Disparate is an adjective that I absolutely love. I’m currently teaching 8th grade ELA and I used that term in conversation when comparing things that have nothing to very little in common, and then trying to make a compelling argument as to why they belong in the same classification. A cursory glance at the pages of Trubble Town 2, The Why-Why’s Gone Bye-Bye would yield the same conversation. That is if I were to tell you that this graphic novel is flat-out hilarious, weird, creative and constantly gives readers a smile, even when they don’t know what’s going on. It is.
Trubble Town 2: The Why-Why’s Gone Bye-Bye is a time-shifting, absurdly hilarious all age graphic novel that ages eight and up will celebrate. Stop, elaborate and listen
“I have no idea why you lost your tooth or what the tooth fairy does with them”, that’s what I told a kindergarten student earlier this month. They were over the moon with curiosity as to how the tooth disappeared from underneath their pillow last night. And while they were thankful for the money that it had been displaced with, their wonderment as to where the tooth could’ve gone took up as much real estate in their mind as their sudden financial gain. The Museum of Lost Teeth is an illustrated book by Elyssa Friedland with illustrations by Gladys Jose that examines one theory as to how baby mouth bones disappear from the cool side of the pillow.
It’s a world where people with super abilities are common and Leon is just an average kid. Holy metaphors and feelings of life that any elementary school kid can agree with Batman! Leon the Extraordinary is a graphic novel that knows its audience. It has all of the feels, frustrations, and relevance that elementary school kids will understand. The hall monitor is bossy and bigger than life, the teachers are a little bit weird, the school bullies are much bigger than them, and he just wishes that he was a little bit more super.
Upend expectations. Take what is normally expected from a thing and completely subvert it in a much more excellent manner than you are used to. Digestion! The Musical is an illustrated book that takes the normally short presentation of those books and makes it longer. It takes a subject that every elementary-aged child is curious about and turns it into a theme park of a book. There are three distinct areas of the book that looks at how the body digests food. Digestion! The Musical works as an illustrated book for young elementary ages, as well as, a primer on the human body for ages six and up. It’s also worth noting that it does this with style, STEM, humor, and poop, just in case your audiences are curious about the end results.
Allegory, teen-angst, outsiders, corporate shenanigans, and overcoming your fears meet in mglit, what’ll ya have? If you’ve ever been to The Varsity in Atlanta, which is a fabulous place to grab a hot dog, they’ll greet you that way. Let The Monster Out is mglit that wants to be in the Stranger Things, but with-more-heart club, and almost gets there. It has high aspirations and does offer plenty of thrills along the way, but left us feeling empty as though the book was playing favorites, let us explain.
Growth is good. That’s not exactly what Gordon Gekko said, but let’s keep that phrase in the context of schooling and growth is good. That can happen in many forms, from not kicking the chair in front of you, to remembering to bring a pencil to those younger ages when they stop chewing on the pages of books. It’s a special day when board books can go the way of the Do Do and those pre-k kids know that the time for that is nigh. Books Aren’t For Eating is silly, illustrated book fun that pre-k and K kids know, but will draw in their own parallels as to things that they know that they shouldn’t be doing at that age.
Poetry is a tough nut for elementary school readers to crack. Some might find it too boring, too slow or are unable to grasp the plot of it. If there’s not a traditional story arc to the poem, then it’s even more challenging. It can be vague, esoteric, pointless and excuse to simply kick or bother the person next to you when it’s read aloud. Believe me when I say this because I read poetry to elementary school ages on a weekly basis and it’s not because I’m a glutton for having students kicked who otherwise want to be left alone. I’ll Take Care of You is a great poetry book for elementary school students. It’s easy to see how this is an illustrated poetry book that those ages will dig in spring, but here’s why it’s good anytime of the year and how to present poetry to elementary ages.
Our children have seen E.T. It didn’t carry the same emotional wallop that it did when we initially saw it, but, it’s a classic movie by any estimation. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 40th Anniversary is available and throws a couple of E.T. journals, filmed during production that has never been seen that shed some light behind the magic.
Resistance is futile
When our 11-year-old saw the film for the second or third time he was still loaded with questions. How big is the spaceship? Was that a person in costume? If it’s a robot how do they make it move? It’s the same questions that adults had when they saw the film except through the rapid-fire succession of an upper elementary school student.
I don’t know how E.T. was made. I never knew how the classic cycling against the moon back was filmed. It’s a nostalgic image that defined a decade of special effects into one shot that was emotional and encapsulated the wonder of going to the cinema. Even today, on television sets that rival the cinematic experience it packs a punch and makes you want to believe in what you’re seeing up on the screen.
Watching E.T. forty years after its release is still a joy. You know what’s going to happen, the government agent with the jingly keys, the older teens who come off as bad (but are really just teens), and the fact that some consider E.T. to be the world’s longest (and most effective) candy commercial. Surly audiences who watch the film today might bustle at some of the stereotypes and what they consider to be rote plot mechanics. However, it’s important to remember that this is the film that started it all. Lens flare was a new thing to be intentionally shown during the final product and Spielberg mastered that, in addition to other skills like no other director.
What’s refreshing about seeing the movie now is how patient the film’s scenes are. They’re longer than most modern scenes and use silence and pacing to amp up the tension. They’re also classic Speilberg. While some of his effects are standard now, they were still in their infancy when E.T. came out. However, what most audiences to the 40th Edition are eager to see are the behind-the-scenes features at the end of the film that might answer some of the questions that they or their children have.
The video production diary is fun to watch. Some of the moments are goofy, like when Spielberg dresses up in women’s clothing for the Halloween day shoot, or when Kathleen Kennedy was on location trying not to stress out about the day’s shoot. She says something about the production, Spielberg, and Jaws that was unknown to most people who have seen that classic shark movie. Even after she said it I was having trouble remembering what aspects of his production process she might have been alluding to.
There are current videos of the cast looking back at the iconic movie, Spielberg talking about its effect on his career, a cast reunion, and the music. It’s impossible to see E.T. and not realize the importance of how the soundtrack from John Williams plays into its overall impact. At the 20th Anniversary re-release of E.T., he conducted the score live at the Shrine Auditorium. You’ll see snippets of that show, as well as, a conversation with Williams about his working relationship with Spielberg throughout the years.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 40th Anniversary is the topic at hand. It comes in all manner of packaging, 4K Ultra HD + DVD and digital code, collectibles, and so on. Surely they’ll find some new material for the 50th Anniversary, and then the 100th Anniversary. It’s a film that is in the National Film Registry and will be remembered hundreds of years from now. If we can still enjoy a composition by Beethoven hundreds of years after its creation it’s logical to assume that E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial will still be enjoyed by people hundreds of years from now, let’s just hope that they never remake it or try to create a sequel. And yes, an idea for a sequel was tossed around, but you’ll see that in the DVD extras.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 40th Anniversary is available now wherever you buy or download videos.
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