On Saturday I did a 90-Second Newbery Film Festival screening at the Rockridge branch of the Oakland Public Library in Oakland, California. In it, I featured highlights of some great movies we’ve received over the past 15 years.

I figured folks might want to see what such a “best-of” screening would be like, so below are the movies I featured! Although they’re all great movies, I chose this particular batch not only for their high quality but to highlight the variety of approaches kids take towards making these movies. Hopefully these videos will inspire people to make their own 90-Second Newberys for future screenings. Adult help is okay, and I’ve put together lots of helpful hints and tips for beginner filmmakers at the 90-Second Newbery website.

Okay, let’s get in to it! Our first movie is based on Robert C. O’Brien’s 1972 Medal Winner Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. It’s about a widowed mouse, Mrs. Frisby, who is raising her mouse children in an old cinder block in a farmer’s field. The field is about to be plowed, so they must move out, but her son Timothy is too sick to be moved!

Mrs. Frisby asks an owl to help her, but the only animals who can do it are the reclusive, superintelligent genetically engineered lab rats who live in the rosebush—who happened to be friends with Mrs. Frisby’s dead husband.

Can the rats help Mrs. Frisby in time? Will Mrs. Frisby learn what happened to the rats in the lab that made them so smart? And most importantly, can Chicago’s Leland Street Players do the book in the musical style of the opening scene of the 2016 movie La La Land?

As you can see, we encourage the filmmakers to put their own distinctive twist on the material. This next movie is one that kicked off the whole film festival—an adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s 1963 Newbery winning book A Wrinkle in Time.

The book is about an awkward teenaged girl Meg who has a five-year-old brother Charles Wallace who is a genius but a little creepy. Their father is being held prisoner on another planet. Three witches show up at Meg’s house. Using a string and an insect, they teach Meg and Charles Wallace how to travel through hyperspace, a process they call a “tesseract.”

Meg, Charles, and Meg’s boyfriend Calvin go to the alien planet, where they find other children bouncing basketballs like zombies because they are controlled by a disembodied brain, and our heroes somehow defeat the brain using . . . the power of love? (I never quite understood the ending of A Wrinkle in Time.) Here it is, packed into 90 seconds—not counting a fun post-credits sequence—by Freya & Friends of Oak Park, IL!

Our next two movies are based on Arnold Lobel’s 1973 Honor Book Frog and Toad Together. It’s five gentle short stories about the mild, low-stakes adventures of best friends Frog and Toad. My favorite is the story “Dragons and Giants,” where Frog and Toad venture out into the forest to see if they’re brave, but they end up running away from the snakes, avalanches, and hawks that threaten them, all while still shouting “I am not afraid!” This next version, by Fuzzy Pizza Productions of Spring Lake, MI, is done entirely with puppets!

That was a straightforward version of Frog and Toad Together, but kids who make 90-Second Newbery movies often like to put a weird twist on the original stories. This next movie is based on the same story from Frog and Toad Together, but in this one, Frog is a marine and Toad is a ninja. The dangers they confront are more intense than gentle woodland inconveniences. Plus, the filmmakers add a whole extra chapter to the original story that is totally bonkers, but in a way, makes sense. Check out this version by Alec and Porter of Hinsdale, IL: Frog and Toad Together as an action movie!

Do you know what the very first Newbery winning book was, way back in 1922? It’s The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon, a history book that purports to compress the story of all of humanity in about 500 pages. Jennings Mergenthal from Tacoma, WA did Hendrik Willem Van Loon one better, and compressed those 500 pages into 90 seconds . . . and entirely in Claymation!

The next movie is based on Lois Lowry’s 1994 Medal winner The Giver, which is set in a future dystopian community where there is no pain and no conflict—but also no color, no emotion, and your job is chosen for you at age 12. Our hero Jonas is chosen for a special job: to be the “Receiver of Memory.” Jonas must spend time with the Giver, an old man who gives Jonas all the memories from before everything became safe and boring. But when Jonas finds out some dark secrets about this would-be utopia, he takes his baby brother Gabe and escapes.

This one is done as a one-man show by Leo Lion of Brooklyn, NY!

The next movie is based on Florence and Richard Atwater’s 1939 Honor Book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. It’s about Mr. Popper, who sends a fan letter to Antarctic explorer Admiral Drake, who responds with a surprise gift of a male penguin. This leads to the Popper family getting a female penguin from the zoo, which leads to lots of baby penguins. They can’t afford to house and feed so many penguins, so Mr. and Mrs. Popper train the penguins to dance and do tricks, and they take their show on the road!

