When there are Witches In Your Room...

These days, movies are made to fit into preconceived marketing plans. They are typically comic book movies, horror films, romantic comedies, family films, Oscar bait, fantasy, or action movies. The reason for this is simple. A studio has created strategies for selling these films to an audience. They know who the intended audience is, how a trailer is supposed to look in order to appeal that audience, and where to advertise the movie according to where said audience shops. Rarely do films get made if they don't fall into one of the defined categories, or if they do, the movie is shoved into one of the marketing plans, which is likely to alienate that audience since it's not the "kind" of movie they expected. Such is the case for The Witch.

This film got the full-on "horror" movie advertising scheme, even though the movie is far from being a traditional horror film. While it has elements of a horror movie, it deals with far too many heavy themes to be a horror flick. Based on New England folk tales and actual historical records of witch trials, it is more of a dark fairy tale than a horror movie.  

The pacing of this film is very careful and slow, something that often turns off today's audience. I know this from first hand experience as it is often a criticism of my novels. However, I enjoy a slow pace, one that allows you to be brought into the world of the story. The Witch does that very well, letting you get to know the different members of the family in an intimate way, which is necessary to give the developments the impact they need.

While it deals with various themes in detail, including organized religion vs. the individual's relationship with God, sexual awakening, and the struggle to survive in an unforgiving environment, the core of the film is about suspicion and distrust. It's a timeless scenario, when things start to go wrong, the members of an isolated party begin to turn on each other. The Witch takes a slightly deeper twist on this old theme, bringing it to a darker place in that the one character is who is essentially good, is driven to evil by the suspicions of others. It's a powerful condemnation of the distrustfullness of others and the destructive nature of such behavior. 

The Witch isn't a perfect movie, but at least it's bold and takes risks. In this day and age, that alone is worthy of some level of praise. 

Fiction Friday (4)

I figured since the whole world tends to shop on this Friday (not myself of course, I can't stand crowds), why not use that spending power for good instead of evil and buy yourself some books, or buy books for others. My books make great gifts. But of course you all know that already. So I won't talk about my books. I'll talk about other writer's books. I've always been attracted to original myths, folklore and fairy tales. My earliest writing as a teenage were often attempts at original fairy tales. Seeing as the book I'm currently working on has a elements of that, I've been attracted reading these kinds of books again. Here are two Middle Grade books I recently read that I hope you might enjoy.

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

(Candlewick 2010)

A quick, delightful story about a night fairy named Flory who accidentally gets a wing clipped by a sleepy bat. Understandably, Flory then HATES bats. She hates them so much, she decides to become a day fairy just to avoid them. The charm of this story is the impulsive way in which Flory seems to form her opinions. Following a more traditional fairy lore, Flory is a bit stubborn and self-centered. But the heart of the story stems from the way she is able to adapt and overcome. The plot is slight, but perfect for 7-9 year olds both in content and pacing with just the right blend of sweetness and danger. MUST LIKE FAIRIES.

Tree Girl by T.A. Barron

(Philomel 2001)

I absolutely love the concept behind Tree Girl. Part original fairy tale, part invented myth, the story borrows from various folklores to create its own world within which to exist. The setup is extremely compelling. Nine year old Anna lives in an isolated cottage by the sea with a grouchy man who supposedly rescued her from forest ghouls when she was a baby. The two live in perpetual fear of the forest that surrounds them. Day after day, the man leaves her to go fishing and Anna finds life extremely lonely. Her only friend is the old tree growing near their house. That is, until she meets a sandy haired bear cub and discovers there are more secrets to the forest than she has been led to believe.

There is some wonderful imagery in this book. T.A. Barron is exceptional at bringing this strange forest to life with the slightest of prose. The story structure is purposefully simplistic, keeping in format with the idea of a myth, however I found myself missing a more intimate connection with Anna. Her fears, desires, and longing for companionship are made clear, but I never felt them as deeply as I'd have wished. That said, I think it's still a wonderful story that 9-11 year olds of a certain type would truly love.

Sidenote: The cover illustration by Trina Schart Hyman, for this edition, is beautiful.

How the Giraffe Got His Spots

On this Story Time Tuesday, I share with you a story I wrote way back in second grade. Last year, I did a school visit at my elementary school and my amazing second grade teacher presented me with this surprise which she had held onto for all of those years. As far as I'm aware, the earliest surviving story I ever wrote.

The Giraffe

There was a giraffe that everyone laughed at because he didn't have spots and a long neck. Then he went to the jungle. Then he felt a hand and WAMO he was gone. And when he came out he had brown spots and a long neck. The man said, "All you needed was a fire."

Besides the obvious masterpiece that this is, I found the WAMO bit especially interesting. It's a device I still use often in writing chapter books. Both Pirate School and CatKid are filled with CRASHes and BLAMs. It's funny how our sense of storytelling develops at such an early age. I read this to the kids during the visit. They reacted with slightly less enthiusiam than when my reading of CatKid.