The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender (motion picture, rated PG for fantasy action violence)
Paramount Pictures, 2010

Genre: Fantasy

Honors:

• Nominated for Choice Summer Movie, Teen Choice Awards, 2010
• Nominated for Film Music Composition of the Year and Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film, International Film Music Critics Association Awards, 2010
• Nominated for Best Performance in a Feature Film, Young Artist Award, 2010
• Won Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3D, and Nominated for Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screen Couple, and Worst Prequel, Golden Raspberry Awards, 2010

Review: In a world divided into regions supporting four different elements (air, water, earth, and fire), there are races of people who can bend just one of the elements and live apart. However, to avoid conflict in the world and balance the energy of the elements, one person is born every hundred years who has the special gift of being able to bend all of the four elements. This person is known as the Avatar, and it is expected that the Avatar will have been born to the air tribe. However, in the present century, the Avatar that was identified suddenly disappeared. Fast forward almost one hundred years later, the Fire kingdom has managed to carry out plots against the other elemental tribes and destroy the Air tribe in an attempt to prevent the next Avatar from rising. The world over believes that there are no air benders left--until a young water bender discovers a bright light beneath the frozen waters near her home and uses her forbidden bending gift to break the ice, freeing a young boy and a large creature in hibernation. Through a series of events it becomes known that this frozen boy is the last air bender in the world--and he is the Avatar, the one person who has the power to stop the evil intentions of the Fire kingdom. This movie was intended to be a prequel and part of a trilogy.

Opinion: I found it very amusing that this movie received so many honors for being so bad, as opposed to being great. Still, it is possible the plans for the entire trilogy have been dropped, and that is a shame. The creators of the first film can still save face and improve in the second and third films. A lot of the criticism comes from fans of the anime series that originated in Japan and has Asian cultural attributes that folks claimed were stifled or changed to make the film into something very different--and ugly. I haven't seen the Avatar cartoon series, but my impression of the film was fairly similar. The acting: pretty bad. The dialogue: pretty unrealistic and not heartfelt. The plot: somewhat uninspired as it is presented. The action scenes: a bit dry. The soundtrack: too mellow, oftentimes it feels distracted, as if the orchestra has forgotten what they are supposed to be supporting. The directing seems rather shabby and unfocused, and the camera often stays at a distance from what is happening, which communicates disinterest to the viewer. There just isn't anything that stands out about this movie. The story idea is a good one, but it was treated poorly for such an expensive production. I suppose adults can criticize the movie all day long and at the end of the day, the kids are still going to enjoy it, but I have a feeling there are a lot of Avatar fans who see this for what it is (a cheap knockoff) and will avoid it or dump it early.

Ideas: Perhaps this one can go in a display of worst movies ever produced. The Golden Raspberry Awards have been presented to bad Hollywood films since the 1980s, so there are plenty to choose from across all of the categories.

Fossil Fish Found Alive

Fossil Fish Found Alive: Discovering the Coelacanth
by Sally M. Walker
Carolrhoda Books, 2002

Genre: Non-fiction

Honors:

• ALA Notable Children's Books 2003
• Book Report 09/01/02
• Booklist 03/15/02
• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred 04/01/02
• Horn Book 01/01/03
• Kirkus Reviews starred 04/01/02
• New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age 2004
• School Library Journal starred 05/01/02
• Teacher Librarian 04/01/03
• Wilson's Children 10/01/10
• Wilson's Junior High School 01/09/10

Review: Ever since an unusual fish was discovered in a net full of the day's catch in 1939, scientists in several parts of the globe have been racing to discover more about--and find ways to protect--the Coelacanth (pronounced "see-luh-kanth"), a modern day version of a fossil fish more than 300 million years old, though hardly changed since the time of the dinosaurs. As different scientists and fish experts have found, this remarkable fish has many characteristics that are unlike any other modern fish anywhere on the planet, and scientists still haven't discovered why, or how this fish remained alive long after other ancient species either died out or evolved. Walker dives as deep into the mystery of the Coelacanth as possible, providing artifacts from research such as photographs and stills from video footage, letters and diagrams of the fish, and details about the known facets of the fish's daily existence.

Opinion: This was one of my favorite reads in this entire blog. Seriously. I was amazed at what I'd learned about the Coelacanth, and I have to wonder how many other library users have discovered this book in the ten years since it was published. It is not a lengthy read, it took me about forty-five minutes to complete, but with the scope of issues revealed in the book and the number of resources suggested for further research, I would put this on a higher level of reading and research material than some of the other non-fiction titles I've read, better for older tweens.

Ideas: As this book is a bit dated, a good exercise/lesson would be to send students on a quest to find newer information (if it exists) about the Coelacanth: what has been discovered, or what remaining questions have been answered (if any) since the book's publication date?