In this updated version by the kids of Budlong Woods Library in Chicago, Mr. Popper is a terminally online consumer of social media who is obsessed with the TikToks of Admiral Drake. And instead of taking the penguins’ show on the road, Mr. Popper makes the penguins go viral!

The next movie is based on a picture book, William Steig’s 1983 Honor Winner Doctor DeSoto. It’s about a mouse dentist and his wife who treat other animals. They just have one rule: They won’t treat dangerous predators. So when a fox shows up at their offices with a toothache, they have a difficult decision to make: risk their lives by treating the dangerous beast, or let the fox suffer? Dr. Desoto and his wife end up treating the fox, who does intend to eat them, but the mice outwit the fox in the end by temporarily gluing his teeth together.

This next movie is another one ingeniously told with stop-motion paper puppets, and it’s by Ondine, with helpers Alistair and Montserrat of Los Angeles, CA!

As we’ve seen, not all Newbery-winning historical books are fiction. Russell Freedman won the 1988 Newbery Medal for his account of the life of the sixteenth President of the United States, Lincoln: A Photobiography.

Now I hear you: don’t we already know everything about Abraham Lincoln? The stovepipe hat, the beard, the Emancipation Proclamation, defeating the south in the Civil War, getting assassinated during a play at Ford’s Theater—we don’t need another book about Lincoln.

But I bet you’ve never seen it expressed in this way, the Zenz Family of Spring Lake, MI—in the style of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton! We give you Abrahamilton:

The next movie is based on Matt de la Pena’s 2016 Newbery Medal winner Last Stop on Market Street. It’s about a boy C.J. and his Nana who are taking a bus ride through San Francisco. C.J. has a lot of questions for his Nana. Why do they have to ride a bus when his friends ride cars? And why does Nana make him volunteer at the soup kitchen when his friends get to play?

This version, by the kids of The Harley School of Rochester, NY, is different because here, C.J. and Nana are on the run in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, trying to get to their survival bunker. But there’s more to these zombies than they expect.

The next movie is based on Elizabeth George Speare’s 1984 Honor Book Sign of the Beaver. In 18th century Maine, 12-year-old Matt is left alone in his family’s log cabin for four months while his father is forced to be away.

Now you might ask: Are there any beavers in Sign of the Beaver? And the answer is no. Why is it called Sign of the Beaver, then? The father of the next filmmaker wondered the same thing. In fact, he seems to take it personally that there aren’t more beavers in Sign of the Beaver.

The next movie is based on the 1972 Honor Book Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles. It’s about Annie, a young Navajo girl, who wants to stop her mother from finishing weaving a rug. Why? Because Annie heard her beloved grandmother say that she, her grandmother, will die when the rug is finished.

Annie misbehaves in school, lets the family’s sheep escape, and even tries to pull out the strands of yarn from the rug, one by one. But from her grandmother she learns even she cannot change the course of life. This one is done in beautiful stop-motion by Alinne and Brenda of San Antonio, TX.

The next movie is based on Louis Sachar’s 1999 Newbery Medal Winner Holes. The original story 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, he is falsely arrested for stealing the shoes, and 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 that has afflicted Stanley’s family for generations, and dig up the treasure the warden had been searching for, which rightfully belongs to Stanley!

This movie also has a twist. 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. The Treehouse Children’s Museum of Ogden, Utah presents: TEACUPS!

That had a lot more swordfighting than in the original book!

Here’s another Claymation movie, based on 1952 Medal Winner The Apple and the Arrow. It’s about the Swiss folk hero William Tell, who was a legendary archer. But when William Tell and his son are caught rebelling against the unjust government, his archery is given a gruesome test: he is forced to shoot an apple off his son’s head!

This one is done in Claymation by 14-year-old Anya Schooler from Portland. And it’s set to the music of the “William Tell Overture.”

This next one is based on Ruth S. Gannett’s 1949 Newbery Honor Book My Father’s Dragon, adapted by Chicago’s Leland Street Players. It’s about a boy Elmer who wishes he could fly. He meets a stray cat, who tells him he can get his wish if he saves a dragon who is imprisoned on Wild Island. But can Elmer outwit the animals who guard the dragon, problem-solving by using only the random junk in his backpack?

And that brings us to our last movie, based on Dave Eggers’ 2024 Medal Winner The Eyes and the Impossible. It’s the story of Johannes, a dog appointed by three elderly bison to be the “eyes” of the park in which they live, keeping track of everything that’s going on.

