Watch and Read: Spotlight on Media Tie-ins
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Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 12/11/2007 6:57:00 AM
Celebrate Christmas—Ogre Style
The characters from the popular Dreamworks Animation motion picture trilogy—Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), and Shrek the Third (2007)—made an appearance in Shrek the Halls, a TV holiday special featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and Antonio Banderas that aired on November 28 on ABC. Viewers can relive the experience with a picture book of the same title from HarperCollins (PreS–Gr 2).
Though Shrek is ho-hum about the holiday, he realizes that Fiona is looking forward to celebrating with their babies and hurries to prepare the “perfect family Christmas.” However, when Donkey and their other fairy-tale friends arrive unexpectedly (and uninvited), the evening goes from quiet and cozy to crowded and chaotic. With Fiona’s help, “Ebenezer Shrek” soon discovers the true meaning of “family.” Hapka’s lively adaptation ends with “The Night Before Christmas (Shrek Style)” and is adorned with humorous paintings decked out in winter white and ogre green.
Graphic-Novel Versions of Recent Box Office Hits
These colorful, quick-reading titles will capture the eye of kids who love comic books and draw film fans into the library. Shrek the Third: The Photo Novel (HarperEntertainment) combines dialogue balloons with well-chosen full-color photos from the animated movie to create a graphic-novel rendition of the story. The format keeps the action moving quickly and conveys the tale’s humor as the irritable ogre searches for someone to take his place as king while Prince Charming and his criminal cohorts seize control of Far Far Away (Gr 2-5).
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Disney Press) does a good job of streamlining the convoluted plot of the movie (Walt Disney Pictures 2007), succinctly encapsulating almost three hours of twists and turns, back-and-fourth betrayals, and shipboard battles into a lightning-paced graphic novel with vivid comic-book-style artwork (Gr 3–6).
TV Tie-ins for Teens
Kyle XY is an ABC Family television series that centers on a teenager (Matt Dallas) who wakes up naked in a forest near Seattle, Washington, with no memories of his past, no knowledge of social skills, and—it is soon discovered—no navel. The episodes follow Kyle, who is taken in by a psychologist and her family, as he adjusts to day-to-day life and searches for answers about his past. The show premiered in 2006 and is scheduled to air new episodes beginning on January 14, 2008. S. G.
Wilkens’s original novel, Kyle XY: Nowhere to Hide (HarperEntertainment), begins two months after Kyle awakens and is still struggling to navigate the unfamiliar world of high school. When the likable Amanda Bloom asks for his help with decorations for an upcoming Halloween party, Kyle can’t wait to spend more time with her, but the mysteries of his past still loom over his present (Gr 9 Up). The book’s cover photo of Dallas (lifting his T-shirt to show his belly button-less torso) will grab devotees of the TV series. A second novel, Kyle XY: Under the Radar, will be available on December 26.
Pub Info
HAPKA, Catherine, adapt. Shrek the Halls. illus. by Mike Sullivan & Michael Koelsch. HarperCollins. 2007. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-06-143078-7.
KAEMON, Amy Court, adapt. Shrek the Third: The Photo Novel. HarperEntertainment. 2007. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-06-122953-4.
AMBROSIO, Stefano, adapt. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. illus. by Giovanni Rigano, et al. Disney Press. 2007. pap. $3.99. ISBN 978-142310449-0.
WILKENS, S. G. Kyle XY: Nowhere to Hide. ISBN 978-0-06-143032-9.
_____. Kyle XY: Under the Radar. ISBN 978-0-06-143033-6.
ea vol: HarperEntertainment. 2007. pap. $5.99.
