Keep the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival going with a tax-deductible donation here. Donations are handled through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.

On April 16 we had our first-ever New Jersey screening of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! In the fall of last year, I had visited schools and libraries all over the state to introduce students to concept and to encourage them to participate. It really paid off with some fantastic entries, which we screened at Trenton’s New Jersey State Museum—pretty fancy!

My co-host for the Trenton show was the same as for my Brooklyn show the day before, the iconic and hilarious Chris Grabenstein. Chris has written tons of kids’ books, including the super-popular Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series and the Smartest Kid in the World series. Chris has lots of onstage experience—he was an improv comedian in the 1980s!—and he totally brought the fire in Trenton, just as he had in Brooklyn the day before. Here we are with some of the young filmmakers after the show:

Honestly, I was a little nervous about the screening—Chris got a flat tire on the way to Trenton, we didn’t have much time to rehearse, and we had a technical snafu right before the show—but the staff at the New Jersey State Museum were total pros, and everything came together in the end. I was proud to show off these Jersey-made videos, as well as videos from all over the country. (Unfortunately, I forgot to ask someone to record Chris’s and my song-and-dance opening skit about book banning. If you want to see it, here I am doing the same skit with Keir Graff in Utah.)

Let’s get to those New Jersey videos! To kick off, check out this entry from Community Middle School in Plainsboro, in which Emina, Tarik, Laila, and Ajnur take on E.B. White’s 1953 Newbery Honor Book Charlotte’s Web. In the original story, Wilbur the pig is worried because the farmer is fattening him up to butcher him and eat him. Charlotte the spider helps Wilbur by weaving messages in her web like “Some Pig” and “Terrific” that make folks think Wilbur is important—and it also gives the pig confidence.

In this movie, though, Charlotte has a different plan for helping Wilbur: teaching him self-defense! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Karate Pig:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “I loved the training montage (set to ‘The Eye of the Tiger,’ natch) in which Charlotte toughens Wilbur up, teaches him spiritual techniques, and shows him how to fight . . . The script was tight and often funny, and the cinematography and editing were smooth and professional. The performances were fantastic: Wilbur’s nervous hysteria, Charlotte’s calm Zen-like demeanor, and the goose’s mocking bullying.”

Darcy, Hannah, Harper, Jessica, Gillian, Ilenia, Juliana, Kathryn, and Emme of Bernardsville Middle School made this version of Lois Lowry’s 1990 Newbery Medal Winner Number the Stars:

The judges said of this movie (full review here), “A solid, skillful retelling of the story. The script hit the necessary plot points quickly and effectively and with occasional humor . . . All the performances were overflowing with energy and commitment—and sometimes weird accents!—which made it all the more fun to watch.”

But that’s not the only movie we got from Bernardsville! This second one is by Eli and Owen, in which they adapt Kate DiCamillo’s 2014 Newbery Medal Winner Flora & Ulysses:

In their review, the judges said “This is my favorite kind of 90-Second Newbery movie: one that takes the basic premise of a book, but then zooms off into a completely crazy direction . . . the plot gets interrupted when an armed agent of ‘Animal Control’ shows up at Flora’s house to track down the squirrel . . . What follows is a sequence of chase scenes and physical comedy (sped up and set to the ‘Yakety Sax’ song from Benny Hill) that is fun to watch and genuinely funny.”

We received four really great and impressive movies from Deerfield School in Mountainside. You should really check them all out, but we featured two at the screening in Trenton. This first one is by Hayden, Reagan, Ryan, and Michael, and it’s an adaptation of Rebecca Stead’s 2010 Newbery Medal Winner When You Reach Me. If you’ve read the book, you’ll recognize that this movie amusingly reverses the plot of the story: here, Sal punches kid-Marcus, which causes time-traveling old-man-Marcus to push Sal into the path of oncoming vehicle, as opposed to the original story, where time-traveling old-man-Marcus saves Sal from a traffic accident. Confused? It’ll all become clear:

As the judges wrote on the 90-Second Newbery website (complete review here), “Excellent camera work and editing throughout this movie, especially in the scene with the car crash . . . Smart, funny, and inventive from beginning to end!”

The other movie from Bernardsville that we featured was Ben, Gregory, and Lawrence’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s 1963 Newbery Medal Winner A Wrinkle in Time—done entirely with Legos!

