According to Variety, Fox 2000 has purchased the film rights to Catherine Fisher’s series. John Palermo will produce the film. There was a bidding war for the series with at least two other studios competing for it.
I adored the book Incarceron and it does read very cinematically, so I can see it adapting with ease to the screen. What do you think?
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Captain Small Pig by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Susan Varley
Spend a day on the lake with Old Goat, Turkey and Small Pig. Small Pig is the youngster who is eager about everything and wants to do things himself. Turkey automatically responds with a no to every request while Old Goat allows Small Pig to do what he asks. Small Pig gets his own turn to row, gets to try to fish for a whale, and declares himself to be Captain Small Pig! Old Goat and Turkey shepherd him safely through the day and into the evening, even carrying a dozing Small Pig home to bed. This book is gentle, reassuring and a beautiful way to spend a day on the water with friends.
The dynamics between the characters is an integral part of the success of this book. Turkey may seem stern, but he is the one who carries the sleeping child home wrapped in a warm blanket. Old Goat is doting and exactly what every child needs in their life. The skill of Waddell is that the two adult characters’ relationship is never clarified. So readers can see it as they wish. They could be two grandfathers, two uncles, or two fathers.
Waddell has built a world of safety and contentment in the this book. Varley expands that feeling with her pen and ink illustrations that use soft colors and have a timeless feeling to them. Readers will yearn to be on this outing with these characters, fishing, gliding and just spending time.
A lovely addition to library collections, this gentle story will float its way to bedtimes and quiet reading corners. Appropriate for ages 3-6.
Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.
Also reviewed by Becky at Young Readers.
A Very Big Bunny by Marisabina Russo
Amelia is a very big bunny, the largest bunny in her class. She stands out in a crowd, but wishes that she was a more normal size. At recess, no one will play with her because she is too tall for jump rope, her feet are too big for hopscotch, and she is too heavy for the seesaw to work. So she spends recess standing at the edge of the playground, listening to the wind and watching the clouds. When Susannah joins their class, she is the smallest bunny. The children won’t play with her at recess either because she is too low for jump rope, too small for hopscotch, and too light for the seesaw. So Susannah tries to join Amelia at the fence, but Amelia rebuffs her. Susannah though does not give up, and so Amelia slowly transforms into a big-hearted friend for a small bunny. She also learns that it’s not that bad standing out from the crowd.
Amelia is a bunny that I can completely relate to. I was always one of the tallest children in my class, too heavy for the seesaw. And I too had to learn, just as all children do, that it’s OK to be different. In fact, it’s downright essential! Almost every child is different from the crowd in some way, Amelia’s difference is size, but she will be easily related to no matter what difference the reader may have.
Russo’s writing reads aloud wonderfully with its natural cadence. The pacing is wonderful, especially when the friendship between the two girls is developing. I really appreciated that it was slow and steady, making their friendship more real. Russo’s gouache illustrations are filled with bright colors and capture with confidence and ease the differences of the bunnies without making it comical or extreme.
Embrace your inner big bunny and stand out with this book! Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from copy received from Random House.
Waking Brain Cells 