Dawn

May 23, 2013 | Published in ages 0 - 3, ages 3 - 6, ages 6 - 9, Books on Screen, Children's Books, Dawn, Movies

EPIC: Books on Screen

Only one more day until the new family film EPIC releases on May 24th. Get ready for an incredible visual experience– a lush world comes alive on the screen, a world of tiny warriors called Leaf Men who battle the forces of evil who want to spread decay across the forest. Protecting the life of the forest is their duty, and they go to great lengths to keep it safe.

I had the immense pleasure of attending the movie premiere in New York City, and though I didn’t know much about the movie before seeing it, I was immediately drawn in. The amazing CG animation wowed me from the start, as it was unbelievably life-like and just plain gorgeous. Both my 12-year-old son and I truly enjoyed the entire film.

Did you know that the movie was inspired by a picture book? Being a huge children’s literature fan, I was excited to learn that the concept of the world in EPIC came from the book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, written and illustrated by the highly talented William Joyce. If that name sounds familiar, I’m not surprised. Those of you moms and dads have likely found yourself reading Rolie Polie Olie, George Shrinks, and Dinosaur Bob and his Adventures with the Family Lazardo at some point in your parenting life. Both Rolie and George found their way to the small screen, and more of Joyce’s books have inspired some of my own family’s favorite films, too– Meet the Robinsons and Rise of the Guardians among them.

I knew that Joyce’s book had served as inspiration for the film, but I was surprised to see his name appearing in the credits several times as well, sharing a role in story, screenplay, and executive producing roles. So when I had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable interview with the Director of EPIC, Chris Wedge, I had to ask about the collaboration with William Joyce on the film.

Chris Wedge: “Well, Bill and I are great friends. We met years ago. But, we realized we were the same person in two bodies. We made a very quick, close relationship. But, we just started dreaming up an idea for a movie. It was this place, it was the woods that we started thinking about. And Bill had just finished that book, The Leaf Men. And so, we took that notion that there are leaf men out there and put it in our movie, but that’s all we took from the book. The book’s a very charming, beautifully illustrated by him, painted like a bed time story kind of book. But, I just loved that idea that those guardians were out there. And that’s really all we took from the book.”

I have to admit that I’ve been trying to track down a copy of the book, alternately known as The Leaf Men, but I haven’t had much luck so far. While I know that the story differs from the, well, epic, tale of the film, I’m still curious to see the original concept and artwork created by William Joyce. I’m hoping that my luck with my statewide interlibrary loan system will come through soon!

Are you familiar with the William Joyce book The Leaf Men? Will you be taking your kids to see EPIC in the theater this weekend?

For my other thoughts on EPIC, be sure to check out these posts on 5 Minutes for Mom:

Discover a Hidden World in EPIC — Read what Director Chris Wedge had to say about the themes of the movie and learn more about the beautiful story told in the film.
The Funny — and Slimy!– Side of EPIC — Aziz Ansari and Chris O’Dowd cracked me up onscreen and during the interview!

Like Epic on Facebook
Follow @EpicTheMovie on Twitter #EpicTheMovie
Watch Epic videos on YouTube

Dawn recently attended the EPIC movie premiere in New York City. Expenses for her travel and lodging were covered by 20th Century Fox. All opinions expressed here are wholly her own.

This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you support this site. Thank you!
See our Disclosure Policy for details.

The Holders

Seventeen-year-old Becca works so hard to protect her younger brother Ryland, for the voices that he claims to hear in his head have been a regular source of trouble. Problems range from teasing and social isolation to the slew of “experts” who have tried to take him away in supposed attempts to help him. But, Becca knows better, and she will do whatever it takes to keep her brother safe from harm, for she knows he’s not crazy or dangerous. In the opening of Julianna Scott’s new Young Adult novel, The Holders, Becca wonders if the people offering help this time are different.

Read the full article →

The Interestings, a 5-Star Read {Review & Giveaway}

As I finished Meg Wolitzer’s latest novel, The Interestings, while sprawled across my bed, my vision was blurred by the fat, hot tears rolling down my face, splashing down onto the pages below. My twelve-year-old son walked into the room to ask me a question and paused mid-sentence, noticing my emotional state. Without saying another word, he walked across the room to grab some tissues. Handing them to me, he stated more than asked, “Good book, huh?”

I haven’t been wowed by a novel like this in a long while, simultaneously impressed by the quality of the writing and taken by the flow of the story, becoming completely caught up with fictional characters who seem like they could walk right off the page into real life.

Read the full article →

The Barnes & Noble Guide to Children’s Books

Choosing quality children’s literature can be a tricky task, whether you’re searching the library shelves for something to read with your own child or looking to purchase a gift for a friend’s little one. While there are no limits to the numbers of book blogs offering suggestions (including us!), even those of us who adore children’s books like to consult an expert once in a while, too. Kaylee N. Davis, a children’s book specialist and literary agent, has compiled an incredible collection of titles to recommend in The Barnes & Noble Guide to Children’s Books.