Johannes is briefly captured by humans, and when the other animals in the park work together to save him, Johannes has the idea to free the bison and get them off the island. But is it the bison who need freeing, or Johannes? Mr. Johnson’s class from Tacoma, WA’s Grant Center for the Expressive Arts tells the story in the style of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”!

And that was some of the best of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Thanks to all the young filmmakers, and the librarians, teachers, and family who helped them.

Interested in being part of this? Go to www.90secondnewbery.com to find out more about the film festival. Start making your movies now. The deadline for next year is January 2027, but you can turn them in anytime.

Did you enjoy the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Do you want us to keep doing it? Then please help us out with a tax-deductible donation. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization.

Did you enjoy the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Do you want us to keep doing it? Then please help us out with a tax-deductible donation. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization.

On Sunday, we brought the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival back home to Chicago at the Harold Washington Library Center! With my co-host and friend, author Keir Graff, we showed the best kid-made movies based on Newbery-winning books, with an emphasis on local Chicago-area entries.

Here Keir and I do our opening song, this time to the tune of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast:

After the show we had all the young filmmakers come onstage to take a big group picture. So many!

Let’s check out the locally-made movies that we featured! The 90-Second Newbery house team, the Leland Street Players, adapted Robert C. O’Brien’s 1972 Newbery Medal winner Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH in the musical style of the opening credits of the 2016 movie La La Land:

As the judges said (full review here), “Fantastic vocal performances from our lead performers Joy as Mrs. Frisby and Ella as Nicodemus, with an enthusiastic and talented supporting cast . . . I love the gleeful energy in every frame of this movie, and the absolute commitment of everyone in the cast.”

Not to be outdone, South Shore Fine Arts Elementary and Play in a Book also made a movie of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH! This version skips all the stuff about Mrs. Frisby and focuses on the rats. In the book, the rats debate whether they should stay in their hiding-place under the rosebush on the farm, living off the stolen electricity and food of the humans, or take the risk of striking out on their own to build their own independent existence at Thorn Valley. This one is told in the style of a documentary in which the rats speak for themselves about their ambitions and worries about the plan, and culminates in a vote about whether they should stay or leave!

As the judges said (full review here), “The costumes, green screen, and sometimes hand-made sets worked well to put us in the story. I loved all the performances, which were by turns humorous, touching, heartfelt, and realistic . . . Original, creative, and well made!”

The next movie is based on Florence and Richard Atwater’s 1939 Honor Book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. In this updated version, Mr. Popper is a terminally online consumer of social media who is obsessed with the TikToks of Admiral Drake. And instead of taking the penguins’ show on the road, Mr. Popper makes the penguins go viral on TikTok! This one is by the kids of Chicago’s Budlong Woods Library, with special guests Ella and Joy singing.

As the judges said (full review here), “Fantastic acting in this one, especially the unhinged and enthusiastic Mr. Popper, his exasperated wife, and his two worried sons (and a magisterial Admiral Drake and pushy police officer!). Amazing and fun dancing from all of the penguins in their penguin costumes, and Ella and Joy nailed it with their singing. Fantastic work from all the actors and performers!”

The next movie is based on Matt de la Pena’s 2016 Newbery Medal winner Last Stop on Market Street, a picture book about a little boy C.J. and his Nana who are taking a bus ride through San Francisco. C.J. is curious about all the people on the bus: the friendly bus driver, the guitar player, and more. They eventually get off the bus to help out at a soup kitchen. It’s a sweet and simple story . . . but this version is a bit different. In it, C.J. is a scaredy-cat who is terrified of everyone on the bus, and freaks out at his own paranoid imaginings.

This movie is by Ms. Stenger’s 2nd grade class at Washington Irving Elementary School in Oak Park!

As the judges said (full review here), “The nervous, wild-eyed, hilarious performance of an anxious CJ really made this work, and I loved Nana’s deadpan, eye-rolling dismissiveness too. And of course the energetic performances of all the kids playing the killer bunnies, vampire bus driver, and scary passengers were exceedingly funny—like the gentle guitarist who starts playing aggressive heavy metal, or the big googly-eyed passengers!”

The next movie is based on The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day, and it’s by the kids of the Children’s School in Oak Park. There’s just one problem: this book didn’t win a Newbery! But it’s so good, I don’t care. (But don’t do it again.) The book and movie all about the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre and how the event transformed the painting into a global icon.

As the judges said (full review here), “The performances for all the characters were so expressive, charismatic, and energetic. The actors really committed to the roles, sometimes even with French accents, and that made it fun to watch . . . The cinematography framed each shot well and the editing kept everything brisk and lively.”

