Movies can extend an interest to books

In a fit of extreme grandmother-itis, I volunteered to drive our 4-year-old and 2-year-old grandchildren to North Carolina. (Aside: En route, the toddler got a nose bleed and then took the lid off his berry smoothie, which sloshed on his shirt. He was the same size, shape and color as a fire hydrant. But a whole lot noisier.)

The secret to success in such a venture is a portable DVD player, which our older grandson calls his 'movieputer.' His parents (very wisely) limit his TV and movie watching at home, so watching movies is a big, special deal.

Our children were allowed to watch one hour of TV a week, draconian by most standards. I believed (and still do) that almost anything they chose to do was better than watching TV. In my book, 'Ten Tips for Raising Readers,' I summarize a recent study from the University of Washington that 'found that babies ages 6 to 18 months knew an average of six to eight fewer words for every hour of baby DVDs and videos they watched per day.' My conclusion is that DVDs and videos, even the 'educational' variety, are no substitute for books.

'The Tale of Despereaux' by Kate DiCamillo is one of my all-time favorite chapter books for children. When the movie came out, I worried that kids would watch the movie and skip the book. Although I worry about this every time a book-based movie is released, movies actually generate interest in books.

To capitalize on movie-generated buzz, publishers are creating series of books in addition to the original title. 'The Tale of Despereaux' in its original incarnation was written for children ages 7 through middle school. Based on the motion picture screenplay, two picture books are available for children ages 4-8. 'A Hero's Quest' and 'The Mouse and the Princess' are snippets from the movie, illustrated with pictures from the animated movie.

'No Ordinary Mouse' is a short chapter book for beginning readers, also illustrated with pictures from the movie.

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'The Tale of Despereaux: The Graphic Novel' for children ages 8 and up has the advantage of capturing the attention of children who may be reluctant readers. This comic book format by Matt Smith and David Tilton conveys the gist of the story with lots of pictures and very few words.

In my opinion, movie-generated books are of little substance, especially compared with the real book. However, I think these books are worthwhile to introduce the movie and/or to extend interest in the story after children have seen the movie. Anything that ties a movie to a book, or leads children to a book, is a good thing.

Reach Fran Hawk at franbooks@yahoo.com.