My Favorite Story

Time after time, I find classic storybooks such a pleasure to read and share with children. I even find them a joy to read on my own because they let my imagination go back to the time I was a child and sat amongst a group of other children, listening to our school librarian read a tale or two from these classics.

One of my favorites is The Three Little Pigs. It's the kind of story that you just recognize when you hear (the familiar lines): Little Pig, little pig, let me come in! (And the familiar response:) Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!

Of course, we all know that the original version had the three little pigs who each built a different kind of house that withstood various amounts of force, particularly the force of the big bad wolf's ferocious breath (and I don't mean the amount of odor!). The first little pig built a house of straw, the second of wood (or sticks), and the third of bricks. Little did we realize as children, there were subtle lessons being taught by each pig's choice of material and by the personality of the pig that chose a particular material. There were lessons of perseverance, of patience, of wisdom, and other things being taught to us in stories like The Three Little Pigs.

As much as I have heard these stories and read them myself, I never tire of them. And it's kind of funny sometimes, when I come across a version where the tale has been slightly altered to arouse a sense of humor in different folks.


The funniest version I heard was the one where The Three Little Pigs were just too quick to assume that the Big Bad Wolf was really mean, when in fact, all he wanted was to borrow a cup of sugar from his new neighbors. Who would've imagined that?


I wanted to share a couple of interesting Three Little Pigs sites that I came across on the web. Check out this learning site I found which includes a printable version of the story as well as a little quiz that can be helpful in exercising one's comprehension skills:

Enchanted Learning.Com

If you have RealPlayer installed on your computer, here's an online storybook with audio that you can enjoy:

Mansfield/Richland County Public Library's Online Storytime

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Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

There was not a single boring moment in this CGI film animation. If you're an adult watching it you'd feel like a kid enjoying it. And if you're a kid watching it, you'd find it hard to keep the excitement to yourself, especially while you watch this film in 3D. I got to see the IMAX version this week-end with my children and we just had an absolute blast. My 28-year old sister and our mom also watched with us and they enjoyed it just as much.


I don't want to say too much about the movie that might spoil it for those who haven't watch it yet but there were so many hilarious moments that just reminded me about the way we all are in our own lives, especially in the way the younger generation and older generation treat each other.

In one of my favorite scenes, you see how Flint's father (a fisherman who's never touched a computer to save his life) reacted when Flint told him he desperately needed him (Flint's dad) to email a file from his (Flint's) computer to his cell phone. With his dad on the phone in Flint's lab while Flint was up in the clouds, Flint had to instruct his dad step by step on how to send the email. Reminded me of how I had to instruct my mom over the phone on how to log in to Facebook and navigate her way. It was quite a trying experience (to put it mildly).


For those who, like me, read the original children's book that this movie was based upon - yes, there were definitely deviations from the original story. But the deviations were not bad at all. In fact, I think they made the movie very interesting and very easy to relate to for viewers of all ages. I give the movie "two thumbs up" because it's truly worth seeing, especially if you want to have fun.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

The Tale of Despereaux

I watched The Tale of Despereaux on DVD yesterday afternoon with my children, my sisters, and other members of our families. My sister actually had brought the DVD over to our house so we could watch it together during for my son's birthday gathering.

I really enjoyed the movie. Remember how I mentioned that I liked CGI animations? Many of them are done so well that I wonder if the creators just find people whose voices matched the characters so perfectly or if they model the characters after the people who do the voices. (If anyone knows the answer, please tell me...I'm really curious!).

Unlike the movies Twilight, Interview with the Vampire, the Da Vinci Code, and The Notebook (which were all based on novels) I didn't get to read this particular book before watching the movie. So when I watched this movie, I was expecting a sad but cute story about a mouse with big ears. That expectation was only partially true. While the movie centered around the cute mouse with Dumbo-like ears, the storyline was really more about overcoming challenges imposed by physical appearances. I'm going to have to read the booknow to find out how it compares to the movie.

Until I get the chance to read it, I recommend watching the movie. It was very touching and inspiring. I think viewers of all ages would enjoy the movie. My family certainly did.

***Be sure to check out The Tale of Despereaux Movie Tie-In: The Deluxe Storybook for more fun with your family!