Mission: READ

This month’s Books & Bites theme was C-U at the Cinema–featuring books that have been or soon will be made into movies.

Have you ever thought that your whole life changed because of one event or one person? How about one dog? In Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, India Opal Buloni believes just that. Because her daddy is a preacher, he and Opal move a lot and Opal finds it hard to make friends. Since her mom left the family when Opal was a toddler, her dad is the only one she’s got–and he often ”hides his head in his turtle shell.” Opal thinks that her new hometown, Naomi, Florida will be no different from all the other places she’s lived–until she “claims” a stray dog that’s wreaking havoc in the local grocery store.  Winn-Dixie, as she calls her new pet, helps Opal befriend the local librarian, the ex-con pet store clerk, Otis, and Gloria Dump, whom all the town kids call a witch. In his unique way, Winn-Dixie also helps Opal sort out her feelings for her mother.

The movie, Because of Winn-Dixie, was released in 2005 and is now available on DVD.  It follows the book fairly well in terms of plot, characters, and especially “heart.”  In the extra features on the DVD, the director even talks about how important it was to find a dog that looked like the one on the cover of the book.  He was very tuned in to the fact that readers of the book would be be the ones going to see his movie. It is definitely one of the best family movies I have seen in a long time. Check out the movie’s official website.

Sometimes a movie follows the book very well and sometimes, well…. Now, I must admit that I have not seen the movie Aquamarine. However, it scares me. If you have read the book, you know why. If you have seen the movie’s website or trailer, you know why.

Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman is a short novel that has a lot to say. Two friends are enjoying their last summer together before one moves away to Florida with her grandparents. They spend most of their time at the old beach club, where no one goes anymore and which will be torn down at the end of the summer. One day after a big storm, they find a mermaid that was tossed into the abandoned swimming pool by the 60+ mph winds. Aquamarine reuses to leave until the girs arrange for her to meet Raymond, the gorgeous snack bar attendant–even though the lack of saltwater is killing her. This brief book explores friendship and determination, and its tone and mood completely engage you as you read. 

And I guess that’s what bothers me most about the movie–the website boasts that it’s “a fish-out-of-water-comedy,” but the book is not at all funny, and it’s not supposed to be. Does that make it a bad movie? No.  Will it most likely disappoint me as a reader of the book? Yes.  Perhaps my daughter, who is in 4th grade, is right when she says, “Maybe the movie is good and the book is good, but for completely different reasons.  Maybe so.  Has anyone seen the movie and/or read the book and care to agree or disagree with me?

Want to know more about Because of Winn-Dixie or Aquamarine? Then check them out and read them yourself (or in this case, see the movie).

Mission: Accomplished