Books written in movie-script format

Books written in movie script (10/18/05)

Q: A Sophomore/Junior level English class recently read Monster by Myers & loved the movie script format; they want more. The teacher tried plays with little success. I can’t seem to come up with the combination of high interest and script format the students desire (diary format was suggested but it didn't have the same appeal); any suggestions?

A’s:
Try Day of Tears by Julius Lester......great book told in different voices sort of like a script.

Terry Davis (VISION QUEST) has held firmly to the idea that kids would LOVE this format, if only more editors would allow authors to use it. I suspect it might be a good reluctant reader format. The script format grabs readers because it is more immediate -- like MTV, structured in economic, short bursts. Is this a possible trend in years to come?

I asked my "remedial readers" (yup I hate the term too) what the appeal of the movie script kind of books was. Answer: "none of that boring description stuff.”

I was a gifted and voracious reader. I wrote stories in movie script format when I was 12 years old, and then in high school I discovered that there were books with movie scripts for such films as The Seven Samurai, Blow-Up, Rashomon, and the like. I bought them like crazy, so the format definitely appeals to teens.

Seek by Paul Fleischman is a radio script that is interesting, but not gritty like Monster.

You might try Making Up Megaboy by Virginia Walter. While it's not told in movie script, each of the characters tells their own story of a convenience store hold-up gone awry. The owner of the store is killed and all the people who know the accused killer tell their version of the story. I used it with eight grade students and they liked it so much they took the concept and wrote their own version.

BRONX MASQUERADE by NIKKI GRIMES isn't written in the movie script format, but it has different perspectives with many short first-person narrations accompanied by the individuals' poems. it has authentic teen voices dealing with issues like teen pregnancy, absent fathers, jail, violence, friendship, etc. I think would make a great read-aloud, plus it's about a high school English class. How about GIVE A BOY A GUN by TODD STRASSER? It is a very nontraditional format with gripping and disturbing subject matter.

A Google search of "movie scripts online" lead to many listings of places that offer full scripts to movies famous, infamous, and unknown, like http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/dircut.html
They might like reading comics scripts, which have some similarities to screenplay format.
I really enjoyed the Newmarket shooting script for Adaptation, which has commentaries from Susan Orlean and Robert McKee. I bet teens who liked the movie would enjoy it, too. More info: http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-1557045119-0

Read a classic--right now!

Do you desire to read a good book but can't get to the library or bookstore? Are you usually glued to your computer screen? Well, I have great news for you! Click http://www.gutenberg.org/ where you may download all their ebooks for your personal use for free. Now, click http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top to view the top 100 books downloaded yesterday. Wow, huh?(The titles are primarily adult novels or classics whereby copyright laws would {should} not be broken.)

Middle School Mysteries

Middle school mysteries (10/17/05)

Question: I am looking for mysteries for a 6th grade girl from a religious family. I want to make sure they do not include any elements of supernatural. I would also be curious of any links to lists of CLEAN books.

Answers:

· Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach: Summary--Named after a character in a Shakespeare play, misfit sixth-grader Hero becomes interested in exploring this unusual connection because of a valuable diamond supposedly hidden in her new house, an intriguing neighbor, and the unexpected attention of the most popular boy in school.

Down the rabbit hole: An Echo Falls mystery by Abrahams, PeterPublisher: Laura Geringer Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsSummary: In his first novel for young readers best-selling author Peter Abrahams tells the story of Ingrid, a spunky thirteen year old who becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. Like her idol Sherlock Holms Ingrid undertakes a series of suspenseful adventures to track down the killer. The deft use of literary allusions and ironic humor add further touches of class to this topnotch mystery. With plenty of excitement this is a mystery that is just right for all types of readers.

Sammy Keyes Series by VanDraanen.Some are murder mysteries (the murder is down played) with no supernatural element involved. Sammy is living with her grandmother (doesn’t know who her father is--may be a problem) but has a very loving, positive relationship with her grandma. There is no language and no sexuality just a good old fashioned mystery with intriguing characters and realistic setting.