As an early childhood educator and a children’s lit lover myself, I was thrilled to not only recognize every character on the front and back cover, but also to turn the pages in this book and be reminded of so many fabulous books.

Read the full article →

Truck Stop {Review and Giveaway}

When I heard that Anne Rockwell had a new picture book coming out, I didn’t hesitate a moment to accept the offer for a review copy. As a preschool teacher for twelve years, I’ve routinely relied on her collection when setting up my classroom book selections. Rockwell has a way of creating engaging stories that provide information on topics of interest to young children, and she has done just that with over 100 titles under her belt!

Rockwell’s newest is Truck Stop, a story about a highway truck stop rest area told through a young boy’s eyes. Each morning, the boy and his parents open the truck stop up for business, and there’s a flurry of activity all before the boy catches his morning bus to school.

Read the full article →

Pinwheel

Board books are meant for little ones, often read to babies on laps or looked at by toddlers who teethe on the corners as much as they gaze at the pages. With Salina Yoon’s new interactive board book Pinwheel, little ones will be intrigued by bright colors and engaging patterns.

At each turn of the page, little ones or parents can spin the tab at the side to create a movement of the picture– from shining lights on a train to an array of colors on a school of fish to a sky full of colorful fireworks. The text includes just one or two short sentences on each two-page spread, but the language chosen is actually quite descriptive and beautiful.

Read the full article →

Minimalist Parenting

The subject of parenting is the inspiration for countless books, including several shelves’ worth in my own personal library. While many of the parenting books that I own address general parenting approaches for encouraging good behavior (ahem), I was highly intrigued by the concept of the new book Minimalist Parenting: Enjoy Modern Family Life More by Doing Less. The title alone pulled me in, and authors Christine Koh and Asha Dornfest have done a great job affirming some feelings I’ve had as a parent, as well as introducing new ways to adopt a more “minimalist” approach in my family’s experiences.

Read the full article →

The Best of Us

What do you get when you bring a group of old friends together on a tropical island for a dream vacation, years after the college experiences that first bonded them? In Sarah Pekkanen’s new novel The Best of Us, the answer is a little complicated. Sure there are plenty of laughs and moments of reminiscing, but underneath the surface, the week might also bring out the not-so-best in all of them, as well.

Back in college, Tina, Allie, and Savannah were dormmates, and they befriended Dwight, the geeky, socially awkward guy on campus. Though their personalities might not all seem to go together from an outsider’s perspective, they each brought something unique to their group friendship, and they all have fond memories of their days at the University of Virginia.

Read the full article →

Half as Happy

I’ve always been attracted to short story collections. There’s something about the way an author of a short story has to jump right into the thick of it from the beginning. There are no words to be wasted, and every breath of the story counts. Gregory Spatz has certainly made every single word matter here, with Half as Happy, a collection of eight stories all linked by common themes of disenchantment, loss, and a depth of human emotions.

Spatz is clearly a talented story teller, and it doesn’t take long into each story for him to set the tone. The first story, “Any Landlord’s Dream,” opens with a description of a house awaiting renters, and in those few sentences, I was there in the living room, smelling the musty air and feeling the weight of the unrented space on the landlord’s shoulders.

Read the full article →

Like Bug Juice on a Burger

At nine years old, the idea of sleepaway camp is exciting and scary all at the same time. When Eleanor’s grandmother treats her to a trip to the same sleepaway camp her mother attended as a child, Eleanor hopes she’ll leave camp with as many happy memories as her mother. The first few days of camp, however, turn out to be not so great. With her knack for words, Eleanor thinks camp is so bad that it’s Like Bug Juice on a Burger.

You may remember Eleanor from Julie Sternberg’s Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, in which eight-year-old Eleanor had to say goodbye to a beloved babysitter who moved away (linked to my review).

Read the full article →

A Long Way Away

Get your little ones ready for a wild ride with a new picture book that features a story that can be read forward or backward! Frank Viva’s A Long Way Away goes from the reaches of outer space to the deep, dark sea, with an adorable creature taking this trip both ways, depending on the direction of the book!

Following the idea of “reverse poetry,” the text of this picture book can be read from front cover to back, or in reverse, telling a different story in each direction. Viva’s illustrations are bright, with a yellow line tracking the mysterious outer space creature’s path of travel, and even young readers will be reminded of Viva’s previous book Along a Long Road, which wowed me in 2011 and was among the many Cybils Awards nominees that I adored (linked to my mini-review).

Read the full article →

Isabella, Star of the Story

Isabella is back, and she’s once again declaring her name to not be Isabella! Fans of the original My Name is Not Isabella (linked to our site’s 2008 review) will be happy to find her joyfully using her imagination once again in Isabella: Star of the Story, a story by Jennifer Fosberry with pictures by Mike Litwin.

This time around, Isabella’s pretending takes on a literary theme. As she and her parents head to the library, Isabella’s imagination soars through six works of classic literature for children, including Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries