The Inexpensive Way to Keep Up With the 2019 Oscar Contenders
Who has the time, am I right? You’re busy people. The likelihood that you’ve had a chance to see all of the Oscar contenders for Best Picture this year is slim. I know some of you have done it, but it takes a concerned effort. To lighten the load, let me make it easy on you. You may not have time to see a film, but surely you’ve time to read a book for kids! They’re so short, and many of them cover the same ground as the film nominated. Don’t believe me? Just watch.
If you want to see:
The Favourite
Try:
My New Friend Is So Fun! by Mo Willems
I did think about going with Rabbit and Robot and Ribbit instead because, y’know, there’s a bunny in it (obviously), but this just has a better punch of a title, don’t you think?
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If you want to see:
Bohemian Rhapsody
Try:
The Unruly Queen by E.S. Redmond
Aww. She even kind of looks like Freddie Mercury, don’t you agree?
If you want to see:
Green Book
Try:
Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, ill. Floyd Cooper
Spoiler Alert: You’ll find this to be MUCH better than the film. Particularly if you want to actually know something about that book.
We would have also accepted: The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis.
If you want to see:
A Star is Born
Try:
The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer, ill. Ekua Holmes
I sat through that whole dang film and not once did they even mention the Big Bang or how stars are technically formed. I mean it’s like they didn’t even care that . . . what’s that? The film wasn’t supposed to be about actual stars?
If you want to see:
Black Panther
Try:
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
Long before I knew what Afrofuturism was, there was another story about superheroes in the not-so-far future, and it won a Newbery Honor back in 1995. I made a display of Afrofuturism titles in my library not too long ago, and there was plenty of Black Panther fodder there. On the children’s side, though, I was only able to find this book. Let’s see if we can’t change that in the future, shall we?
And finally . . .
If you want to see:
Vice
Try:
Or, alternate thought, don’t!
Filed under: Uncategorized
About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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Love this pairing. Such a clever idea. Any more in the works?
Not this year. I didn’t include all the Best Picture nominees, as you might have noticed, because there wasn’t anything I could really do with them. But if you get a chance you should check out last year’s list. That was fun: https://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/01/24/the-inexpensive-way-to-keep-up-with-the-award-contenders/
Not “One Crazy Summer” for Black Panthers?
Mmm. Would have worked if “Black Panthers” was in the name of the book. That could have been an alternate way to take though, I’ll grant.