It’s a prank Chicagoans pull on out-of-towners. They’ll take you to an old-school dive and order something called “Malört,” boasting “You can only get this in Chicago.” The stone-faced bartender pours you a yellow-green shot. Your friend watches you expectantly. You raise the glass and taste—

“Pepper, then basement,” some report. “A baby aspirin wrapped in grapefruit, bound with rubber bands and soaked in cheap gin,” say others. Or even the flavor of “tonight’s the night you fight your dad.” Its terrible taste is kind of the point. Comedian John Hodgman would pass around a bottle of Malört at his live shows, inviting/daring audience members to take a swig (I was at one of those shows!). Malört suits Chicago’s reputation for cussedness—a perverse badge of civic pride.

Why do I bring this up? Well, I occasionally review books for the Wall Street Journal, and they assigned me to write a review of journalist Josh Noel’s history Malört: The Redemption of a Revered and Reviled Spirit. I really enjoyed it, concluding that “this quirky, enlightening, unexpectedly poignant book isn’t only for aficionados of the offbeat Chicago liquor, but fans of stubborn underdogs everywhere.” You can read the complete review here.

(By the way, I drank some Malört again when I was writing that review, and it’s not as godawful as it used to be. Had I grown hardier with age? No, Malört is just made by a different distiller nowadays, and apparently they’ve tweaked it so that it’s more tolerable. Too bad, in a way.)

In other news, last weekend I spoke on a bunch of panels about Bride of the Tornado and my other books at Indiana Comic Con in Indianapolis. I figured it was time for me to haul my old tornado costume out of the basement! Here I am with Elphaba from Wicked, which seemed appropriate:

I was on a bunch of fun panels, including a fun raucous debate-style smackdown thing called “Battle Of The Tropes.” It’s the brainchild of Literary Hypewoman, aka Stephanie Carr. She moderated the debate; Alana Kay and I were on one team, and Lexi Ryan and Jade Young were on the other team. It was a hoot!

I actually met Literary Hypewoman at the Chicago Entertainment and Comics Expo (C2E2) last year, and she and I did an interview. I had forgotten to post about it! Stephanie writes, “This might be the weirdest interview I’ve ever done, but considering the author wrote the weirdest book I’ve read, it fits.” You be the judge!

I had been invited to do a presentation about David Lynch at the Indianapolis Comic Con, too, but when I arrived in the room, there was no screen! This was too bad, because naturally my presentation involved a lot of clips from his movies and of course Twin Peaks. There were only about fifteen people in the room anyway, so it wasn’t such a big deal, and anyway there’s lots of other things to do at a Comic Con. If you’re curious, I wrote up some of my thoughts of David Lynch here.

I’ve arranged my schedule this year so that I get to take a little bit of a breather from the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival screenings, but I’m looking forward to the next one in Rochester on April 5. See you there!

On Sunday—my birthday, as it happens!—we had the Chicago screening of the 14th annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. My co-host was my usual partner-in-crime Keir Graff, author of The Tiny Mansion and many other great books for kids and adults. Check out the opening song above, with our own debased version of “The Phantom of the Opera,” in which Keir and I leap off the stage and harass the audience!

We did the screening at the Harold Washington Public Library Center, and we had a great crowd—about 180 in all! We called all the filmmakers onstage after the show for a picture. What a talented group!

So let’s look at the movies! The first movie is based on Wanda Gag’s 1929 Newbery Honor Book Millions of Cats, a picture book about an old man and an old woman who want a cat. The old man travels all over the countryside to find a cat, and comes back home with “millions on billions of trillions of cats.” The old couple can’t keep all of the cats, so the cats have a competition to see who is the prettiest, which turns into a giant fight, and they all devour each other until only one cat is left!

The Leland Street Players of Chicago tell the story in the style of the movie Jaws—specifically, as a shot-by-shot remake of the scene in which all the crew members are having a good time comparing their scars and tattoos, which leads to the crusty sea captain Quint’s legendary speech about the shark attack after the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Come for the dead-on Robert Shaw impression, stay for the crazy cat attack at the end:

Okay, full disclosure, that’s my daughter Lucy as Quint, and her friends Ella and Lucy D. as Brody and Hooper, respectively, with Joy and my other daughter Ingrid as the marauding cats. C’mon, you’ve got to let me make my own 90-Second Newbery movies while my kids are still kids! Splendid performances from everyone.

