Mini-Reviews: Jumanji, The Prom, A Week Away

Looks like today we're talking about musicals and Jumanji...never thought that would be a combo I would be looking at, but here goes!

wonderwall.com

Jumanji (1995)

Can you believe that I only watched this recently? It was never one I was shown as a child, but I waited because I kept hearing about how many kids were terrified by parts of this movie. Not that I exactly expected to be scared of it as an adult, but that didn't really give it a glowing review, haha. I liked it though. I'm not going to say I loved it and thought it was fantastic, but I wouldn't have any issues watching it again if it was on television, or watching it in future with kids (just would make sure they're the right age for it!). I don't plan on seeing the newer/remake movies though - I was mostly in it for Robin Williams.

tvline.com

The Prom

Need a fun, modern musical? This is it! Let's break down the cast for a moment: Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Kerry Washington and Keegan-Michael Key. And those are just the names you are most likely to know - there are several other amazing performers in this one. It's also directed by Ryan Murphy of Glee and Scream Queens fame. The Prom was recommended to me by a friend, who, although has an amazing track record for knowing when I am going to like something, I still doubted I was actually going to get invested in this one (when will I learn?). The funny thing though, is that it wasn't the big name characters that were my favourites (save James Corden - you incredible man, you), but the lesser-knowns were brilliant and absolutely shone. Ariana DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman are amazing in their roles, there are lots of catchy and/or heartfelt songs, and it was a great one to watch. It's not going to go down as a perennial classic for me, but I will definitely watch it again (and I sure as heck have several songs that constantly get stuck in my head).

The Tales of Beedle the Bard (J.K. Rowling)

This post will essentially be Spoiler Free, however comments by other users may possibly contain information that spoils portions of the plot, so read at them your own risk. This book is second that I've completed for my 2018 TBR Challenge, so I am definitely on better track than I was last month.

bloomsbury.com

What it's about:

In J. K. Rowling's wizarding world, Beedle the Bard is our version of the Brothers Grimm, or Hans Christian Anderson. This book is a collection of magical fairytales that witches and wizards have grown up with, alongside a commentary from former headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore. This collections contains both stories Harry Potter fans know (Tale of the Three Brothers) and new ones to enjoy.

Top Ten Books I Want My Future Children to Read

This week's Top Ten Tuesday, inspired by The Broke and the Bookish, was both a piece of cake, and a tricky one for me. First of all, I work in a library...a children's library, so thinking of fantastic children's books is literally what I do for a living. That means I had about 850 in the span of a second. Narrowing it down, however? Very, very hard. So I decided to pick ones that I thought would be great reads for both boys and girls across a variety of ages. I've left out items that have many components, such as series, as well as things like fairy and folk tales. If you want to check out the original post, you can see it here.

1) Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

2) Ferdinand - Munro Leaf

Forest of Reading 2018

For those of you who don't know me, I work in a children and teens library. That means essentially that most of what I have read over the past few years has been, well, youth materials. Some of these (see: anything by Cassandra Clare) have been purely for enjoyment, while others have been to better be able to recommend books to patrons. I read lots of picture books, but at this point I don't review them on here. I do from time to time however give them a quick review on Goodreads, so feel free to follow me there. If anyone is interested in having reviews of picture books on here, I am more than happy to do it, but otherwise I focus on teen to adult works for the most part.

Anyway, I digress. So, working in this environment it means that it is time for one of the most important youth literary events of the year (well, next year!) - Forest of Reading.