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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.

The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival live shows are back! I remember in 2020 how the entire country shut down only days after our Chicago show. Now it’s 2023, and we were able to get a pretty good crowd—even as outside, the Chicago river ran green for the St. Patrick’s Day parade! Thanks to Alexa, Robin, Michael, and Leland at the Chicago Public Library for making everything run smoothly, and thanks to Stephanie at City Lit for bookselling at the event.

Thanks also to my co-host, author Keir Graff. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get a good video of our singing-and-dancing opening skit, but if you want to relive that, or are curious about what it was like, it was basically the same as how we did the skit at the Ogden screening a few weeks ago (my post with the video is here). If you like snappy Music Man patter and the “Marge vs. the Monorail” episode of The Simpsons, and you hate book banning, that skit’s for you.

Okay, let’s check out some of the movies that were featured at the Chicago screening! The 90-Second Newbery house team, The Leland Street Players, are back with their adaptation of Gary Paulsen’s 1988 Honor Book Hatchet! That book is about Brian, the only survivor of a plane crash after the pilot has a heart attack. Brian must survive in the wilderness alone with only the hatchet that his mother gave him.

This movie is different: instead of a hatchet, all the kid has to survive is “Hat Chet”—that is, a dude named “Chet” who is proud of his weird hat:

Great performances by Lucy, Ingrid, Ezra, Zella, Rosie, Lucy D., and Ella! And stick around to the end for the official “Hat Chet” theme song, composed and played by Ezra, and sung by Zella. You can read the complete review on the 90-Second Newbery website here.

Here’s another version of Hatchet by Audrey, Elise, Tula, Cheryl, Nova W., and Nova C. from Chicago. This one is done in the style of a commercial that is advertising all the great features of “Paulsen’s Hatchet”:

Hilarious! I loved this “commercial”—and its surprise epilogue. Funny, smart, and very well made! Read our complete review on the 90-Second Newbery website.

Lily Manning is on a hot streak with her third stop-motion movie for the 90-Second Newbery! This one tops even her two previous stop-motion triumphs (My Father’s Dragon and Along Came A Dog). This one is based on Maia Wojciechowska’s 1965 Newbery Medal Winner Shadow of a Bull:

What fluid, gorgeous stop-motion animation! The bullfighting was especially fun to watch. And stick around for the funny post-credits sequence! Here’s our complete review on the 90-Second Newbery website.

The arts educational orgnization Play In A Book has done some great 90-Second Newberys in the past, like this instant classic adaptation of Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut made with the South Shore Fine Arts Academy. They teamed up South Shore again for this adaptation of Kelly Barnhill’s 2017 Medal Winner The Girl Who Drank The Moon, done in the style of a movie trailer—with the audience commenting on it and criticizing it. It’s meta!

This movie got huge laughs and big applause at the screening, and it’s easy to see why! Complete review on the 90-Second Newbery website here.

Play In A Book also worked with Armstrong Elementary in Chicago to make this video of Arnold Lobel’s 1973 Honor Book Frog and Toad Together. This movie’s twist: in every story, Frog and Toad jump from one multiverse to another, and each of those multiverses function according to the rules of a different movie genre! It’s like Everything Everywhere All At Once, Newbery-style:

A noir, a musical, a sitcom, a sword-and-sorcery epic, and more—all mixed and accelerated into an inventive movie with great performances! Here’s our complete review on the 90-Second Newbery website.

The next movie we featured on Saturday was by Chicago’s own Laurel, Frances, and Thuan. True aficionados remember their classic adaptation of Joseph Krumgold’s 1960 Medal Winner Onion John which stars an actual onion, or how they added a shark attack to the end of Matt de la Pena’s 2016 Medal Winner Last Stop on Market Street. This time they adapted Will James’s 1927 Medal Winner Smoky the Cowhorse:

Ingenious, resourceful, and funny! I love how that horse can shoot baskets and handle a gun . . . and I loved the twist ending! Read the judges’ complete review here.

