I am writing to ask you for a small favor. Would you please stop turning all of my favorite children's books into movies?! Not only is it annoying to see my beloved storylines butchered, twisted, and revamped into crowd-pleasing screenplays, but you're ruining my lessons on prediction strategies! For instance, how am I going to set my students up for Violet Beauregarde's transformation into a blueberry (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) if they already know it's coming?
You're robbing me of the joy of sharing one of my all-time favorite stories with my students. I don't get to see their faces light up the way mine did when my teacher read it to me. (Granted, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" starring Gene Wilder was out since the '70s...but I didn't see it until well after I was introduced to the book.) Every wintry Wednesday during "Morning Meeting," Mary, our head of school, would read a chapter or two of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I hung on her every word, the room was absolutely silent--she barely spoke above a whisper. Those read-aloud moments with her were magical, that's the only way I can describe it.
Well, Movie Industry, I can't really recreate that same feeling my own class, now can I?! Sure, I've got a few Roald Dahl favorites that haven't been turned into movies....yet. But so far you've covered:
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- James and the Giant Peach
- Matilda
- The BFG
- The Witches
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Danny, Champion of the World
I'm telling you now, Movie Industry, if you even think about turning The Twits, Boy, The Magic Finger, or Esio Trot into movies in the near future, I WILL be knocking on your front door with some serious complaints. You've done enough, let's call it quits. I'd like to keep some magic and mystery in my read-alouds.
Sincerely,
Miss Boyd
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