One of the most satisfying things for me about running the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival for the past 15 years has been watching the progress of young filmmakers over time. One of the most spectacular examples of this is Eian-Gabriel Sinclair of Rochester, New York.

I first received a 90-Second Newbery movie from Eian in 2016, when he was nine years old. The movie was of Allison McGhee’s Firefly Hollow—which actually isn’t a Newbery book, but whatever! Almost every year since, Eian has submitted a new stop-motion or animated movie to the 90-Second Newbery. And every year, they’re more and more impressive!

After the 90-Second Newbery screening in Rochester earlier this month, Carol White Llewelyn of Communivision Studio interviewed Eian about his experiences with the 90-Second Newbery. Carol did a fantastic job, and Eian came across really well. Check out the interview above!

A fun fact: I wrote Eian a letter of recommendation when he applied to the Rochester Institute of Technology at fourteen years old. Eian is now 18 years old, and a college graduate from RIT . . . summa cum laude!

To recognize Eian’s splendid work from throughout the years, I gathered all his videos for the 90-Second Newbery in one place. He really is an incredible talent. Enjoy!

Eian’s latest entry from 2025—mentioned in the interview above—was based on Russell Freedman’s 1988 Newbery Medal Winner Lincoln: A Photobiography. I always encourage 90-Second Newbery filmmakers to put a twist on the original material, and here Lincoln himself ably makes the case that Rochesterian Frederick Douglass deserves to be on Mount Rushmore:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “I loved the painstaking, ingenious way that this movie makes the Presidents squabble and interact—Eian-Gabriel’s clay faces are better actors than some professionals I could name! (At times they remind me of Statler and Waldorf, the two old hecklers in the balcony on The Muppet Show.) Great voiceover performances really seal the deal.”

In 2024, Eian adapted Katherine Applegate’s 2013 Newbery Medal Winner The One and Only Ivan in the style of the movie King Kong:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Entertaining and adroit . . . The background music and voiceover narration were artful and felt period-specific, as well as the black-and-white cinematography. I thought it was clever how it swapped out the roaring lion in the iconic Twentieth Century Fox logo for a fluidly animated Ivan the gorilla.”

In 2021, Eian adapted Hugh Lofting’s 1923 Newbery Medal Winner The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “I love the attention to detail in this movie: the spot-on olde-tymey news bulletin fanfare, the lifelike way the dog’s tail wags (and then the dog adjusts the radio with its paw—very Gromit-esque!), the fluid camera work as the shot drifts from the dog to Doctor Dolittle himself . . . I was charmed and nostalgic when he brought out the clay figurines from his previous entries to the 90-Second Newbery—I’m glad to see those old friends, even though time has not been kind to them (‘They’re cute little zombies, aren’t they?’ quips Dolittle as one of their heads falls off).”

In 2020, Eian adapted Wanda Gag’s 1929 Newbery Honor Book Millions of Cats into “Millions of Blob Monsters”!

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “The blob monsters were so cute and fun to watch. I particularly liked when, at the climax, they were devouring each other and canceling each other out! But of course the funniest part was when the blob monster ate the candle, and then ate the old man and the old woman . . . and then the old couple revolted against that ending, and forced it into an ending they preferred!”

In 2019, Eian adapted Arnold Lobel’s 1973 Newbery Honor Book Frog and Toad Together in a “medieval times” style:

The judges said in part (complete review here): “From the very beginning this movie inspires confidence, with the beautifully drawn titles that even feature animated singing mouths . . . You can really feel the frustration of Toad as he jumps up and down, desperately sings, and flies into a tantrum when the plant won’t grow quickly enough for him. The voice acting is also amazing . . . especially the behind-the-scenes bit at the end, where Frog complains about not getting enough lines — hilarious!”

In 2018, Eian adapted William Steig’s 1983 Newbery Honor Book Doctor DeSoto:

As the judges said (full review here), “I was blown away by the painstakingly elaborate illustrations throughout . . . The fox is particularly impressively animated, with so many fun-to-watch sequences, like when he’s scooting on his knees to beg to Dr. DeSoto, or licking his chops in anticipation of a meal, or when his jaw trembles when he can’t open his mouth. The script is tight and tells the story accurately and wittily: ‘I’ve been outfoxed by a mouse!’ I was also impressed by how all of the original music was composed and played by Eian.”

In 2017, Eian adapted Richard and Florence Atwater’s 1939 Newbery Honor Book Mr. Popper’s Penguins:

As the judges wrote in part, “A tour de force! This movie was amazingly well-drawn and cleverly animated . . . Tight script, expressive voiceover, and the music was charming.” Read the full review here.

In 2016, Eian adapted Matt de la Pena’s 2016 Medal Winner Last Stop on Market Street:

So says the 90-Second Newbery blog: “The clay figures were impressive, full of intimate character and detail, and animated with lifelike subtlety (the toe-tapping during the music, the wriggling of the dog, the little smile on the guitar player when people clap for him)!”