The Prairie Builders

The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands
by Sneed B. Collard III
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005

Genre: Conservation, Non-fiction

Honors:

• ALA Notable Children's Books 2006
• ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Award 2005
• Book Links 03/01/08
• Book Links starred 09/01/05
• Booklist starred 06/01/05
• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 07/01/05
• Horn Book 07/01/05
• Horn Book starred 07/01/05
• Kirkus Reviews 05/01/05
• School Library Journal starred 08/01/05
• Wilson's Junior High School 01/09/10

Review: Sneed Collard's photographs are captivating, bringing home the vast amount of work that goes into prairie restoration. As Collard explains, reconstructing a devastated eco-system is experimental, as scientists are still learning about what makes a system like a prairie or a river or a forest work in such harmony and keep it thriving over the years. He documents with interviews and photographs the work of several participants in the project and their years of attempts to re-grow native plants, encouraging native species to return to a prairie land that had been nearly decimated by agriculture practices in Iowa, noting some of the successes and setbacks that motivated their continued research and efforts.

Opinion: It is very exciting to see non-fiction written for children and young adults that delves into research and efforts made toward conservation and eco-system restoration. Youth can benefit greatly from non-fiction that aims to help them be more aware of the impact different behaviors and practices have on biodiversity and the lives of other species around them. A great book introducing an important part of environmental science studies.

Ideas: This is another great book to present in a lecture about conducting research and using reference points in non-fiction. There are some useful web sites and books recommended in the back of this book, along with a thorough glossary and index.

The Twelve Months

The Twelve Months
by Rafe Martin
Stoddart Kids, 2000

Genre: Fairy tales

Honors: unknown

Review: An orphaned girl named Marushka, who has lost her parents, goes to live with her selfish and greedy aunt and cousin, who turn her into a housekeeper while they sit around the house doing nothing. However, her relatives become increasingly bitter when they see how pleasantly Marushka takes to her life of chores and no outside contact. They vow to find a way to rid themselves of their burdensome, cheerful neice. The aunt decides to demand that Marushka go out in the middle of winter and collect items from the earth that it can't possily produce, and after she is pushed out the door, it is locked behind her. So begins a story in which twelve unusual characters sitting around a fire in the middle of the woods come to Marushka's aid again and again, to the frustration of her aunt and cousin. When she succeeds in fulfilling their demands, the two relatives decide that her bounty is not enough and that they must find the source for themselves. The moral of this story from Czechoslovakia is not to take advantage of others and to show appreciation for what you have.

Opinion: This is a fairly short story, with illustrations that only convey part of what is written in the narrative; they are beautiful, nonetheless, and the lessons taught in the fairy tale are very good ones. Not much else to say, except that this book was rated for younger readers and I'm not really sure why it wouldn't be just as interesting for nine-, ten-, and eleven-year-olds.

Ideas: The story is simple enough, with few characters and objects, that it could be told as a puppet show or play. Actors could have a lot of fun acting out the slob-ish behavior of the aunt and cousin, and the audience could have some fun playing with the props in the story after the play is over.

Anne Frank: The Authorized Graphic Biography

Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography
by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon
Hill and Wang, 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel, Biography Non-Fiction

Honors:

• Booklist 10/15/10
• Kirkus Reviews 07/15/10
• Library Journal starred 01/01/11
• Publishers Weekly 09/27/10
• School Library Journal starred 03/01/11

Review: The collected accounts of friends, relatives, and those who helped the Frank family hide in an annex behind Otto Frank's business are re-told using visual depictions based on photographs of Anne Frank, her sister, mother, and father, and the four others who hid with them from the Nazi Germans during World War II. This graphic novel is not your typical manga or cartoon: the story is based on true events, and the narrative boxes surrounding the pictures are meant to tell the history of events that brought about the capture and deportation of Jews like Anne and her family and those that influenced Anne to aspire to journalism, beginning with the autobiographical account of her life in hiding. The story comes from entries in Anne's diary, leading up until the fateful day when an unknown person working at Otto Frank's business discovered the secret passage to the annex and sold the information to the police, and once the family is separated the story relies upon the stories of other survivors of the concentration camps who were in contact with one or more of the members of the Frank family.

Opinion: I remember hearing about Anne Frank, and the Holocaust, as a child, and then learning about her fate when a made-for-tv movie was shown on one of the major network stations many years ago. The movie was very difficult to watch, with graphic depictions of Jews being violently separated, stripped, shaved and tatooed, starved, and gassed, and then left to die. This novel tells almost the same story, but the images are a little easier to bear as they are true to events but not as dynamic as video footage. I was moved at the way the story was told, with third-person narratives accompanied by pictures with speech and thought bubbles conveying the spirit of the moment in the narration. It puts readers directly into the shoes of Anne, Margo, Peter and his parents, and Other and Edith Frank. It is also difficult to follow the deterioration of the Frank family as they are separated and starved, being drawn with shaven heads and appearing almost skeletal compared with the full-figured and colorful drawings of them that appear during the time of hiding.

