Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Fantastic Flying Friends

slices at Two Writing Teachers!
I've always loved imagining that the world around me (animals, objects, everything) is alive.  My husband and I went to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D, and I told him that I wish I lived in an enchanted castle like that.  (He made fun of me, of course!)  I mean, how great would it be if you were surrounded by friendly pots, pans, shelves, closets, etc. that all talked to you and sang songs to cheer you up!  :-)

Possibly reading my mind, the librarian at School #1 recently sent out an email recommending a short film to all the staff.  After putting it off for several days, I finally got around to watching it, and all I can say is that I wish I'd watched it right away!  This short, "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore", is AMAZING!  What if books were friendly creatures that invited you into their lives with open pages?  Watch the film to find out!  (It's just under 15 min but well worth it!)


The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

I love how the film depicts books changing a broken, black-and-white world into full-color, renewed life.  It's beautiful how things turn to color as soon as the person touches a book.  I love the idea of an author flying to someone in need of a book, starting them off on their powerful journey to discovery through books.

 I love the friendly way the books encourage the character to write his book after he's spent time with them. (This makes me think of Tuesdays when I'm worn out and uninspired -- after reading a few other people's slices, all of a sudden words are brewing in my brain!)

I love how he repairs the old, tattered book and discovers that its story is just as magnificent as any newer book -- and maybe even better!  Sometimes I feel like so much attention gets paid to great new books, especially in schools, that we forget that older classics can still speak to kids too!

Throughout the film, I love the depiction of books as friends: they hold people's hands, they react emotionally, they WANT to be loved by someone.  This is such a beautiful representation of the way a reader can interact with a book.  It makes me think of all the old friends I love going back to, whose pages are yellow and wrinkly from being turned so many times.  Little House on the Prairie, Emily of New Moon, Cheaper by the Dozen, A Tale of Two Cities, and so many others with characters that feel like family and words that inspire me and envelop me with comfort.

What was your favorite moment in the film?  How did it remind you of your own journey as a reader (or writer)?

6 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing this! I am in love. There is so much to this video. I was especially charmed by the way he breathed life back into the old book by reading it. The movie really played with the power of books interacting with people and how both the story and the reader benefit from the interaction.

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  2. I LOVED that video, what a message! My favorite part was when he brought the flat-lined book back to life by reading it. Life is in books. Books have always been my friend. They are there to comfort me, make me laugh, and cry. Thanks for this little video.
    Did I read that your program has been eliminated for next year? If that is true, I am so sad.

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    1. I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! Elsie, you're right, my programs are being eliminated. I haven't really posted about it yet because I'm hoping to know soon whether I have a job (teaching something else) still. Plus, I'm honestly trying not to think about it too much yet -- it's so sad!

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  3. Sorry to hear about the job, Jennifer. I wish you well, of course, & hope you let us know how things are going.

    Thank you so much for the film. I will share it with staff. As a lover of all things reading, I was entranced. Yesterday, on my Monday reading blog, I shared this quote by Carl Sagan. I hope you enjoy it, too. "What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic."

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    1. Wow, what a great quotation, Linda! I love it! Thanks for the kind thoughts about my job -- I will keep you posted!

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  4. Apparently they've taken it down from Vimeo, but now you can download it for free from iTunes! Also, a picture book is coming soon! Check out the website here: http://morrislessmore.com/

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