Ms. Stenger’s 3rd Grade Class from Washington Irving Elementary School in Oak Park, working with Joseph Lewis (aka “Captain Famous”), submitted this splendid adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s 2004 Medal Winner The Tale of Despereaux:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “I loved all the kid-drawn background illustrations that set the scenes so well: at the castle, in the dungeons, in the kitchen, and more . . . I liked how there were three Princesses Pea, which not only gave more actors a chance to shine, but also made her character more interesting to watch . . . all of the performances were strong and charismatic and full of life, from Despereaux starting meek and developing into a heroic character, to Roscuro’s finger-twiddling malevolence, to Miggery Sow’s goofy energy, to all the other rodents and royalty.”

Play In A Book worked with the The 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students from the South Shore Fine Arts Academy in this electrifying adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 2009 Medal Winner The Graveyard Book, featuring a fantastic choreographed dance number:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This impressive movie really nailed the mood of the book, with a combination of spooky costumes and makeup, occasional creepy computer graphics, and scary music—from the ominous background music to the amazing choreographed dance scene of ‘Thriller,’ complete with amazing flips and cartwheels by the young dancers! . . . A stone-cold classic, well done!”

Play In A Book also worked with the fifth graders of Harold Washington Elementary to make their own adaptation of Tale of Despereaux—done in the style of YouTube!

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Engaging, charismatic performances! . . . The various types of YouTube shows worked well to tell the story: for instance, in ‘Top Chef’ style when Roscuro the rat falls in the soup (with the king deadpanning in a YouTube-influencer way ‘Hello subscribers, as you know the queen is dead’), a ‘Get Ready With Me’ makeup video with Princess Pea, Furlough as a Tiktok gamer streamer, and a fight commentary show when Despereaux combats the cat . . . But the best thing about this movie was the acting: Despereaux’s earnest chivalry, Furlough’s amusing swagger, Princess Pea’s and Miggory Sow’s totally committed and charismatic performances, and more.”

90-Second Newbery veterans Laurel, Frances, and Thuan are back again with this glorious adaptation of Maia Wojciechowska 1964 Medal Winner Shadow of a Bull:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Brilliant! . . . I really enjoyed the comically over-the-top acting, such as Manolo’s reaction when his father dies. The running joke about there being two ‘Juans’ was snarky fun, as well as when Manolo’s wig comes off in his enthusiastic speech about wanting to be a doctor . . . The highlights were the ludicrous bullfighting scenes, especially since the ‘bull’ was just a red stuffed pig hilariously much smaller than any of the actors, so it is casually tossed around, punched, kicked, stomped on, and flung across the room!”

The next movie is an adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s 2001 Honor Book Because of Winn-Dixie, but this one is done as a musical, using the songs from Wicked! It’s by Joy, Lola, Zola, Maliya, Livy, and Jimmy Moon (the dog), and it’s a doozy:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “There was fantastic singing and acting throughout this movie, and a star turn by ‘Jimmy Moon’ as the dog! The lyrics to the various songs were cleverly rewritten to match the plot of the book, and there was even fun dance choreography during the party scene.”

Mack and Archie of Elk Grove are back again with another movie, this time of Marguerite Henry’s 1949 Medal Winner King of the Wind:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “The performances were full of energy and charisma, with fun broad acting, like when Agba cries after the French king says ‘pee-yew!’ and sends him away, or the way the ‘King of England’ struts around after putting the medal on Sham (with some amusing difficulty, I might add) . . . This movie was made with so much elaborate artistry, clever camera trickery, and charismatic performances—fantastic work!”

The Science and Arts Academy in Des Plaines had four movies featured at the screening. This first one, by Stella and Aliya, is another adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “It was the sincere performances of Opal and her various friends that made this movie so entertaining. I was also impressed by the adroit cinematography and editing, which framed the shots well and kept the story moving at an efficient clip . . . Heartfelt, skillfully made, and entertaining.”

Also from the Science and Arts Academy, Ellie, Clara, Grace, Greta, Naomi, Priyanka, Sophie and friends did this impressive version of The Tale of Despereaux:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “What a stylish, rapid, and well-made movie this is! . . . All the performances were engaging and charismatic, from Despereaux’s open-hearted chivalry to Roscuro’s satisfyingly evil leer. I also loved how you really went for it with the tail-getting-cut-off scene, with the cook holding up the severed tail in victory! . . . This movie told the story efficiently and accurately, with entertaining performances and lots of ingenious filmmaking, set design, and costumes!”

Here’s another one from the Science and Art Academy: the “Cookies” story from Arnold Lobel’s 1973 Honor Book Frog and Toad Together, by Nate and Roarke!

