Not only is this contemporary and appealing to kids currently in middle school, but it won't feel dated in five years because it is based on fairly timeless themes. It's not about having stuff - meaning it's not about the desire to have material items - but rather it's what your stuff says about you.

If you haven't seen this book, please go find it. Get Holm's previous works while you're at it!

Read my interview with Jennifer L. Holm.

Knowledge is constantly sought and, hopefully, ultimately obtained. However, no two people learn the same way. Some rely upon personal experience; others, research. Some things are practiced and perfected, while seem to be learned subconsciously or "by osmosis," not to mention that which is instinctual or inherent.

My mother and sister taught me a great deal. They always, always answered my questions. My curiosity rivals that of Alice in Wonderland, so that was no small feat.

I did not learn every single thing from them, however. I learned from what I saw and heard at school, in stores, at events, on television, in movies - and in books.

( Keep reading to find out which book made me wonder if I had diabetes, which book inspired a woman to become a teacher, and additional personal stories from readers )

I hope you, too, can think of a book which opened your eyes. Find it. Re-read it. Share it with someone. Then keep your eyes open and find another good book to read.

This article appeared in the November 2007 issue of The Edge of the Forest, a children's literature monthly.

Many thanks to those of you who responded to my original post and provided me with such wonderful stories for this piece!

A list of my favorite films, in order of release:

Bringing Up Baby (1938) - comedy
My Favorite Wife (1940) - comedy
Ball of Fire (1941) - comedy
Laura (1944) - film noir
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) - film noir
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) - comedy
Singin' in the Rain (1952) - best musical movie ever
North by Northwest (1959) - suspense
Charade (1963) - suspense
The Trouble with Angels (1966) - comedy
The Odd Couple (1970) - comedy
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972) - fantasy, musical, NOT the Disney version
The NeverEnding Story (1984) - fantasy
Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer (1985) - fantasy, animated
Anne of Green Gables (1986) - drama
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) - comedy
The Little Mermaid (1989) - animated, musical
Stargate (1994) - fantasy, action/adventure
Anastasia (1997) - animated, musical

As you can tell, my heart belongs to classic films and musicals.

I am a musical theatre girl. I sing, dance, and act. I write songs, scripts, screenplays, and stories. I love directing and choreographing.

I favor intelligent, thoughtful, witty, and clean pictures.

I will watch anything featuring Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, or Barbara Stanwyck.

Gene Kelly was a dancer, an actor, a singer, a director, a choreographer, and a visionary. I want to follow in his footsteps. I would have loved to have worked with him. I've read that he was a taskmaster, but that would be just fine with me.

Cary Grant was talented and classy. (Please join The English Muffin-Lovers Society if you are a Cary Grant fan!) He was able to do comedy and drama equally well.

The same can be said for Barbara Stanwyck. Look at her in Ball of Fire, then Double Indemnity. She was dynamic. Such a commanding presence.

Many of my favorite films are based on books.

If there's a film based on a book, I like reading the original book prior to seeing the film, but in some cases, I saw the movie when I was little and had to track down the book years later.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is based on a story entitled Love Lies Bleeding by John Patrick using the pseudonym Jack Patrick. I cannot find this story anywhere. I can't find any evidence of it ever having been published. If any of you know where I can find it, please tell me.

( Read more... )

Related Posts: I ramble about films, prompted by tlace; I posted before about my favorite films; and I think highly of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Miss Erin created a book character meme and tagged me.

Character you'd most like to have over for tea?
I don't care for tea, but I don't think Anne and Diana from Anne of Green Gables would mind, as they'd want cordial instead. Let's compromise and have hot chocolate! :)

Character you'd most like to have as a sibling?
I love the sisters in All-of-a-Kind Family by Sidney Taylor.

Character you'd most like to be friends with?
( Read more... )

I created the following meme about books and organization just for fun. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments here or post your answers at your own blog and link back to Bildungsroman.

1. How do you organize your books? By genre, by last name, by title, by publication date?
   
2. Do you have a shelf reserved for your favorite books and/or authors?
   
3. What is the first title and author on your bookshelf?
   
4. What is the last title and author on your bookshelf?
   
5. What genre dominates your collection?
   
6. Which author is the most represented? (You own the most number of books by . . . )
   
7. You own all of the books written by . . .
   
8. You own the entire series of . . .

( Here are my answers. )

I am pleased by the success of this meme. All the cool kids are doing it. Participants include John Green, E. Lockhart, Melissa Marr, Literaticat and Carrie Jones. Other have commented right here, directly beneath the original post. Many thanks to everyone who has played along!

Need a baby-sitter? Save time! Call:
The Baby-Sitters Club

Sound familiar? Then you probably also attended Stoneybrook Middle School - or at least you wish you had. I know I did.

In spite of the fact that the book series began twenty years ago and ended six years ago, The Baby-Sitters Club still lives on in the hearts and minds of loyal readers.

"Even now, at 25, I can recall vivid details like the names of all 8 Pike kids and the name of the ghost at Dawn's house," said Dani.

Those who read the books in the eighties and nineties are all grown up now, just as the main characters would be, but for many of them, mention of the BSC brings up pleasant childhood memories.

"My sister brought them home from the library, and I read them when I was done with the books I took out." This from E.C., who also said, "Yes, I'm a guy, but I read whatever my sister had around too."

When I posted a survey about the series, I received a surprising number of responses. Friends filled out the survey, then sent the link to their friends and siblings. Adults and teenagers alike checked in. Booksellers, published authors, and perfect strangers answered. Thanks to everyone who participated.

"Since I used to live and breathe BSC, I couldn't resist answering," said Brooke.

( Read more... )

I've never been to DisneyWorld. I haven't baby-sat in years. I've never set foot in Connecticut. I have been to Stoneybrook -- in my mind's eye, where I can still see it today.

Another participant in this survey was none other than Raina Telgemeier, the illustrator of the new BSC graphic novels. Read her interview here.

Miss the first part of this study? Find out What the BSC Means to Me.