The San Antonio screening is different than in other cities because H-E-B awards cash prizes to the best films and the runners-up. We also have special awards for specific categories, like Best Special Effects or Best Cinematography!

Let’s check out some of those winning movies! First Place for “Best Film From A Middle School or High School” and “Best Storytelling From A Middle School or High School” was won by by Juarez E., Carlos M., Jerusalem C., Menorah C., and Gabriella A. of the Advanced Learning Academy, for an adaptation of Ellen Raskin’s 1979 Medal Winner The Westing Game in the style of The Squid Game:

Juarez and his team have won First Place many times before—he’s a 90-Second Newbery MVP, and you can see why in the movie above! Check out the judges’ commentary here (a sample: “The visual storytelling in this movie was on-point, with slick split-screens of the various contestants, the suitcase full of cash, and more. I appreciated the appropriate background music, and I chuckled at how Sam Westing’s disguise was just a simple fake mustache that somehow fooled everyone”).

There might have been some strong-arming of the judges involved.

The runners-up for “Best Film From a Middle School or High School” are Jerry Craft’s 2020 Medal Winner New Kid by Harris Middle School (Second Place), Rebecca Stead’s 2010 Medal Winner When You Reach Me by CAST Tech High School (Third Place), and Jason Reynolds’ 2018 Honor Book Long Way Down by Southwest High School Dragon Book Club (Honorable Mention). Click the links to watch the movies, and see what the judges have to say!

There was a tie for first place for “Best Film By An Elementary School.” One of the winners was the Ayele Family’s version of Alice Dalgliesh’s 1953 Honor Book The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (it also won “Best Costume from an Elementary School”):

As the judges said, “There were so many entertaining moments in this movie, like the ‘subtle foreshadowing’ part, the way that the main character sang ‘there are no bears on hemlock mountain’ while walking through a green-screened animated winter wonderland, and even the aunt’s thought balloon ‘She didn’t get attacked by bears??’. . . Fun bloopers too!”

Here is the Bears on Hemlock Mountain group getting their cash prize:

The other winner of first place for “Best Movie By An Elementary School” is an adaptation of Jack Gantos’ 2012 Medal Winner Dead End in Norvelt by Johnson Ranch Elemenetary School. (It also tied to win “Best Storytelling From An Elementary School”). Here it is:

As the judges said in part in their review (full version here), “A breakneck-paced, cleverly abbreviated, and stylishly made movie . . . I loved watching Spizz get blown up on his tricycle, or getting ‘ghost-busted’ at the end. Fun, nimble, and entertaining!”

Make sure to catch the runners-up for the “Best Movie By An Elementary School,” including an Honorable Mention for Johnson Ranch Elementary School’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

And Third Place went to this very funny silent-movie version of Cece Bell’s 2015 Honor Book El Deafo by the kids of Rolling Meadows Elementary School 5th Grade Gifted & Talented (it also won”Best Cinematography By An Elementary School”):

As the judges said (full review here), “Appropriately for a story about hearing loss, these filmmakers did it in the style of a silent movie! Here, Cece has a fantasy about using her hearing aid to foil some bank robbers—literally becoming a superhero. But when she comes back to reality, the hearing aid’s microphone is actually just with her nurse in the bathroom, and Cece hears some, um, rather less glamorous noises.”

Speaking of funny movies, awards for both “Excellence in Music Video Award” and “Best Sound From An Elementary School” went to Freiheit Elemenetary School’s movie of Robert C. O’Brien’s 1972 Medal Winner Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, done in the style of a cheesy video for Wilson Phillips’ 90s classic “Hold On”:

As the judges said in part (full review here), “I loved the pensive, deep expressions in the faces of the various singers as they stared into the distance in a meaningful way as they sang, as well as their dramatic gestures. The green screen backgrounds were also perfect cheesy karaoke-video-style backdrops.”

Finally, even though this one is a bit long, I must feature this winner for “Excellence in Creative Interpretation,” an adaptation by the Keystone School of Laura Amy Schlitz’s 2008 Newbery Medal Winner Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, done in a modern municipal office:

As the judges said in part (full review here), “Exemplifies what makes for a great 90-Second Newbery: transforming the original story with a bizarre comedic twist . . . it’s all done in the style of The Office or Modern Family or other mockumentaries, with all the trappings of that genre: the fatuous talking-head interviews, the quick cutaways from a scene to a snide or revealing comment from one of the participants, and even the familiar ‘zoom’ into one of the characters as they look directly into the camera, reacting to what’s happening.”

I’d love to feature all the winning movies in this blog post, but there’s not enough room! But do check out these other movies, listed below. There’s a lot of talent in Texas!

Oh and one last thing: the 90-Second Newbery relies on private donations and grants to keep going. It’s 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.

Excellence in Public Service Awareness

Millions of Cats by Cambridge Elementary School & Juniors from Girl Scout Troop 739 (Sara C., Caitlyn K., Emerson “Pi” O., and Ava T.)

Excellence in Silent Film

Carver: A Life in Poems by Jack Segal Academy 3rd Graders

Excellence in Consequential Conversation

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Southwest ISD (Elias G., Korry H., Tamia M., Divine M., Brandon W., Jazzirae H., Arami G., and Amarika E.)

Best Adaptation (Elementary School)

Carver: A Life in Poems by Jack Segal Academy, in the style of “Peanuts”

Best Adaptation (Middle/High School)

Scorpions by CAST Tech High School

Best Sound (Middle/High School)

New Kid by Harris Middle School

Best Special Effects (Elementary School)

Wringer by Freiheit Elementary School

Best Special Effects (Middle/High School)

The Giver by JSTEM Academy (Jakeen, Jacob, Derrick and Peter)

Best Storytelling (Elementary School)

Tie: Charlotte’s Web by McKinney ISD GT and Dead End in Norvelt by Johnson Ranch Elementary School

Best Costumes (Middle/High School)

Tuck Everlasting by Advanced Learning Academy

Best Cinematography (Middle/High School)

When You Reach Me by CAST Tech High School

Best Animation (Elementary School)

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH from Arlon Seay Elementary School

Best Animation (Middle/High School)

Ginger Pye by CAST Tech High School

Last Friday, we put on a screening the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival at Tacoma, Washington’s Grant Center for the Expressive Arts! This was the final screening of our 2025 season, and it was a doozy. Big thanks to filmmaker and Grant Center teacher Bryan Johnson, who has been a big supporter of the 90-Second Newbery for years. And thanks to my co-host, Tacoma’s own Doug Mackey—in the video above, see him and me sing a Newbery-modified version of “The Phantom of the Opera” to open the show!

And thanks most of all to the kids who made these incredible movies! We called them all up onstage after the show for a picture:

The first video I’d like to feature is based on Dave Eggers’ 2024 Newbery Medal Winner The Eyes and the Impossible, and it’s adapted by Mr. Johnson’s 5th Grade Class from the Grant Center. They did it as remake of the video of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, with the lyrics rewritten to tell the plot of the book, and they nailed it! Dave Eggers even sent them a letter congratulating them on such a great movie. Check it out:

As the judges wrote in part in their review on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This movie has it all: cleverly rewritten lyrics that recount the story wittily and clearly enough so that the audience can understand what’s going on even if they hadn’t read the book, elaborate costumes for the dog, ducks, bison, and other animals in the cast, and winning performances from all the young actors! I particularly liked how the goofy-faced ducks always acted ridiculously whenever they came on the scene.”

Not to be outdone, Mr. Johnson’s K-2 Beyond the Bell filmmaking class at Grant Center made this cute and charming retelling of Wanda Gag’s 1929 Newbery Honor Book Millions of Cats:

As the judges wrote in part in their review on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “A supremely entertaining and adorable adaptation! The various narrators did a compelling job of telling the story in cooperation with the actors’ physical performances and line readings. The energetic, gesticulating way the old woman delivered many of her lines, particularly ‘They must have all ate each other!’ was very fun, as well as the way the actor playing the old man pretended be ‘old’ so vigorously that he nearly toppled over at the beginning! It was an effective and authentic-feeling idea to use backgrounds drawn by the young filmmakers themselves.”

This year, Gig Harbor’s Actorcraft Page Stage and Screen, in partnership with 13 Shot Films, made two standout 90-Second Newbery movies. Check out this beautifully-produced, impressively-acted movie of Neil Gaiman’s 2009 Newbery Medal Winner The Graveyard Book:

As the judges wrote in part in their review on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This was an exceptional movie—with a clever and snappy script, charismatic performances, and professional-level cinematography and editing . . . I really liked the plummily unflappable narrator (especially how he appears at the end with his pipe and smoking jacket with a ruminating, thoughtful expression).”