Quintin, Summer, Frances, Jerah, and Isobel did this cute, nifty adaptation of the “Cookies” vignette from Arnold Lobel’s 1973 Honor Book Frog and Toad Together:

As the judges said (full review here), “It was super creative to have Frog and Toad portrayed by upside-down mouths with googly eyes on the chins . . . the “yummy-yummy-yummy” music worked well to give the movie a bouncy energy energy . . . The acting was energetic and funny all the way through, truly selling the story with big emotions (“Noooooo!”). . . . A triumph, well done!”

Here’s another adaptation based on Frog and Toad Together, this time based on the “Dragons and Giants” vignette, by Roarke, Richard, and Vihaan of Science and Arts Academy in Des Plaines. In the original story, Frog and Toad take a walk in the woods to see if they’re brave. But when they come across a snake, falling rocks, and a hawk, they run home in terror while shouting “I am not afraid!”This next movie changes up the story so that the dangers Frog and Toad confront are taken from Minecraft.

As the judges said (full review here), “It was creative how it started with real actors portraying Frog and Toad in resourceful costumes, and then switched to paper puppets when it came time for them to ‘climb Minecraft mountain’ and face other dangers and challenges in the wild such as flying creatures, etc.! I appreciated the energetic and compelling performances, both live and in voiceover.”

There are two other movies we got from Science and Arts Academy. One is based on a picture book, William Steig’s 1983 Honor Winner Doctor DeSoto, about a mouse dentist and his wife who treat other animals. They just have one rule: They won’t treat dangerous predators. So when a fox shows up at their offices with a toothache, they have a difficult decision to make: risk their lives by treating the dangerous beast, or let the fox suffer? Dr. Desoto and his wife end up treating the fox, who does intend to eat them, but the mice outwit the fox in the end by temporarily gluing his teeth together. This movie is by Ellie, Roarke, and Lana:

As the judges said (full review here), “A trim, resourceful, and enjoyable retelling of the story! The performances were what made this movie shine: from the serious Dr. DeSoto to his capable wife to the wily fox (I particularly liked the way the fox looked back at the camera in a sly way before entering Dr. DeSoto’s office). The costumes were creative and effective, from the animal ears to Dr. DeSoto’s medical smock to the facial hair (a highlight was the villainous Van Dyke beard on the fox). Excellent cinematography and editing, and the background music was well-chosen and served the story well!”

The last movie we received from the Science and Arts Academy is based on Kate DiCamillo’s 2001 Newbery Honor Book Because of Winn-Dixie, and it’s by Naomi, Axton, Grace, Vihaan, Ellie, Lana, Roarke and Richard:

As the judges said (full review here), “Great acting, sharp cinematography, and a comprehensive script all come together to make a super entertaining movie! . . . All the performances were believable and charismatic—I really loved Gloria Dump’s old lady voice, the jittery librarian, the patient father, Otis’ skillful guitar playing, the way Opal held it all together, and everyone else too!”

We also got two fantastic movies from Nettelhorst Elementary. The first is based on Erin Entrada Kelly’s 2018 Newbery Medal Winner Hello, Universe, and it’s by Griffin, Rina, Alex, Nathan, Zenon, Colette, Chris, Srivi, Charlie, Ayala, and Emilia. They tell the story in the style of a western: Howdy, Universe!

As the judges said (full review here), “I loved the earnest, heartfelt performances from all the actors—especially Virgil, who bookended the movie with an introduction and a conclusion that gave us emotional insight into the character, and elevated every scene in between with his authenticity and humor. Everyone else froom Kaori to Gen to Valencia and Chet and the mother also turned in impressive, feisty, and energetic performances, and they were all well-served by sharp cinematography and ace editing that made this feel like a polished production.”

The next movie is based on Tae Keller’s 2021 Newbery Medal Winner When You Trap A Tiger, which brings Korean folklore to life as Lily, a young girl, goes on a quest to save her sick grandmother, or “Halmoni.” This movie has a twist—instead of telling the story from the point of view of Lily, it tells it from the point of view of her sister Sam, who doesn’t see the magical tiger Lily sees, and is baffled at her sister’s behavior. This one by Sloan, Lewis, Macari, Noga, Renee, Srisha, Aloise, Milo, and Tamar, also from Nettelhorst Elementary:

As the judges said (full review here), “From the very beginning I knew this would be good, with pro-level cinematography and editing. The performances were fantastic—I love how Sam would confess straight to the camera her various feelings and thoughts, and Lily played perfectly the mysterious person one would appear to someone like Sam who is ‘outside’ the primary story. The tiger’s costume was detailed and extravagant and fun to look at, and his performances was good too!”