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “I loved the sincere and heartfelt performances by Frog and Toad. The cinematography was inventive and thoughtful, especially the overhead shots when they’re dumping cookies into the box, or getting the box open again . . . Gently humorous and ingeniously made!”

Finally from the Science and Art Academy, Anna, Charlotte, Erin, and Kennedy made this movie of Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s 1968 Honor Book The Egypt Game:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Effective use of posed Playmobil figures, Lego sets, and occasional hand-drawn elements to tell the story! . . . The script zipped through the main plot points quickly and satisfyingly, and the voiceover performances brought a lot of life to the characters (favorite line: ‘You’re not my babysitter! You’re a visitor!’).”

For the past few years, Lily Manning has made amazing stop-motion movies for the 90-Second Newbery movies. This year, she got her family together for a live-action movie adapting Isaac Bashevis Singer’s 1968 Honor Book The Fearsome Inn:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “All of the performances were committed, engaging, and quite funny! The script was tight and told the story in such a way that the audience could understand what was going on even if they hadn’t read the original book, a feat which can be tough to pull off . . . I loved the resourceful green-screen explosion for when the demonic innkeepers vanish, too! This movie was funny, entertaining, and well-made throughout … another Manning triumph!”

We also had some great movies from Lincoln Hall Middle School, but unfortunately none of the filmmakers were able to make it to the screening. However, I highly recommend Sia, Yianni, Eleni, and Hylan’s adaptation of Lois Lowry’s 1994 Medal Winner The Giver, as well as Aaron and Miles’ adaptation of Jason Reynolds’ 2018 Honor Book Long Way Down and Aamir, Noah, and Charles’ adaptation of Kwame Alexander’s 2015 Medal Winner The Crossover. Lots of talent at Lincoln Hall Middle School!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the screening on Sunday. Thanks particularly to Keir Graff for being a great co-host, Alexa Hamilton and everyone at the Chicago Public Library for their support and letting us use the beautiful Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, Leland and Dan for their pro work in the tech booth, and of course all to the young filmmakers who created the movies, and the teachers, librarians, and families who helped them! Here’s to next year!

Oh and one last thing: the 90-Second Newbery relies entirely on private donations and grants to keep going. It’s only through your generosity that we can continue bringing our free public screenings and book-to-movie workshops to libraries and schools nationwide. You can make your (tax-deductible!) donation here. Donations are handled through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.

This past Saturday was the second show of our fourteenth season of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! We did it at the Treehouse Children’s Museum in Ogden, Utah, co-hosted by me and Keir Graff, author of The Tiny Mansion and many other great books for kids and adults. Check out our opening skit above, with our hectoring and demented version of “Phantom of the Opera”!

The locally-made movies that we featured this year were made back in July 2024 at the Treehouse Children’s Museum’s weeklong 90-Second Newbery camp, which you can read about here. Some of the young filmmakers joined Keir on me onstage after the show:

Let’s check out those movies made at the Treehouse! They are always particularly enjoyable not only because of the talent of the young filmmakers, but also because the Treehouse has so many sets and costumes available to make the movies look really good.

The first movie is based on Louis Sachar’s 1999 Newbery Medal Winner Holes. The original book is about Stanley Yelnats, a boy with a curse on his family. One day expensive shoes fall out of the sky onto Stanley’s head, and he is falsely arrested for stealing the shoes. He is sentenced to Camp Green Lake, a desert prison camp where the warden makes boys dig holes all day looking for lost treasure. Stanley makes friends with a boy named Zero. They rebel against digging holes and run away into the desert, where they break the curse afflicting Stanley’s family, and dig up the treasure the warden had been searching for . . . which rightfully belongs to Stanley!

We always encourage kids to put a twist on their retellings of the story. So in this movie, instead of the boy Stanley Yelnats, it’s a girl “Starley Yelrats.” Instead of shoes falling on their head, it’s a fancy dress and a teacup. And instead of going to a work prison camp where boys are forced to dig holes, Starley is sent to a young ladies’ finishing school where the girls are forced to drink 50 cups of tea a day. It’s by the group of Bennett, Crewe, Beatrice, and Hannah, with help from the rest of the campers. I give you: TEACUPS!

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Another movie with an original twist that is executed with thoroughness and wit . . . and there’s a lot more swordfighting in this movie than in the original book! An original premise, hilarious performances, and masterful fencing all combine to make a winner of a movie!”

