I didn’t think I’d have much to say about Disney’s latest live action remake, Snow White, until it actually came out. But unfortunately a new trailer has revealed such substantial changes to the story that I can already say this will have little to do with the beloved folktale recorded by the Brothers Grimm or Disney’s 1937 film, which was groundbreaking not only in its artisty but in its casting choice for the lead role.
In this episode, I briefly show a quotation from filmmaker Dallas Jenkins regarding how to adapt the text of a book into a film. This came from an interview Jenkins participated in on the channel SeanChandlerTalksAbout . You can see the entire interview, which has useful things to say about adapting fiction to the screen, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAhix0coMrs
Also in this episode, hear about my upcoming plans for the show as well as the book we’ve been reading this week: I’m Not Santa by Jonathan Allen. My kids found it at the library and they LOVE it. There’s lots of chances to do funny voices and fake crying, and the more dramatic you go the bigger the laughs will be.
This is my rant about why Brits should reclaim Thanksgiving. I have two book recommendations to help you learn the basics: The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh with Caldecott Honor winning illustrations by Helen Sewell, as well as Squanto’s Journey by Joseph Bruchac and illustrated by Greg Shed. Both of these books beautifully share a story of brave people who made amazing journeys and helped very different groups of people come together as friends.
British People Should Take Back Thanksgiving
by T.Q. Townsend
I’m an expat who lives in Leicestershire. I love it here. It’s a great place to raise kids. There’s lots of great stuff to do outdoors. And nobody talks politics. I am conspicuously American, a trait that is compounded by being the only Yank in my village other than my dual citizen kids.
I try to do my best to enhance the Special Relationship between our countries, mostly by making my husband cups of tea just the way he likes them, but also by introducing little bits of Americana that are compatible with British life. Things like Goldfish Crackers, meat loaf, and pumpkin bread have been eagerly adopted by my neighbours, and I even got a bunch of families to come play baseball on the village green on multiple occasions.
I don’t want to change Britain fundamentally, but there has been one thing that has been on my mind more and more the longer I live here. Y’all need to take Thanksgiving back. I feel like this shouldn’t be a hard sell. I don’t say this merely because I get a bit homesick every year on this holiday, and it’s very hard to celebrate properly on the fourth Thursday in November when my kids have a normal school day and all my friends have to be at work. It’s also because it’s legitimately a good idea. And you should rely on my authority because not only am I a real red blooded American, but I am also a descendant of Edward Doty, who not only helped celebrate the first Thanksgiving but was also the first person to be punished as a criminal in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Allow me to lay out the facts.
First, Thanksgiving started out as an English holiday. Way back at the start of the 17th century, the people who first partied with the Wampanoag tribe from what is now Massachussetts were English, having lived nearly two centuries before those dirty, dirty rebels sent that nasty note to poor King George III. (We can gloss over the part where they were kind of nutty religious extremists who thought the Puritains weren’t strict enough. Let’s just focus on the part where they all had a really nice time together eating gruel or whatever it was they had in the olden days.) So really, if you think about it, this holiday has always been yours to begin with.
Second, British people love a roast. I don’t mean verbal razzing, although you like that too. I mean delicious savory food slow cooked for hours, served with copious side dishes and a cauldron of gravy. I do not have to expend any energy making the case for having a roast followed by ample desserts. You already take any excuse you can get to do this.
Third, you get something else you already like: a bank holiday. I know that Thanksgiving can feel a little unnatural at first because it falls on a Thursday, rather than on a Monday as the good Lord intended. But this is actually a pretty good deal. Because everyone is so overstuffed with turkey and pie and football and freedom, quite a lot of employers give up and also declare the following Friday to be a loss. Some schools in America even give kids the whole week off, adding a bonus half term holiday to the calendar. In late November it’s getting pretty dark and cold in this country. It wouldn’t be so bad to have a few extra days to party.
Fourth, Thanksgiving does a great job of holding back Christmas. Look, Christmas is the king of holidays. It’s the best day of the year. It also starts way too early. By having Thanksgiving to focus on, stores are forced to hold back on Christmas displays for a few more weeks and we can all keep “All I Want for Christmas is You” out of our heads just a little bit longer.
Finally, it’s fun. Thanksgiving is a casual holiday. A time devoted to gathering with people you actually like, unlike the other holidays that force you to mix with people who say crazy things on Facebook but have to be invited because of shared DNA. It’s about gathering with friends in comfy clothes, watching the big game, eating some good food, and having lots of laughs. It’s a great low-pressure setting for someone to introduce a new significant other to the extended family. It’s a time to invite a lonely neighbour or a new acquaintance over so they can make some friends. It’s a time for grandma to show off her pie baking skills, and for a pack of children to play outside until they go a bit feral. It can be a bit rowdy, which not all British people will instantly be comfortable with, but I have found that with sufficient gravy and pie, folks around here will put up with just about anything.
Most American expats here in Britain celebrate Thanksgiving on the Saturday after the official holiday, so that there’s time for a proper feast. That works, but I hope that I’ve done a little bit to convince you that this holiday isn’t quite so foreign as you may have thought. It’s my hope that in a few years, you’ll be just as overstuffed with pumpkin pie as I am every November.