Mack and Archer of Elk Grove Village have been making 90-Second Newbery movies for years now. I believe this is their sixth! It’s based on Chanel Miller’s 2025 Newbery Honor Book Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All. It’s about 10-year-old Magnolia Wu, whose parents run a laundromat in New York City. Magnolia has a collection of all the single socks that have been left behind, so she and her new friend Iris become “sock detectives” in which they go around town, trying to reunite the single socks with their mates:

As the judges said (full review here), “A delightfully charming adaptation! . . . I enjoyed the choices for the goofily patterned socks, and there were some great moments of comedy when Magnolia and Iris were trying to reunite the socks with their owners, especially when they try to give a C3P0 sock to Boba Fett, or when they try to give a sock to a dog! . . . Funny and well done, and anchored by energetic and compelling performances for Magnolia and Iris, as well as the various sock-owners.”

We also got a bunch of movies from Lincoln Hall Middle School in Lincolnwood, including Aubrey Hartman’s 2026 Newbery Honor Book The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest, adapted by Dalia, Eleni, and Kimset:

As the judges said (full review here), “This movie had superior cinematography throughout and creative editing choices . . . I thought it was particularly ingenious how you changed the light in the room to match the kind of afterlife (red for pain, green for pleasure, yellow for peace, blue for progress)—great combination of visual storytelling and voiceover narration there. The energetic performances had a lot of charm.”

Steven from Lincoln Hall Middle School made this animation of Donna Barba Higuera’ 2022 Newbery Medal Winner’s The Last Cuentista:

As the judges said (full review here), “The skillful combination of many original drawings and dramatic, emotional voiceover narration did an impressive job telling the story . . . Great art, a smart script, and an enthusiastic and energetic performance all combined to make a winner here!”

And finally Laura Adams Armer’ 1932 Newbery Medal Winner Waterless Mountain, adapted by South Shore Fine Arts Elementary and Play in a Book. This movie transforms the original premise of the book: instead of being about a Navajo Indian living in Arizona in the 1920s who wishes to follow in the footsteps of his uncle to become a medicine man, this movie reimagines it to be about a young Black girl learning about African traditions and mythology from her aunt:

As the judges said (full review here), “Beautifully-shot, inventively-edited . . . I love how this movie showcases the student-made African-style costumes and masks, which are quite impressively crafted. The dream sequence at the beginning is trippy and intriguing thanks to the mysterious soundtrack music, kinetic visuals, and exciting cinematography and editing. The heartfelt discussion between the girl and her aunt was well-acted . . . Original and refreshing!”

And those were the Chicago-area movies we showed at the Chicago screening on Sunday! Thanks to Alexa, Eva, Leland, and everyone at the Harold Washington Library Center who helped make this screening a success. And thanks most of all to the young filmmakers who created the movies, and the teachers, librarians, families, and other adults who helped! I hope these inspire you to make a movie for next year. You can find complete information about the 90-Second Newbery here!

Did you enjoy the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Do you want us to keep doing it? Then please help us out with a tax-deductible donation. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization.

I used to do a podcast with story guru Matt Bird called “The Secrets of Story,” and we had a good run of 48 episodes exploring idiosyncratic, counterintuitive writing advice. Matt and I disagreed about just about everything, so we were always arguing on the show, which gave it a Siskel-and-Ebert vibe.

Well, that podcast is over, and Matt now has a new podcast about storytelling called “A Good Story Well Told” with kids’ author (and five-time guest on “The Secrets of Story”) Jonathan Auxier. They disagree much less! But Matt can’t quit me: last week he and Jonathan had me on as a guest. In this season of “A Good Story Well Told,” they’re inviting on guests to talk about “Guilty Treasures”—that is, books or movies that were either commercial or critical failures (or both!) that we like anyway.

Now, I’m a fan of director Ari Aster because of his movies Hereditary and Midsommar, but for some reason I didn’t watch his third movie Beau Is Afraid at first because people told me it was a bloated, self-indulgent mess. I should’ve known better: I love self-indulgent! All art is essentially self-indulgence! And when my friends Arthur and Amy sat me down and made me watch Beau Is Afraid, I was immediately hooked. Indeed, it’s now my favorite Ari Aster movie, and I don’t understand why it doesn’t have a better reputation. (Actually, I do understand. People are wrong about a lot of stuff.)

Anyway, here I am talking for about an hour about how much I loved Beau Is Afraid. Matt and Jonathan are rather less enthusiastic than me, but maybe I talked them around to liking it a bit more.