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website, “It was clever how the moviemakers made the characters ‘move’ by manipulating them with plastic sticks, which made some cool effects possible, like when Mrs. Which flies in, or when the paperboy on Camazotz flies away on his bike . . . The script was brisk, swift, and to the point . . . Entertaining, and hit a lot of the plot points effectively.”

Speaking of A Wrinkle in Time, I wanted to feature another movie I received based on that book—this one by students of North Bergen STEAM Academy Middle School. You can check out all five of that school’s really wonderful movies here, but I want highlight Tiarah, Andrea, Vincent, Helen, Mia, Luciana and Tiffany’s movie in particular, which seems to cover the first half of the story:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (complete review here), “From the very beginning, I was impressed by the assured cinematography and editing . . . The music and sound effects throughout were very well done, such as the thunder and rain and dog barking . . . I was also impressed by the special effect of when Charles Wallace’s eyes turn black when he is hypnotized by the person with red eyes! My only wish is for this very well-made movie to have kept going all the way to the end of the book . . . More please!”

Finally, I’d like to feature West Windsor Plainsboro District’s Jenil, Kovid, Arnav, Sachchit, Atiksh, Maahir, and Tarun’s adaptation of Stephanie S. Tolan’s 2003 Newbery Honor Book Surviving the Applewhites:

As the judges wrote on the 90-Second Newbery website, “Bizarre and eccentric, super-accelerated, seemingly on the verge of collapse, but fascinating to watch—hey wait, this movie is a lot like the Applewhite family themselves! All the performances were wonderfully enthusiastic, with infectious energy . . . I was particularly amused by how badly ‘Priscilla’ sings ‘Climb Every Mountain’! This movie whips through most of the important plot points of the book with chaotically but with a lot of charm.”

A that wraps up the New Jersey entries that we featured at the very first New Jersey 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! (We also showed a lot of other movies too, from across the country.) Thanks so much to Jen Nelson, the New Jersey State Librarian, for bringing the 90-Second Newbery to the Garden State. Thanks also to Sharon Rawlins (the Youth Services Specialist of the NJ Library Development Bureau) for being the champion of the 90-Second Newbery who spread the word and got kids and teachers interested in making movies for the screening. Thanks to Taniel Bennett and the staff at the auditorium of the New Jersey State Museum for helping everything run smoothly. Thanks again to my co-host Chris Grabenstein. And obviously, my gratitude and awe to the talented young filmmakers . . . and the teachers, librarians, and families who assisted them!

And now that you’ve got the bug, it’s never too early to make a movie for NEXT year’s 90-Second Newbery! They’re due January 2024, but you can turn them in anytime. Until next year, Jersey!

The 90-Second Newbery relies on private donations and grants to keep going. It’s only through your generosity that we can continue bringing 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.

Do you like what we do at the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? You can keep us going with a tax-deductible donation here. Donations are handled through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.

It’s been two whole years, but on Saturday, April 15 the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival returned to the Brooklyn Public Library! I had been been doing the 90-Second Newbery at the BPL’s Dweck Auditorium for years before the pandemic, and I was thrilled to return. Brooklyn always attracts our film festival’s most raucous, fun, and responsive crowds. Part of it is the room itself (with its low ceilings and 190-seat capacity, it has a comedy-club intimacy). But really, it’s because of the audience. The young filmmakers and their friends and families, plus the weirdos who love these kid-made movies, always make for a boisterous crowd!

My co-host for Saturday’s Brooklyn show (and Sunday’s show in Trenton, New Jersey) was the legendary Chris Grabenstein, the author of dozens of kids’ books, including the glorious Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series and the Smartest Kid in the World series. Chris is a true showman, and he has the history of hamming it up onstage—in the 80s, before he became a prolific and beloved kids’ author, he was in an improv troupe with Bruce Willis and rubbed elbows with the likes of Robin Williams and Chicago comedy wizard Del Close. So of course Chris absolutely killed the opening skit (though nobody videoed it; still, you can see a version of it with me and Keir Graff in this video here.)