The Paddington film franchise is a great example of how it IS possible to take beloved characters from children’s literature and write new adventures for them that remain true to the spirit of the original stories. So how does Paddington in Peru measure up? Is it as good as Paddington 2? How many Snapes does it receive for its faithfulness to the source material? And why will it mean so much to immigrant families like mine?
Also in this episode, I take a moment to explain that although I’ve talked about Taylor Swift on the show a few times with my daughter, this is neither an endorsement nor a rebuke of the artist’s political views. Everything seems to be so political lately, and I often forget this as I am lucky enough to live in an area where people simply don’t talk politics.
Chloë has been enjoying This isn’t What it Looks Like from The Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch, and Phoebe found a very sweet Halloween book that the library forgot to put away. It’s called The Pumpkin Who Was Afraid of the Dark and tells the story of a cute little pumpkin named Boo who doesn’t like the spooky parts of Halloween. Although it’s out of season, I think it’s well worth picking up a copy and tucking it away for next year.
In this episode, co-host Chloë tells us about Sapphire Battersea, a book that’s really captured her. She has loved every book that she has ever read by Jacqueline Wilson, and whether this author is tackling grounded, real-world family drama or the more fantastical world of circus sideshows, Chloë has always noticed and latched onto the struggles of children born to working class families.
In the main segment, the film adaptation of the stage musical Wicked will be out in a few days and the marketing push is ON. This movie is several artistic generations removed from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The musical is beloved the world over, but mainly by adults. Will this film bring the story back to families and children? Will the drama around its marketing cause problems? Or is it just too darn long for kids to sit through? Let us know what you think!
Samantha Parkington was the first character that I read about in the American Girls book series. She was introduced when I was a little girl. I grew up on this book series and it has been wonderful to see that my daughter loves them just as much as me. She has her own dolls now, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see how well these books help teach about key periods of American history. This is especially important because our family lives in England and we want to stay connected with both of our cultures.
Find out what Chloë noticed about these books, especially the uncomfortable truths about how society treated certain groups of people in 1904. In some ways it’s difficult to see her struggle with the injustice of racism and classism, but at the same time it’s good so see how instinctively she recognizes and rejects these forms of bigotry.
There is a bit of background noise in this episode, which came from Chloë wanting to hold her American Girl dolls while we had our conversation. I never want to prioritize production quality over the enthusiastic participation of my daughter and co-host, so I am sure with this in mind, none of you will mind a few rustling sounds here and there as the dolls are cuddled.
Did you have a Samantha doll or did you read her books? What’s your favorite outfit of hers? What’s your favorite of her adventures?
Also, I wanted to note that our original conversation was much longer. We spent a lot more time discussing issues of race and class than what is presented here. But the conversation was edited down to keep it to the usual show length. I also felt parts of our conversation were very personal, and some moments between parents and children are more special if they are kept private.
Paddington, the beloved creation of author Michael Bond, was recently given a British passport. But . . . how would he have qualified? I speak to my delightful neighbor (ok, let’s spell it neighbour since, after all, I do live in England) Norman, who is a retired immigration judge, about how Paddington might have been able to acquire British citizenship and qualify for a passport. You can see the video version of this part of the show on YouTube:
Thanks for joining in this very silly, very fun conversation, Norman! I really appreciate what a good sport you were and how thoughtfully you researched the topic.
Also in this episode, I reveal big plans for the YouTube channel, both in terms of how to best bring audio and video to you, as well as how I plan to deal with internet nonsense. As always, the happiness and safety of my kids comes first, and for my own part I will respond as little as possible to negativity.
I loved Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark as a kid. Alvin Schwartz’ retellings and Stephen Gammell’s bonechilling drawings kept me hypnotized. The excitement and fun of a good scary story has kept these books popular for generations.
ANOTHER celebrity has decided to dabble in writing for children. Whooptie-doo. In more exciting news, co-host Chloë has checked out not just one Max Crumbly book from the library to read during the school break but also THREE volumes of the Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell.
A recent article in The Atlantic caught my attention. “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books” by Rose Horowitch shares stories from professors at elite schools who have found that over the last 20 years (the time period in which kids got smartphones . . . hmmm . . .) students’ attention spans have eroded to the point that many of them can’t manage to read an entire novel anymore.
I had some thoughts on this, and my take on whether or not students should be enrolling in liberal arts programs in the first place might surprise you.
Have you read this article? Do you agree or disagree with the anecdotes and opinions shared by the professors? What recommendations would you make to individual teachers and parents about how to help kids practice the skills needed to enjoy and analyze literature?
We’ve reached 150 Episodes!! We can hardly believe it and are celebrating by answering questions from YOU. Find out what kind of hate mail we’ve been getting, what happens to poor Chloë when Mom starts geeking out about the Silmarillion, which Taylor Swift songs are our favorites, and a lot more!
The format of the show has been evolving over the summer. The audience has really grown and we’ve been experimenting with ways to help us all have more fun reading great books for kids. Going forward, episodes will come out when they are needed and ready rather than every Monday. This means it will be easier to do a short episode about a current event, or take time to work on a show that needs lots of time and research. The audio versions of the show will have extra segments about book news, what we’re reading as a family, and announcements about events and what friends of the show are up to. Segments of the show that work well as YouTube videos will be published to our channel, as people seem to be enjoying those over there. Be sure to subscribe to our channel here:
