Watch and Read: Spotlight on Media Tie-ins
This article originally appeared in SLJ’s Extra Helping. Sign up now!
Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 7/23/2008 1:16:00 PM
Disney Channel Delights
It’s Cheetah-Licious!
The Cheetah Girls: One World, the third in a series of Disney Channel Original Movies about a pop band, makes its television premiere on August 22, 2008. Cheetah Girls Adrienne Bailon, Sabrina Bryan, and Kiely Willliams reprise their roles as Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua (Raven-Symoné, who played Galleria in the first two films, does not appear in One World). With Galleria in England attending college, the remaining Cheetahs are looking for a big break and jump at the opportunity to travel to India and star in a Bollywood movie. However, soon after the girls arrive in Mumbai, they discover that the musical has room for only one Cheetah in the lead, forcing the three friends to reevaluate their relationship and decide whether to stick together or go their separate ways.
Kids can catch a preview of the movie’s filmed-on-location scenery, India-influenced clothing styles, East-meets-West dance moves, and groovin’ soundtrack at the official Web site. An “issue” of the Bollywood Star provides the scoop on the characters and plot, as well as quizzes and email links. The featured games are a fun fit for the audience, as kids can play a Pac-Man-type marketplace shopping-spree game or create their own fashion designs for the Cheetahs to model.
Cheetah Girls: From Printed Page to Film Stars to Performers
This pop phenomenon has its roots in “The Cheetah Girls” novel series (Disney Press) written by Deborah Gregory and launched in 1999 with The Cheetah Girls: Wishing on a Star (Jump at the Sun). In 2003, Disney adapted the series into a successful made-for-TV movie with the same title, and solid DVD sales spawned a soundtrack, a Christmas album, and a second film (2006). Since then, the Cheetah Girls have released several albums and become a real performing group, touring with other popular Disney singing stars. Their official debut studio album, TCG (Hollywood Records), was released in September 2007.
Cheetah Girl Books
Fans can relive the One World experience by reading The Junior Novel (Gr 3–6), a fast-paced retelling of the movie’s plot from Disney Press. A colorful photo of the three stars invites readers into the book, and eight pages of captioned photos show the cast in a variety of poses. One World may inspire interest in Gregory’s original book series; the titles have been bundled together, four to a volume, beginning with The Cheetah Girls Livin' Large! (Disney Press, 2003). For more information on Cheetah Girls reads, check out the Disney Books Web site.
Hannah in Hardcover
Another Disney Channel favorite forms the backdrop for Suzanne Harper’s original novel Hannah Montana: Rock the Waves (Gr 4–8), the first of a planned series released this month by Disney Press. It’s summertime, and 15-year-old Miley Stewart is thrilled that teen-heartthrob and pro-surfer Talen Wright will be coming to Malibu for a competition and that pop-star Hannah Montana (Miley’s secret alter-ego) will perform at the closing ceremonies. Then Miley learns that she must attend summer school to bring up her English grade, and it looks like her vacation will be a washout…until Talen turns up in the same class. Devotees of the television show will enjoy meeting these familiar TV characters in a different milieu and encountering the twists and turns of a fresh, new story line.
If the “Hannah Montana” books (Disney Press)—titles based on actual episodes of the television show—are hot items in your library and are looking a bit tattered, consider purchasing durable, hardcover versions published by Spotlight, a division of ABDO, available Fall 2008. With colorful photo cover images, eight-page insets of TV stills, strong bindings, and hearty pages, these offerings will catch the eye of readers and hold up to high-demand circulation. Also available from Spotlight are tough-as-nails reissues of another Disney Channel tie-in series, High School Musical: Stories from East High, originally published by Disney Press in 2007. Go to the Spotlight Web site for more information.
Pub Info
LARSEN, Kirsten, adapt. The Cheetah Girls: One World: The Junior Novel. Disney Press. 2008. pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-1200-6.
GREGORY, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls Livin' Large! Books 1-4, Bind-Up #1. Disney Press. 2003. pap. $9.99. ISBN 0-7868-1789-5.
HARPER, Suzanne. Hannah Montana: Rock the Waves. Disney Press. August 2008. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-1181-8.
“Hannah Montana” series:
ALFONSI, Alice, adapt. Face-off. ISBN 978-1-59961-511-0.
BEECHWOOD, Beth, adapt. Keeping Secrets. ISBN 978-1-59961-513-4.
KING, M. C., adapt. Truth or Dare. ISBN 978-1-59961-516-5.
McELROY, Laurie, adapt. Hold on Tight. ISBN 978-1-59961-512-7.
_____. Nightmare on Hannah Street. ISBN 978-1-59961-514-1.
_____. Super Sneak. ISBN 978-1-59961-515-8.
ea vol: Spotlight. Fall 2008. PLB $15.95 (library price).
Set of 6 titles: ISBN 978-1-59961-510-3. $95.70.
“High School Musical” Series
ALFONSI, Alice. Stories from East High #3: Poetry in Motion. ISBN 978-1-59961-520-2.
GRACE, N. B. Stories from East High #1: Battle of the Bands. ISBN 978-1-59961-518-9.
_____. Stories from East High #4: Crunch Time. ISBN 978-1-59961-519-6.
HAPKA, Catherine. Stories from East High #2: Wildcat Spirit. ISBN 978-1-59961-521-9.
ea vol: Spotlight. Fall 2008. PLB $15.95 (library price).
Set of 4 titles: ISBN 978-1-59961-517-2. $63.80.
