The Children's Literature Podcast

Amazon’s half billion dollar TV adaptation of the second age of Middle Earth launched on the anniversary of author J.R.R. Tolkien’s death, hardly an auspicious date. The show has been unpopular with Tolkien fans and general audiences gave it a lukewarm reception, but Amazon is going to finish the full five seasons.

The third season launches tomorrow — on Rememb...

I just saw Godzilla Minus Zero and it absolutely melted my face. If I weren’t too old to headbang I would have been headbanging during the entire movie. However, I can’t really review it on this show because it is MOST DEFINITELY not for kids. Unless your kids like having nightmares.

But what I can do is take a trip down memory lane and rank my top five Godzill...

The film Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a delightful Halloween-themed romp by Aardman Studios, and it adds another jewel to the great tradition of British humor. But it’s also a really interesting snapshot of where Britain currently is at in terms of the rapid demographic and cultural change, using a premise imported from the United States and featuring many ch...

I saw Wildwood and I’m grumpy about it.

Based on the novel by Carson Meloy, this film has connected with a small and enthusiastic audience, but that audience doesn’t match the budget and it seems likely this film will turn a profit. This was the biggest stop motion project ever, and the skill that went into crafting the world of Wildwood is impressive. But love...

It’s HALLOWEEN and to conclude my 13 Nights of Halloween, I will tell the tale of how I learned about La Llorona, the weeping ghost who lost her children . . . so now she roams the world searching for children to take as replacements.

Is the Mexican legend of a wicked, cursed, and/or wronged woman true? WHO CARES! It gets little girls to shut up and go to bed w...