Ideas: I am pegging this book as a must for anyone who is planning on teaching about the Holocaust. Anne Frank's published diary is well known and appreciated, and I don't mean to undermine the usefulness of reading the diary, but it is a lot easier to identify with her story, PLUS the history of events that occurred in Germany after the stock market crash and Hitler's rise to dictatorship and the many battles that led to the surrender of Italy and Germany so close to the time in which Anne dies, in this surprisingly smart format.

Pokemon Pearl

Pokemon: Pearl Version (ESRB Rated E for Everyone)
Nintendo, 2007

Genre: Role Play Game, Adventure

Honors:

• Nominated for Best RPG, Won Best Handheld Game, G4's G-phoria, 2007
• Nominated for Children's Kids Vote Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 2008
• Best online multiplayer, best RPG awards, IGN's Best of 2007 Awards
• Best Hit Award, Game of the Year Award, Famitsu Game Awards, 2006

Review: Short for "pocket monsters," Pokemon: Pearl Version is one of a multitude of different Pokemon releases that enable gamers with different versions to experience separate quests, encounter some unique monsters, and connect their DS handheld consoles together to share tips and pocket monsters. Usually, the only way to collect all of the pokemon in a given generation is to trade with other players via a link. In older generations of the pokemon series, a cable cord had to be connected to two gameboys and both players had to initiate a trade at a location in the game called a Pokemon Center. With the DS it is possible to use wireless technology to connect to another DS; therefore, with Pokemon Pearl one merely needs to be in the vicinity of another player where there is access to a wireless network. There are two goals to complete in any Pokemon version: 1) Become a Pokemon Master Trainer; and 2) collect every Pokemon that is known to exist in the given generation. An additional option in Pokemon Pearl that is appealing for today's avatar-centered youth is the ability to choose between a male and female as the main character, to name a best friend, and to customize the appearance of the pokeballs that store the monsters.

Opinion: I agree with some of the gaming sites' reviews of this release: it feels like more of a rehash of older Pokemon games, without a lot of improvement with the exception of extended battle scenes from having the dual screens and touch screen, plus better graphics than those of the original Pokemon Blue and Red for Gameboy. The music feels flat and disappointing, as the programmers could have taken advantage of a sound system with a lot more capabilities than those of previous generations of the game. Personally, I thought the newer generation of collectible pocket monsters were not as sharp and impressive as those of previous versions. This is a personal assessment, but I feel that it may reduce the overall popularity of the game, making it more acceptable for younger gamers or less seasoned gamers. Older tweens may think it is too babyish. The gameplay is also very slow: it literally took me over an hour to get through the opening sequence of the game and collect my first three pokemon because the battle scenes are slow, there are a lot of messages on the screen that delay action, and there is a lot of opening dialogue--and that is without accepting some of the characters' offers of advice. Even walking around on the game's map is a bit clunky.

Ideas:

Whip It

Whip It (motion picture, MPAA Rated PG-13 for partial nudity, language)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2009

Genre: Drama, Romance

Honors:

• Video Librarian 01/01/10
• Nominated for Bronze Horse, Stockholm Film Festival, 2009

Review: In Bliss's small town life, there is not much to do besides earn meager tips waitressing and participating in beauty pageants for her mom, who seems to be stuck in the 1950s. Deep down, Bliss is an alternative girl who wants to break out of her small town life and leave the dress-up world far behind her. An opportunity to do just that arrives in the form of a flier for a roller derby match, but knowing her parents would not approve, Bliss lies to her family and goes to the game. Then Bliss tries out for one of the teams and earns the nickname "Babe Ruthless," and the lies pile up as she and her team of new friends play their way to the top of the league. The only thing that can tear Bliss' dream apart is if her secret gets out: that she is only seventeen, too young to play roller derby without a parent's permission. This film is about one girl finding the strength to be her own hero, chase a dream, and learn to love her roots for what they are.

Opinion: The rating for this movie is more due to the brief sexual romance that is inserted midway through the film. There is a beautifully choreographed scene in which Bliss and her boyfriend undress in a public pool at night and--you can imagine where that goes. It does not get explicit beyond underclothes and does not go into details after the undressing, but it is some powerful imagery, a sexual fantasy brought to life on the big screen. There is also a lot of language, and some of the roller derby playing is very rough and there are a few fight scenes on the court. I had wondered at first why the movie wasn't in the YA collection at the library, but perhaps the catalogers thought it was a bit too on the mature side? Definitely a bit of chick flick drama in the film, and a bit of action and adventure as well.

Ideas: This film is based on Shauna Cross' novel, originally published as "Derby Girl" and later re-released under the title "Whip It." Another great example of a novel being adapted to film and great for an in-library, based-on-the-book screening event.