The 7th Grade Drama Club at East Lake Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois entered the 90-Second Newbery the first time this year with this super-fast and goofily entertaining version of Esther Forbes’ 1944 Newbery Medal Winner Johnny Tremain:

Entertaining all the way through, in large part because of a tight script and the engaged and committed performances! The audience at the screening really went for this movie too. You can read the complete review here.

The next movie is based on a recent nonfiction book about the rescue of the Thai boys’ soccer team from a flooded cave in 2018. It’s Christina Soontornvat’s 2021 Newbery Honor Book All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, adapted by Mac and Archer of Elk Grove Village, Illinois:

Those are some tough-looking Navy SEALs, the animations within the dark cave were cleverly done, and I loved the silly raspberries at the end! Full review on the 90-Second Newbery website here.

We received two movies from Wiesbrook Elementary in Wheaton, Illinois. The first one was another unique take on Frog and Toad Together—it’s by Cameron, Nate, Seamus, and Logan (edited by Colette), and it’s the first time I’ve ever gotten a 90-Second Newbery of Frog and Toad Together that stars actual toads (played by their pets Button and Pebble):

This was another one that really got the crowd going! I really liked the originality of this one. Complete review on the 90-Second Newbery website here.

But that’s not the only movie we received from Wiesbrook Elementary! The other one is based on Avi’s 1992 Honor Book Nothing But The Truth: A Documentary Novel, and it’s by Julia, Shyan, Hailey, Sammy, Lincoln, Emma, Collette, Isha, Ellie, and Caroline:

Bonkers, super-accelerated, and actually pretty accurate! The original book is a fictional documentary about a school where a boy is suspended for persistently humming the U.S. National Anthem, irritating his teacher. The girl who played the exasperated teacher turned in a particularly amusing performance, and I liked the comedically blase kid who just wants to go back to their phone. Read the judges’ full review here.

We also received eight movies from Elgin Academy in Elgin, Illinois! They were all great, but we couldn’t feature them all, or else the show would be way too long. (You can see all of Elgin Academy’s movies here.)

However, we were able to feature two movies from Elgin Academy! The first was another version of Hatchet, this time by Abubakr, Ash, and Landen:

Simple but effective illustrations, and good voiceover work and sound effects! Read the judges’ complete remarks here.

The other featured movie from Elgin Academy was Vicky, Ava, and David’s adaptation of Scott O’Dell’s 1961 Medal Winner Island of the Blue Dolphins:

It was a fun and original idea to retell the story in the style of a reality show, helped along by snarky onscreen words and emoji. Sassy and sarcastic, I liked it! Read the judges’ complete remarks here.

Last but absolutely not least, we also received some movies from Lincoln Hall Middle School! I’m always happy to see movies from them, they submit every year. Again, we couldn’t feature every single one, but you can see all Lincoln Hall Middle School’s movies here.

Here are two of the movies from Elgin that we did feature! The first is Leila and Simra’s adaptation of Cece Bell’s 2015 Honor Book El Deafo:

A cute and quick sprint through the story using mostly stock photos, artfully deployed emojis, and dialogue balloons. And the occasional appearance of the “Hello Neighbor” creepy mustache man was an unexpected meme delight. Complete judges’ remarks here.

The other movie from Lincoln Hall Middle School we featured was Peter Thomson’s adaptation of Ellen Raskin’s 1979 Medal Winner The Westing Game:

An arty, impressionistic zigzag through the story! It’s impossible to sum up this complicated book’s plot in 90 seconds, so this concentrates on a few truly big scenes. The commitment and enthusiasm with which the cast throws themselves into the roles is so much fun to watch! Read the judges’ complete remarks here.

And that’s it for the 2023 Chicago 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Thanks again to the Alexa, Robin, Michael, and Leland at the Harold Washington Library, Stephanie at City Lit for bookselling after the event, my co-host Keir Graff . . . and most of all, the young filmmakers and the teachers, librarians, and families who helped them. Remember, 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.