Watch and Read: Spotlight on Media Tie-ins
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Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 7/16/2008 7:50:00 AM
Summer with the Sisterhood
Fans of Ann Brashares’s unforgettable fictional foursome—Lena, Carmen, Bee, and Tibby—will welcome The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (PG-13), a feature film that journeys into movie theaters on August 8, 2008. Released by Warner Bros. Pictures and directed by Sanaa Hamri, this sequel to the successful Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), based on Brashares’s novel (2001), is likely to have the same on-screen chemistry, since the original cast members (Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, and Amber Tamblyn) have been reunited to reprise their roles.
Although it includes some storylines from Brashares’s other “Sisterhood” installments, Traveling Pants 2 is based on the fourth and final book in the series, Forever in Blue (2007, both Delacorte). It’s the summer after their first year of college, and though these four lifelong friends try to stay in touch—in part, by continuing to pass around the beloved pair of pants that they have shared for several years and which have a way of making their own magic—they are finding it more and more difficult to maintain their closeness. As life begins to pull the girls in different directions and toward different futures, they rediscover the importance of their shared past and special bond.
Sisterhood on the Web
Book and movie devotees will enjoy browsing the film’s official Web site for previews, a synopsis, and lots of fun features tailor-made for tweens and teens. Kids can click on “In Her Own Words” to access video clips in which each of the main characters chats about what’s happened in her life during the three-year time period between movies. The “Brotherhood of the Sisterhood” quiz allows viewers to determine which male protagonist they’d be most likely to date, and a link to fan sites provides access to the online “Sisterhood” community. Librarians will be happy to see that a link to the book site is prominently displayed.
At Random House’s “Sisterhood Central,” kids can find out more about the book series, access info about the author and FAQs, get the latest “dish” on contests, and sign up for the Sisterhood newsletter.
Shopping for Pants: Book Tie-ins
Delacorte presents the official movie companion, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008), previously published as Forever in Blue. The eye-catching cover features a film photo of the four protagonists and includes a 16-page inset of captioned full-color photos displayed scrapbook style. The book ends with a section of excerpts of “special moments” from The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (2003) and Girls in Pants (2005, both Delacorte) that were highlighted in the film, inspiring readers to investigate these novels further.
In fact, Traveling Pants 2 may very well cause a resurgence of interest in the best-selling books, both for re-reading by longtime fans and for perusal by movie viewers who are entering the world of Brashares’s charismatic characters for the first time. Take this opportunity to check your shelves and make sure you have the entire set.
Pub Info
BRASHARES, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. movie tie-in edition. 2008. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73647-3.
_____. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 2001. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-385-72933-8; pap. $ 8.95. ISBN 978-0-385-73058-7.
_____. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood. 2003. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-385-72934-5; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-0-385-73105-8.
_____. Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood. 2005. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-385-72935-2; PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90919-8; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-0-553-37593-0.
_____. Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood. 2007. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-385-72936-9; PLB $21.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90413-1; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73401-1.
_____. Sisterhood 4-Book Boxed Set. 2008. pap. $36.84. ISBN 978-0-385-73576-6.
ea. vol: Delacorte.