And here is the movie that started it all, based on Alison McGhee’s (non-Newbery-winning) Firefly Hollow:

I loved the charming and painstaking stop-motion animation with the beautifully-crafted clay figures. And the original music was quite well-done too! Even though this was his first movie that Eian made when he was nine, you can see the seeds of future greatness.

What an incredible run! The 90-Second Newbery has been lucky to have Eian-Gabriel Sinclair making movies for us for nearly the past decade. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do in his career going forward! I expect great things.

Thank you, Eian, for all the great movies and memories!

And I will always cherish this caricature than Eian made of me in 2019:

Please keep the 90-Second Newbery going by making your tax-deductible donation here! Donations are handled through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.

This past Saturday, April 5, we screened the 14th annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival in Rochester, New York! It was co-hosted by me and legendary kids’ author Bruce Coville, and we filled up the Dryden Theater at the George Eastman Museum with an enthusiastic audience of about 260 people. Here’s our opening skit, in which Bruce and I sing our own 90-Second Newbery Newbery-damaged version “The Phantom of the Opera.” And then I run out into the audience and harass some families. Fun! I always love getting on stage with Bruce!

Thanks to our sponsors, The Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library, Genesee Valley BOCES, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Irondequoit Public Library, Cheshire Audio Visual, and Animatus Studio! Thanks also to Eliza Kozlowski and Suzanne Kolodziej at the George Eastman Museum for letting us use the beautiful Dryden Theater and to Nicole Diroff and Winna Carrasco for handling projection. And special thanks to Carol White Llewellyn at CommuniVision Studio for her work promoting 90-Second Newbery, and to Deb Ross for bringing the film festival to Rochester in the first place, and to our media sponsor KidsOutAndAbout.com!

Here are all the young filmmakers onstage at the end of the show:

One of those young filmmakers was Eian-Gabriel Sinclair. I first received a 90-Second Newbery from Eian-Gabriel in 2016. Year after year since, he has consistently been making stop-motion movies for the 90-Second Newbery, with greater and greater skill and sophistication. When he was 14 he applied to the Rochester Institute of Technology, and I wrote him a letter of recommendation. Now he’s 18 years old, and has graduated from RIT summa cum laude! What an amazing achievement! Here I am with Eian-Gabriel and his family:

Let’s check out Eian-Gabriel’s movie for this year: an adaptation of Russell Freedman’s 1988 Newbery Medal Winner Lincoln: A Photobiography, but with a twist. It ably makes the case that Rochester’s own Frederick Douglass deserves his own place next to Lincoln on Mount Rushmore! And it’s done entirely in elaborate Claymation. Check it out:

Astonishing, right? As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This one is possibly his best movie yet . . . I loved the painstaking, ingenious way that this movie makes the Presidents squabble and interact—Eian-Gabriel’s clay faces are better actors than some professionals I could name! (At times they remind me of Statler and Waldorf, the two old hecklers in the balcony on The Muppet Show.) Great voiceover performances really seal the deal.”

Last year Opal and her family did an impressive stop-motion version of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. This year Opal is back with Edna and friends to do a mixed live-action / stop-motion adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s 2004 Newbery Medal Winner The Tale of Despereaux:

A triumph! As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This movie worked so well because its admirable attention to detail, like the fussy little furnished rooms where the mice had their meetings, and the occasional well-chosen soundtrack music, and the resourceful costumes and props such as crown, food, guitar, etc.. But the best thing about this movie were the bombastic and enthusiastic performances.”

The Penfield Public Library in Penfield, NY turned in this satisfyingly clever adaptation of E.L. Konigsburg’s 1968 Newbery Medal Winner From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, in which Claudia and Jamie run away not to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but rather to a “Villains School” run by the sinister “Headmistress Frankweiler”:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “From the very beginning I knew this would be good, with a snappy title card and tense spy-movie music. The voiceover did an effective job of making everything clear—the important characters, their situation, and the twist—so that the movie can concentrate on the truly fun stuff, like watching Claudia and Jamie sneak around the Villains School and foil Headmistress Frankweiler’s dastardly plans . . . A wonderfully entertaining and impressive adaptation of the book!”

I received four adaptations of Katherine Paterson’s 1978 Medal Winner Bridge to Terabithia from Rochester this year. This first one is by Hayley, Everette, Eliana, Mason, Emma, Kayden, Braxton, Zoe, Sydney, and Elijah of Bernabi Elementary School in Spencerport:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Jesse and Leslie had a believable chemistry, and I appreciated watching Jesse’s arc from skeptic to believer in Terabithia . . . The script was tight and told the story elegantly . . . I especially liked the montage when Jesse and Leslie are fighting the Terabithian monsters while rock music plays—brilliant! This movie told the story straightforwardly, clearly, and entertainingly.”

