It’s the last 90-Second Newbery screening of the season! Actually, we were supposed to do our Minneapolis screening back in March 15, but it got snowed out. Luckily we were able to reschedule it to June 14, at the same venue: the Minneapolis Central Library!

I was joined by my fantastic co-host Jacqueline West, author of the NYT-bestselling middle grade series The Books of Elsewhere and more, including the upcoming YA horror novel Black Point. Jacqueline is a great writer, has an infectious laugh, and she can REALLY SING. Check out how she belts our opening song, a rewritten version of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast:

Let’s check out the movies that we featured at the screening! The first one is based on Victoria Jamieson’s 2016 Newbery Honor Book Roller Girl, and it’s by Hazel and friends from Minneapolis:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “It was an inspired idea to retell the story in the style of various Queen songs . . . The best thing about this movie are the open-hearted, go-for-broke performances, excellent singing and choreographed dancing, and cleverly rewritten lyrics! A fun concept and impressive execution!”

We featured two movies from Garlough Environmental Magnet School of West St. Paul. This first one is based one Kate DiCamillo’s 2014 Newbery Medal Winner Flora and Ulysses, and it’s by Madeleine, Penelope & Lucy:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Making Ulysses himself the narrator at the outset was a smart choice. I was amused at how this movie made the out-of-control vacuum run over Ulysses on its own at the beginning, and how we ‘zoomed out’ to a seeming overhead shot of the town as the vacuum hurtles down the street to ‘Incandesto’ — where Ulysses falls into a vat of ‘cleaning product’ and begins to glow, turning into a superhero! . . . Stylish and fun to watch!”

We also showed this movie from Garlough Environmental Magnet School, based on E.L. Konigsburg’s 1968 Newbery Medal Winner From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and adapted by Grayson O’Keefe, starring his friends Emerson, Azariah, Ja’Keem, Isabel, Aleena & Marcus:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This movie was great fun because of the energetic and fun performances of Claudia and Jamie . . . But my favorite part was how instead of Claudia and Jamie trying to solve the mystery of an angel statue that might be by Michelangelo, they’re trying to solve the mystery of whether a certain cheeseburger is from McDonald’s! Entertaining and silly in all the right ways.”

We also featured two movies from Scenic Heights Elementary in Minnetonka. This first one is based on Cece Bell’s 2015 Newbery Honor Book El Deafo:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “A fun romp through the highlights of the book! I thought it was clever how all the actors wore rabbit ears, just like how all the characters sported rabbit ears in the original graphic novel. There were great performances throughout, from the dad’s funny ‘Geez, you’re overreacting’ to the way the mom protests ‘No, she’s only four!’ as the camera zooms in on her face melodramatically. ”

We also featured this movie of Flora and Ulysses from Scenic Heights Elementary:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This movie made creative use of green screen to put us in the various scenes, and I loved the energetic performances of all the actors! I particularly liked the slo-mo effect when Flora is rescuing Ulysses the squirrel from the vacuum cleaner (and I appreciated that you were able to get hold of an actual vacuum cleaner to use for the scene) . . . fast, wild, and entertaining!”

We also featured two movies from Delano Public Schools. This first one is based on Tae Keller’s 2021 Newbery Medal Winner When You Trap A Tiger:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This movie had a lot of energy and emotion. I particularly appreciated the tiger in its costume, especially when it was goofily dancing around in the middle of the street at the beginning (Good old-lady wig for Halmoni, too!).”

And also from Delano Public Schools, we have this adaptation of Erin Entrada Kelly’s 2025 Newbery Medal Winner The First State of Being:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (complete review here, “I liked the breakneck pace of this movie as it sprinted ludicrously quickly, but accurately, through the plot points of the book! The background music was a great addition, especially when it changed to match the action of the scenes (such as how it became more hopeful when the time-travel egg started working again) . . . I liked the sly humor of some of the parts, like when the earthquake is predicted and then the intertitle dryly notes ‘One earthquake later.’ Well done!”

And those were the local entries for the Minneapolis 2026 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Thank you to the filmmakers and the parents and teachers who support them, and to the Minneapolis Central Library for letting us use their auditorium, to Jacqueline West for co-hosting, and to Jackie Hjelden for getting the ball rolling on organizing. See you next year . . . and I hope it doesn’t get snowed out this time!

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