I had an amazing surprise at the end of the show: Newbery Honoree Rita Williams-Garcia burst onstage and bellowed, “Get on your knees, James Kennedy!” Now I’ve hosted the 90-Second Newbery with Rita before and I count her as a friend, so of course I complied. And then Rita put this fancy sash THAT SHE HAD MADE on my shoulders and dubbed me as a “Knight of The Order of Odd-Fish” for my work with the film festival. This meant so much to me—Rita is a warm, giving, and funny person and an iconic writer. Her 2011 Honor Book One Crazy Summer is a must-read, and I had the pleasure of reading her latest blockbuster A Sitting in St. James in manuscript and I knew it would be huge. Thank you Rita!

Let’s get to the movies! One of the first movies we showed on Saturday was Daniel and Micaela’s adaptation of E.B. White’s 1953 Honor Book Charlotte’s Web:

Solid, enjoyable, and entertaining! It was clever how this movie used clips of the actual animated Charlotte’s Web movie for the Charlotte parts, and I was impressed at how the two performers ably performed multiple roles. Read the judges’ complete review here. (And thanks to Daniel for helping out in the opening skit on Saturday.)

Next up, New York’s own Addison Steen adapted Kate DiCamillo’s 2014 Newbery Medal Winner Flora and Ulysses:

Since Flora & Ulysses is about superheroes and comic books, it was an inspired idea to use the “comic book” video filter and comic book-panel transitions to carry that visual theme through the movie. Addison is charismatic and engaging enough to pull this off as mostly a one-person show (with some help from offscreen actors), accomplished resourcefully with clever editing—which makes sense, because Addison says she wants to be a film editor one day, and you can see her other videos here. The complete judges’ review of this movie can be found here.

We received twenty-one movies from Lloyd Harbor School in Huntington, NY. They’re all great, and you can watch them all here, but here are the five that we featured at the screening.

Claire and her friends adapted Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s 2016 Newbery Honor Book The War That Saved My Life:

I loved the enthusiastic and engaging performances, such as the mom reveling in her over-the-top cruelty, Mrs. Smith’s wig and glasses and ornery attitude, Ada’s commitment to portraying the club foot, and more! You can read the judges’ complete comments here.

Harry, Luke, Matthew, Max, and Wade made a movie of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s 1992 Newbery Medal Winner Shiloh:

It was an effective idea to tell the story as an interview with the main character Marty, interspersed with significant scenes from the story. There were so many fun touches, like the portrayal of Jud: always in villainous sunglasses, always hilariously zooming into the scene on his car. The portrayal of animals was consistently funny too, especially when the “slain” deer hops in Jud’s car. Read the judges’ complete comments here.

Catherine, Elle, and Sofia adapted Eleanor Estes’ 1945 Newbery Honor Book The Hundred Dresses:

This movie transforms the story into a full-on musical! There was a great dancing and even the occasional acrobatic tricks, and I liked the running “hashtag” joke (“hashtag settling down!” “hashtag late for school!”). I was particularly impressed by the split screen between Maddie and Peggy on one side, and Wanda on the other side, with both sides singing at once, Les Miserables-style. Read the judges’ complete review here.

Milena and Ronin’s adapted Matt de la Pena’s 2016 Medal Winner Last Stop of Market Street:

Finally, a movie of Last Stop On Market Street that accurately depicts the true relationship between Nana and CJ: Nana is a pushy, condescending know-it-all, and CJ is an unbearable brat! The script and performances were humorously contentious, with fantastic performances of both Nana and CJ. Read the judges’ complete comments here.

Griffin and Jasper made their movie based on the short story “Shiver” from Arnold Lobel’s Days With Frog and Toad—which isn’t the 1973 Newbery Honor Book Frog and Toad Together, but we’ll let that go!

I loved the pencil drawing style, which accurately reproduces the original drawings from the book, but then transforms into its own horrifying vibe! The monster drawn in this story, with its queasily long tongue and rows of sharp teeth, is much more threatening than the Old Dark Frog of the original story. The voiceover work was funny and expressive, with emotionally believable acting. You can read the judges’ complete comments here.

And those were the New York entries for the 2023 Brooklyn 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! (We showed a lot of other movies too, from across the country.) Thanks to Brandon Graham, Coleman, Peter, and Sam at the Brooklyn Public Library for hosting us, and thanks again to my co-host Chris Grabenstein and special guest Rita Williams-Garcia . . . and of course, big props to the young filmmakers . . . and the teachers, librarians, and families who helped them!