The next movie is based on E.B. White’s 1953 Newbery Honor Book Charlotte’s Web. Now, the original story is about a runt pig, Wilbur, who is saved from the ax by kind farmgirl Fern. Wilbur has self-esteem issues, and he is eventually sent to Fern’s uncle’s farm, where he doesn’t fit in with the other animals—and he’s terrified he’s going to be slaughtered and made into bacon. But a kind spider named Charlotte sees the worth in him, and she weaves words into her web above Wilbur’s pigsty, like SOME PIG and RADIANT and TERRIFIC, that convince everyone Wilbur is indeed a special pig. But at the end, Charlotte dies . . . pretty sad and dark for a kids book!

This one is done in the style of a cheesy 90s sitcom like Friends or Seinfeld, and it’s by the group of KateLyn, Kaitlyn, Georgia, Ethan, and Beau, with help from the other campers.

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “An original and fun premise! . . . There were very funny performances from everyone. I loved all the classic sitcom touches, like the canned audience reactions, the Seinfeld slap bass for scene transitions, and the opening credits with the Friends theme song . . . with rewritten lyrics! I was also very amused by the meta touch of the shell-shocked studio audience at the end.”

The third 90-Second Newbery movie from the Treehouse this year is based on Richard and Florence Atwater’s 1939 Newbery Honor Book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. The original story is about Mr. Popper, who sends a fan letter to an Antarctic explorer, and unexpectedly receives back a shipment of a male penguin as a surprise gift. This leads to the zoo sending the Popper family a female penguin, which results in lots of baby penguins. To make ends meet, Mr. and Mrs. Popper train the penguins to dance and do tricks, and they take their show on the road.

This movie tells the story from a different angle: as a 1940s detective noir movie in which a private eye is trying to figure out where all the penguins are coming from . . . complete with black-and-white camerawork, hardboiled voiceover, a plot with lots of double-crossing, and one of the weirdest covers of Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” that I’ve ever heard. It’s by the group of Parker, Jacob, Delphine, and Wren:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “A crackerjack premise, tight script, brilliant and funny performances, and great camerawork and editing made this one shine. It really nailed the noir tone, and those CGI penguins dancing are both goofy and strangely ominous to me!”

If you want to check out the other movies we featured that day, here are links to all of them:

1. In The Beginning: Creation Stories From Around the World (Virginia Hamilton, 1989 Honor Book) by Tristan Stephan

2. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O’Brien, 1972 Medal Winner) by Elephant and Worm

3. Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson, 1973 Newbery Honor) by Alannah, Gretchen, Isabella, and Catherine of Saint Mary Magdalen School

4. Holes (Louis Sachar, 1999 Medal Winner) by Bennett, Crewe, Beatrice, Hannah, and Friends at the Treehouse Children’s Museum

5. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White, 1953 Honor Book) by Emily Bonilla, Emily Berry, Alithea G., Aylin C., and Michelle P. of North Bergen S.T.E.A.M. Academy

6. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White, 1953 Honor Book) by KateLyn, Georgia, Ethan, Beau, and the other Kaitlyn, and Friends of the Treehouse Museum

7. The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure (William Bowen, 1922 Honor Book) by Portland Community Media

8. Millions of Cats (Wanda Gag, 1929 Honor Book) by Leland Street Players

9. Mr. Popper’s Penguins (Richard and Florence Atwater, 1939 Honor Book) by Parker, Jacob Delphine, and Wren of the Treehouse Museum

10. An American Plague (Jim Murphy, 2004 Honor Book) by Max Lau and Jennings Mergenthal

11. Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O’Dell, 1961 Medal Winner) by Adalynn, Crewe, Cy, and Friends of the Treehouse Museum

12. Frog and Toad Together (Arnold Lobel, 1973 Honor Book) by Fletch and Otto

Thanks so much to the Treehouse for putting this on and supporting the film festival. Thanks especially to the support and energy of Lynne Goodwin, Wes Whitby, and Rob Goodwin, and everyone at the Treehouse Children’s Museum. Thanks particularly to Caden and Will for helping make all these movies at the Treehouse 90-Second Newbery workshop this past summer.

And thanks most of all to the young filmmakers who created the movies! I hope you’re inspired to make a movie for next year. Anyone can do it. The movies are due in January 2026, but you can turn them in any time. You can find complete details about the film festival, including tips on how to make your own movies, at the 90-Second Newbery website.

And by the way, the 90-Second Newbery relies entirely on private donations and grants to keep going. It’s only through your generosity that we can continue bringing our free public screenings and book-to-movie workshops to libraries and schools nationwide. You can make your (tax-deductible!) donation here. Donations are handled through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.