The Chicago screening of the Second Annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is now SOLD OUT! My co-host Blue Balliett and I will do our best to make it worth the while of the 385 or so folks who have registered to come.

Remember, though, we have additional screenings in Tacoma, WA (February 23) and Portland, OR (February 24)!

To celebrate the full house, here’s a short video by Chicago librarian and past 90-Second Newbery participant Eti Berland, in which she sings her own version of “Call Me Maybe” over clips of great 90-Second Newbery videos we’ve received both this year and last year. Great thundering glory, this is awesome! Thanks, Eti, for this compilation of highlights, not to mention your expert Weird-Al-ification of Carly Rae Jepsen!

What else is going on? On Tuesday I visited LaSalle-Peru High School, right around the corner from Illinois’ best-kept-secret, the tremendous Hegeler Carus mansion (this crumbling, gorgeous, chaotic mansion is where we managed to put on the second Order of Odd-Fish fan art show). Anyway, I had a splendid time at LaSalle-Peru high school, certainly one of the most beautiful high school buildings I’ve ever seen, and the students and teachers made me feel right at home! You can read a write-up about my author visit in the LaSalle News Tribune.

Now, this weekend, I’ve been invited to attend ORD Camp here in Chicago. Not sure what to expect, but I’m very much looking forward to it . . .

The Chicago screening of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is coming! Co-hosted by me and Blue Balliett (Chasing Vermeer)! It will be Sunday, February 10, from 2-3:30 pm at the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago. It’s free, but you have to reserve your seat ahead of time. You can reserve your place here. Do it now—we already have so many reservations that it’s clear this thing is going to sell out soon!

And so today, let’s look at three great 90-Second Newbery videos I’ve received from right here in the Chicago area. The one up above is of 2004 Honor Book An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy. This movie is by the talented and inventive crew at Chase Elementary in Humboldt Park, Chicago, led my Larissa Zageris (And hey! Humboldt Park! I used to live there!). It’s all about when Yellow Fever struck Philadelphia. This one, I predict, is going to rock the house on February 10. Never has there been so much puking in a 90-Second Newbery! The music cues are very well done, and I particularly like the repeated soulful, slo-mo looks-over-the-shoulder of Dr. Benjamin Rush, and the immortal exchange: “People are dying all around us, they’re turning yellow and they’re puking blood!” “That’s gross. I don’t want to be around.” Also a wonderful “NOOOOOOOO!” Top-notch, Chase Elementary! See you on the 10th!

The next video is of Ingrid Law’s 2009 Honor Book Savvy—but with a reality-TV twist. Here it is: Savvy in the style of The Real World:

This is yet another video from the Aurora Library, Eola Road Branch headed up by Katie Stringwell, who last year did a fantastic silent-movie version of Avi’s Crispin: The Cross of Lead. This great take on Savvy proves they haven’t lost their touch! The girl playing Mibs is a natural. I love how the movie plays on all the reality TV tropes: Mibs’ self-regarding declaration of “And I’m taking this chance,” the way she touches her head when she says “negative negative negative,” and how when the mean lady at the end is accused of not telling the truth (“You’re lying!”) she answers in what she imagines is an oh-so-withering way (“Am I? Am I really?”) Bobbi’s talking-head segment is pitch-perfect, too. Nice fake unibrow of the mean lady. I like how the Dad waking up is underplayed. Great job all the way around!

Finally, another movie made by the 90-Second Newbery veteran team of Chris Norborg/Alice Setrini and Domingo, Amalia, Graciela, and Sofia. They did last year’s musical version of Wanda Gag’s ABC Bunny and a great “The Dream” from Frog and Toad Together. This year the Norborgs are once again reaching far into the Newbery past—this time for 1961 Honor Book Belling The Tiger by Mary Stolz:

At 35.2 seconds, this is the fastest 90-Second Newbery ever! But it packs a punch, telling the story simply and elegantly. Great makeup work for the mice and the tiger, and the elephant costume is an unexpected elaborate treat! Extra points for the clever songs used: Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” and ABBA’s “Tiger.” This is one of those 90-Second Newbery movies where the credits last longer than the movie itself.

See you all at the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival screening in Chicago on February 10!

Don’t miss it! In just a few weeks, on February 10, the Chicago screening of the second annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival will happen, co-hosted by me and Blue Balliett (Chasing Vermeer). That’s Sunday, 2/10/2013, from 2-3:30 pm at the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago. Reserve your free seat here. Quick! It’s selling out!

Our first screening of the second annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival was on December 2, 2012 at Symphony Space in New York City. I haven’t yet gotten my act together to properly recap it, but here are some movies from various schools in New York state that contributed to the festival!

The first, up above, is of Kate DiCamillo’s 2001 Honor Book Because of Winn-Dixie, done by the fourth grade at Hillside Elementary in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. I always like it when participants put a genre twist on the material, and they sure did: they adapted Because of Winn-Dixie in the form of a late-night talk show hosted by the dog of the book, Winn-Dixie, herself! Masterstroke! The additional framing device of the top ten list really made this work. But most importantly, what kids! They’re all such assured and enthusiastic actors! (I especially loved the disorienting spectacle of a room of fourth graders all yelling “PATHOLOGICAL!!!” at the top of their lungs.) And ingenious, resourceful touches throughout: showing the thoughts of the candy-eaters with thought-balloons, the class dressed up as a thunderstorm, the costumes and hats and props, live bird on the shoulder of the guitarist—I loved the attention to detail. Every kid really nailed their character, especially Gloria Dump with her over-the-top accent. I smiled at the suspicious realization that the names of the “Dewberry” kids rhyme with “Newbery,” and I snorted, yes, actively snorted with glee, when all the kids immediately yelled “blooper!” when the P.A. did a school announcement. A winner!

Here’s another winner: 1971 Newbery Medal winner Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars, adapted by Isabel Honigman & Co. from Brooklyn Friends School in New York:

I love how Charlie’s lollipop falls apart almost immediately after Sara “fixes” it. The dancing of the “swans” was a great segment too! And I laughed at the way she screams “noooo” after being informed that after “the color’s called puce.” Another pretty funny bit: when she says, “Charlie’s missing. . . your son?” as if he didn’t recognize the name of his own son. I especially enjoyed the action-packed chase scene at the end when they’re looking for Charlie. Great job, Isabel and friends!

This last one is of Sid Fleischman’s 1987 Medal Winner The Whipping Boy, done by St. Thomas the Apostle School in Delmar, New York:

All these kids were such great actors—the “put me down, you scoundrel!” line was particularly well done—and the kid who played the Whipping Boy himself really shone. I really liked the rapport between Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy. The special effects with the bear, the potato truck, the rats, and the ship sailing away were resourceful and charming!

Thanks, New York, for all these great videos! I had a wonderful time screening them back in December!