Why not start making movies for NEXT year’s 90-Second Newbery? They’re due January 2024, but you can turn them in anytime. See you next year, Brooklyn!

The 90-Second Newbery relies on private donations and grants to keep going. It’s only through your generosity that we can continue bringing 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.

On March 25, 2023 the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival finally returned to Boston! Since the pandemic hit in 2020, we hadn’t done a Boston screening since 2019. It was great to be back at the beautiful Boston Public Library in Copley Square. Thanks to the BPL’s Laura Koenig for keeping our event alive, to Kate Gilbert for starting the ball rolling in the first place, and to Rebecca Mahoney for co-hosting with me!

Wait, what?! Yep, that’s beloved author Rebecca Mahoney of the excellent YA novel The Valley and the Flood and the brand-new, just-published The Memory Eater. If you want to see Rebecca and me singing, dancing, and cracking wise, check out the video above, in which we revise the “Marge vs. the Monorail” episode of The Simpsons to address the book-banning nonsense that’s going around lately.

And of course, thanks to the audience who came out . . . and most of all, the young filmmakers! I had also invited some of the filmmakers whose movies never got a proper live screening because of the pandemic. It was fun to see their older selves after only knowing them through movies they made years ago!

And how about those movies? Let’s check them out! The Benali family of Holliston, MA (full disclosure: I went to college with their mom, Jocelyn) adapted Isaac Bashevis Singer’s 1967 Honor Book Zlateh The Goat and Other Stories. It’s about a poor man whose goat, Zlateh, has grown old and can’t produce milk anymore. The town butcher offers to buy Zlateh to slaughter her for the meat. The poor man doesn’t want to part with Zlateh, but he needs the money, so he sends his son to town to sell the goat. Along the way there’s a blizzard, and the son and the goat seek shelter in a haystack and are trapped. But Zlateh eats the hay, and the son survives by drinking the milk Zlateh makes. The son and the goat become good friends, and he doesn’t have the heart to sell her! (And in this movie, the goat doesn’t want to cooperate with the plot.)

I especially liked the maniacal guy with the knife who is waiting to slaughter and eat the goat (”I’ve been waiting … THREE MINUTES!”). Check out the judges’ complete comments about the movie here.

Ira Bagga of Lexington made this great movie of Ellen Raskin’s 1979 Medal Winner The Westing Game. This is a super-complicated book and it’s hard to sum up in 90 seconds, which makes this movie even more impressive. It’s told as one-person show, with great homemade art!

Smart, stylish, and concise, with beautiful color illustrations! You can see what the judges had to say about Ira’s movie here.

Emma, Ben, Tess, and Andrew (with help from Tom, John, Laura and Amy) adapted E.L. Konigsburg’s 1968 Medal Winner From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The book is narrated by the mysterious Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, who is telling the story to her lawyer Saxonberg. This movie follows the same strategy, with fantastic performances not only of Claudia and Jamie, but also the kids playing the old lady Frankweiler and the middle-aged Saxonberg!

I was impressed at the on-point cinematography and brisk editing, as well as the convincing performances! The judges posted their complete review here.

The year before that, the same group did an adaptation of Matt de la Pena’s 2016 Medal Winner Last Stop on Market Street. This movie makes resourceful use of a jungle gym in place of a bus. Emma, Julia, Ben, Tom, Amy, and Henry—take it away!

I liked that this group took the trouble to procure a real dog and a real guitar for the movie (complete with guitar player). But the best part was the stunning next-to-last shot, overlooking the vista of the city as Nana and C.J. head down the stairs! The judges give their complete verdict here.

And those were the local entries for the 2023 Boston 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! (We showed a lot of other movies too, from across the country.) Thanks again to Laura Koenig and everyone at the Boston Public Library for hosting us, my co-host Rebecca Mahoney for indulging my silliness, Trident Booksellers and Cafe for selling books, Morton White (via Steve White and Kate Gilbert) for the last-minute loan of a cane . . . and most of all, the young filmmakers and the teachers, librarians, and families who helped them! And it’s never to early to start making your movies for next year’s screening. They’re due January 2024, but you can turn them in anytime. See you next year!

The 90-Second Newbery relies on private donations and grants to keep going. It’s only through your generosity that we can continue bringing 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.