Some mysteries by Betty Wren Wright do not have ghosts.

Hermux Tantamoq adventures by Michael Hoeye (3 so far) are about a mystery solving, watch repairing mouse and are a lot of fun.

· I enjoyed Dorothy Hoobler's In Darkness, Death......set in 18th century Japan with ninja warriors and an investigation of a murder....I only read this title but it is part of a series or trilogy? I do know characters are repeated but don't know how many titles there are....
· Chet Gecko series was very popular a few years ago. Good for reluctant boys.

Chasing Vermeer carries a superstitious element. The boy, Calder, owns a set of Pentaminoes, and each of the 12 pieces stands for a letter of the alphabet. Calder often looks for clues depending on which pentamino piece he randomly takes out of his pocket. If it's a T piece, then maybe the clue or important info starts with T. He and the girl, Petra, also decide that 12 is a very significant number, so that leads them to a few clues.

Classics -- The Egypt Game and The Westing Game.

· The Egypt Game was a favorite of mine, but it might not suit this family as I recall some hints of a mystical element and stuff about Egyptian religion that might not work for them.

Joan Lowery Nixon usually wrote pretty basic mysteries without much nonsense in between.

Betsy Byars had a female protagonist series which reads well: the character’s name is HERCULEAH JONES.

Look at those books that have been finalists for the Poe Award for children's and YA mystery at http://www.mysterywriters.org/

Jennie McGrady Mysteries series by Patricia Rushford - An older series published by a Christian publisher. Rushford didn't beat people over the head with theology. The books are fine for a 6th grade reader, if you can find them.
Curse of the Hanged Man by Frank Peretti is another Christian mystery for preteens and young teens.
Older mysteries by Joan Lowery Nixon for a student in 6th grade: The Dark and Deadly Pool, The Weekend was Murder, The Other Side of Dark; Who Are You and Murdered My Sweet should also be fine.

· If she likes Westing Game then she should try The Tattooed Potato and other clues.

· Grace Cavendish mystery series by Patricia Finney. The main character is a young lady-in-waiting for Queen Elizabeth who solves mysteries in her court. It's sort of an A to Z mysteries set in Elizabethan England, the first two titles being Assassin and Betrayal.

Media Suggestions

I think a good use of cyber-space from my vantage point, is to pass along suggested materials to those who are looking for inspiration. Let me make this clear from the beginning: These are not personal recommendations or endorsements. These will be compilitations from several sources. Please feel free to comment on any of the materials that have been "suggested."

Meaning of Life (10/13/05)

Q: A high school student was looking for books about "the meaning of life," fiction or nonfiction, religious or not. Elie Wiesel was suggested, but she is studying him later. She mentioned she may try "Three weeks with my brother" by Nicholas Sparks and "Looking for Alaska" by John Green. Do you have other suggestions?

A’s:

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Illusions by Richard Bach
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
"Godless" by Pete Hautman is about a group of teenagers who worship the town's water tower. It starts out as a joke but becomes complicated.
"Western Philosophy : An Illustrated Guide" by David Papineau (2004) a nonfiction resource which would introduce her to the complexity of the question...
The Prophet by Kahlil GibranTraveling Mercies by Anne Lamott

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

The Time Quartet books by Madeleine L'Engle
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Three Junes by Julia Glass
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig.
The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher
SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, Orson Scott Card
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman.
Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

Viktor Frankl for YAs? :) The first half is his first person account of survival in the Nazi camps, the second is pretty dense stuff about his theory of logotherapy:"Logotherapy...considers man as a being whose main concern consists in fulfilling a meaning and in actualizing values, rather than in the mere gratification and satisfaction of drives and instincts." p.164"What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him." p.166GREAT book; it is for educated adults.

I am learning about blogging today in Oxford, a neighboring Warren County community.