Actorcraft and 13 Shot Films also made this similarly brilliant movie of Kelly Barnhill’s 2017 Newbery Medal Winner The Girl Who Drank The Moon:

As the judges wrote in part in their review on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “What a beautiful, ingenious, astonishing movie . . . I liked how most of the movie was shot outside, with sets in the forest such as Xan’s hut. This movie had everything going for it: a tight script, great locations and props, resourceful special effects, and superior cinematography and editing . . . but most of all, brilliant and compelling performances from all the actors!”

Every year, I look forward to the movies made by Tacoma homeschoolers Nigel, Simone, Fletcher, Otto, and Hansel. This year they submitted two of them! This first one is based on Marguerite Henry’s 1946 Newbery Honor Book Justin Morgan Had a Horse:

As the judges wrote in part in their review on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), ” I love that this movie adapts an older, lesser-known Newbery book—right away, that makes the entry stand out. And this underdog story of a horse that became one of the greatest breeding stallions of all time, serving as the foundation of the Morgan breed, is particularly exciting to watch because it uses real horses, along with actors who know how to ride . . . Splendid performances from all the young actors . . . and the horses were pretty great actors too! Entertaining, resourceful, and impressive.”

Every year this same group submits a movie based on a vignette from one of the Frog and Toad books by Newbery Honor winner Arnold Lobel. This year was no different, and their movie is based on “Shivers,” in which Frog tells a nervous Toad a ghost story about the Old Dark Frog who eats children for dinner, and freaks Toad out with the spooky story about the Old Dark Frog. But this version has a twist: Frog and Toad learn that the Old Dark Frog isn’t that scary after all, and he turns out to be a kind teacher who teaches them how to make fire! (And indeed, that teacher is played by their longtime homeschool teacher.)

So here is “Shivers,” as adapted by Nigel, Simone, Fletcher, Otto, Hansel, and Mr. Mathew:

I had dinner with the whole family after the show, and they were just as delightful in real life as they are onscreen!

The final locally-produced movie I’d like to feature is made by Rainier Elementary School at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It’s based on Eleanor Estes’ 1952 Newbery Medal Winner Ginger Pye:

As the judges wrote in part in their review on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “An inventive and surprising retelling of the story! Here, there are not one but two animals: the dog Ginger Pye, and also Curious George! Just as in the original book, the animal(s) go missing . . . I was particularly impressed by Elphaba’s elaborate witchy black costume and amazingly green skin! I also loved the big, detailed circus poster. This was a complete transformation of the original story in a fun and creative way, with engaging performances, resourceful props and costumes, and even a goofy ‘trapeze’ performance at the end!”

And that was the Tacoma 2025 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Thanks to Bryan Johnson, Doug Mackey, Grant Center for the Expressive Arts, and of course all the young filmmakers, and the teachers, librarians, and family who helped them. I’m already looking forward 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.

A few weeks ago I was on “Who’s There? A Podcast About Horror Fans”! Hosted by horror fan Allison, it’s “a podcast to talk to horror fans and see exactly why they love this genre the way they do.” I really enjoyed doing this interview! It’s embedded above, or you can listen to it here.

Among other things, I talk about how I was such a wimp about horror as a kid that I was frightened by even the trailer for the Stephen King-directed horror movie Maximum Overdrive. I love the demented way Stephen King casually throws Brian DePalma and Stanley Kubrick under the bus (“A lot of people have directed Stephen King novels and stories. And I finally decided if you want something done right, you oughta do it yourself”) and how he points at the viewer and snarls “I’M GONNA SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU!”

I also talk about ruining a double date with David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers, how horror is like Malört (on my mind because that Malört review I recently wrote), and how companies like Google/Apple/Facebook and Charles Manson’s cult have telling similarities.

I also get to talk about some horror-adjacent favorite movies like Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Upstream Color, Rosemary’s Baby, and It Follows (directed by someone who went to my high school!) as well as my love of Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” (a big influence on my small-town horror novel Bride of the Tornado).

I also refer to the picture below. It’s of one of the first audiences of the 1979 movie Alien, seeing the infamous “chestbuster” scene for the first time. I want to be best friends with the bearded man in the upper left corner.

Anyway, I feel good about this interview. Give it a listen when you have a chance!