Watch and Read: Spotlight on Media Tie-ins
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Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 3/17/2008
An Island Adventure
Nim’s Island (PG), a feature film from Walden Media directed by Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, will be released in theaters on April 4, 2008. Based on the novel of the same title by Wendy Orr (Knopf, 1999), the movie introduces Nim (Abigail Breslin), an imaginative girl who lives on an otherwise uninhabited tropical island with her scientist father (Gerard Butler) and several animal friends, including a sea lion named Selkie. Nim loves to read—particularly about the exploits of famous adventure hero Alex Rover (also Gerard Butler)—and imaginary friends from favorite books keep her company.
When her father gets lost at sea during a storm, and tourists from a cruise ship threaten the island, Nim sends an email to her literary hero, asking for help. The real Alex Rover, author Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster), a reclusive woman afraid to venture out of her own apartment, takes inspiration from her character and gathers her courage to go to Nim’s aid. Check out the official Web site for clips, photos, and games.
Movie Tie-ins and a Sequel
Scholastic offers two companion books to the film. Movie Storybook (PreS–Gr 4) presents a clear retelling of the plot colorfully illustrated with large, crisply reproduced movie photos. Nim’s Friends (Gr 1–3) focuses on the girl’s unusual island companions, including imaginary literary characters (Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, and Huck Finn) and animal pals. The easy-reading text is accompanied by full-color movie photos.
For film fans who want to read the real thing, Random House/Yearling has reissued Orr’s novel (Gr 2-5) in paperback with cover art from the movie. Kerry Millard’s line drawings still grace the book’s interior, supplemented by eight pages of full-color film photos. Consider also Orr’s Nim at Sea (Knopf, 2008), the recently released and equally charming sequel to Nim’s Island, also illustrated by Millard.
For the YA Crowd: Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (R), Tim Burton’s film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s stage musical, was released by DreamWorks and Warner Bros. at the end of 2007 to great critical acclaim. Johnny Depp stars in the title role with Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. The movie won several Golden Globe Awards and has made its way onto many critics’ top 10 lists for the best films of 2007. The DVD version will be available April 1, 2008.
Savvy YA librarians can play off the production’s popularity and introduce film fans to the gripping and gruesome world of Victorian melodrama. Featuring a mesmerizing movie photo of Depp in full regalia on the cover, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Oxford), edited by Robert L. Mack, is sure to grab the attention of teens. Mack’s introduction traces the origins of the story (originally titled “The String of Pearls: A Romance”) to its roots in 19th-century periodicals and stage melodramas, discusses the subsequent “fleshing out” of the plot, and examines Stephen Sondheim’s take on the tale. The readable and in-depth retelling that follows, complete with appended explanatory notes, will satisfy readers who are hungry for more about the notorious Todd and perhaps stir up interest in early British horror writing.
Pub Info
ORR, Wendy. Nim’s Island. illus. by Kerry Millard. Random/Yearling. 2008. pap. $5.50. ISBN 978-0-385-73606-0.
_____. Nim at Sea. illus. by Kerry Millard. Random House/Knopf. March 2008. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-440-42232-7. PLB $15.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90535-0.
Nim’s Island Movie Tie-Ins
DENEGA, Danielle. Nim’s Island: Nim’s Friends. Scholastic. 2008. pap. $3.99. ISNB 978-0-545-06575-7.
SANDER, Sonia, adapt. Nim’s Island: Movie Storybook. Scholastic. 2008. Tr $8.99. ISBN 978-0-545-06576-4.
MACK, Robert L., ed. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Oxford Univ. 2007. pap. $10.95. ISBN 978-0-19-954344-1.