Here’s another version of Bridge to Terabithia, but this one is by Coleman, Sean, Olivia, Jackson, and Harper of Taylor Elementary School in Spencerport:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “A fun and original twist: instead of Jesse and Leslie going to an imaginary realm in the woods they call ‘Terabithia,’ they go to the moon! . . . I was amused by the inclusion of the 1980s song ‘Jesse’s Girl’ (I can’t believe it, but this is the first 90-Second Newbery I’ve received that uses that iconic and appropriate song!) . . . I loved the PSA-style ending (‘Just don’t forget your space helmet, kids!’) and I’m glad that Bess the cow got her cameo at the end (complete with an assertive MOO!).”

Here’s yet another movie based on Bridge to Terabithia, also from Taylor Elementary School, this time by Marco, Chad, Todd, Ethan, and Xander:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This one had a concept and a title so funny I can’t believe nobody’s thought of it before: The Witch Under the Bridge to Terror-Bithia! There was a clever use of green screen throughout, especially how it seemed like they were walking ‘across’ the bridge while in fact only walking up the stairs where the green screen was . . . Entertaining and satisfyingly weird!”

This final version of Bridge to Terabithia is also by Taylor Elementary School, and it’s by Zoey, Joey, Nessa, Hunter, and Eli:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Funny and inventive . . . Terabithia is in fact inhabited by malicious rock-throwing ninjas, and by building a ‘bridge to Terabithia,’ Jesse has given those ninjas the ability to take over the world, eventually causing the entire planet to explode! Insane and creative . . . The best parts by far were the ebullient and hilarious performances, which made this movie particularly fun to watch!”

Also from Taylor Elementary is this version of Katherine Applegate’s 2013 Newbery Medal Winner The One and Only Ivan, by Otto, Luka, Takoda, Paulina, Sean, Olivia, Amelia, and Kennedy:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This was an ingenious twist on the original story: instead of humans keeping animals in a shoddy zoo, this is about animal jailers keeping humans in an abusive prison! And in the most significant twist, instead of Ivan being a noble, big-hearted silverback gorilla who figures out how to free his friends, he’s a petty tyrant who relishes being the merciless warden of the prison! . . . The acting was often very good, in particular the way Julia breaks down crying, or Ivan’s cruel pronouncements (‘I don’t care! They’re prisoners and they deserve to be punished for it!’).”

Canal View Elementary made this version of Tae Keller’s 2021 Newbery Medal Winner When You Trap a Tiger:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “I was on board right from the start when I realized the goofy twist—instead of catching a tiger, it’s catching a cow! . . . The acting and performances were outstanding: Lily’s querulous and jumpy nature, Sam’s dismissive, screen-ager vibe, the mother’s soft-spoken kindness, Ricky’s sweet enthusiasm, the tiger’s gruff mysteriousness, and of course Halmoni, with her fun wardrobe choices: old-lady glasses, cane, and loud flowery clothes . . . Great work!”

Canal View Elementary also made an adaptation of Erin Entrada Kelly’s 2018 Newbery Medal Winner Hello Universe:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Speedy, true to the book, and heartfelt! The acting in this movie was great, and everyone had a chance to shine: Virgil’s character growth from the meek pushover at the beginning to the resolute escapee, the convincingly sadistic bully Chet, Kai’s calm confidence, Valencia’s sympathetic nature, and more . . . I was impressed by the split-screen scene, in which Virgil and Valencia, filling out the same questionnaire in different rooms, trade lines in a way that artfully demonstrates the connection between the characters.”

Jalyssa, Allison, Lily, Ryan, and Addisyn of Munn Elementary School did this movie of Kevin Henkes’s 2014 Honor Book The Year of Billy Miller:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This realistic and authentic-feeling movie worked well because of the strength of the performances . . . Billy’s performance grounded the movie and made the emotions of this story really come alive, in particular during subtle moments like the way Billy’s face changes after he says ‘the glitter in the cave is supposed to be minerals’ to his teacher . . . Fun to watch, hewed pretty close to the book, and had admirably restrained and realistic acting!”

And finally, here’s Jerry Spinelli’s 1991 Newbery Medal Winner Maniac Magee by Jack, Samson, and Blake of Honeoye Falls-Lima School:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This fast, earnest retelling of the story did a solid job of zipping through the book’s basic plot points through a combination of live action and onscreen text . . . A nimble, entertaining movie!”

And that was the Rochester 2025 90-Second Newbery! If you’re looking for the other movies we featured that day, here they are:

• Millions of Cats in the style of Jaws by the Leland Street Players
• Holes at an all-girls finishing school by the Treehouse Museum
• 26 Fairmount Avenue as a musical by Grant Center for Expressive Arts
• Doctor Desoto with a vampire by Grant Center for Expressive Arts
• Charlotte’s Web with a vengeful Charlotte by North Bergen S.T.E.A.M. Academy
• The Old Tobacco Shop with puppets and stop-motion by Portland Community Media

Thanks to all to the young filmmakers who created the movies, and the teachers, librarians, and families who helped them . . . and thanks to everyone in the great crowd who came out for the show! Here’s to next year. Remember, you can get started on your movies right now, and turn them in anytime. Deadline is January 2026!

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.

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!