Book to Reel Wednesday (on Thursday)

This weekly event is hosted by Lori at Escape Between the Pages. What Lori does is each week she posts a trailer for a particular movie and the description for the book that inspired it. Readers are encouraged to comment on the book, the movie, or both.

Truthfully I don't think too often about the movie adaptations of books, because more often than not they're hideous reproductions that make me yearn for an ice pick with which to stab myself. But on my walk to work this morning I just started thinking about some of the ones I liked, times where either the the movie was a true representation of the book or it veered enough from the story to keep the spirit but exist as an independent entity.

**Disclaimer: Most of these will be movies based on books from my childhood, at least in the beginning, because those are my favorites.**


This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches! Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There's nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of pesky kids. A boy listens closely to his Grandmamma's stories of the evil witches, but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face to face with The Grand High Witch herself!





I loved Roald Dahl when I was a child and love him now. I think he has some of the most unique and culturally pervasive children's characters ever - and those characters always seem to hang around. I haven't seen the movie in a while at this point but I still remember how scary it was! Angelica Houston was probably the scariest witch ever and that was before she started peeling off her skin and showing how grotesque she was underneath! If you get the chance I definitely recommend picking this up from Blockbusters (are those still around?) or NetFlix and reminding yourself how cool kid's movies were even before Harry Potter.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

She wanted dragon gold. She got a pair of shoes.

Many stories tell of damsels in distress, who are rescued from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons by knights in shining armor, and swept off to live happily ever after.

This is not one of those stories.

True, when Creel’s aunt suggests sacrificing her to the local dragon, it is with the hope that the knight will marry Creel and that everyone (aunt and family included) will benefit handsomely. Yet it’s Creel who talks her way out of the dragon’s clutches. And it’s Creel who walks for days on end to seek her fortune in the king’s city with only a bit of embroidery thread and a strange pair of slippers in her possession.

But even Creel could not have guessed the outcome of this tale. For in a country on the verge of war, Creel unknowingly possesses not just any pair of shoes, but a tool that could be used to save her kingdom…or destroy it.

Go buy Dragon Slippers! Immediately! Do you feel like you've lost touch with your childhood? Do you feel like you just can't remember why reading used to be fun and now it's a chore? GO BUY DRAGON SLIPPERS AND YOU'LL REMEMBER! This books is an incredible example of why juvenile literature should be embraced by all ages but especially encouraged in the young. It balances so well between being a childrens book and being a young adult novel. Creel shows the type of go-getter attitude that will endear her on the hearts and minds of everyone. And the adventure is definitely heart pounding, with dragons doing battle and good against evil at the center.

I would definitely recommend that anyone take the time to read this book for themselves or with someone younger. I'm most exited about reading the rest of this series and hopefully starting in on her other set of books.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. A lot of fun and one that's good for everyone at any age.

Series - 1) Dragon Slippers 2) Dragon Flight 3) Dragon Spear