Sands Hetherington's Blog, page 4

Best Book-to-Movie Adaptations of 2018

Have you noticed that these days, almost every movie that comes to theaters started off as a successful book? Some of the most beloved movies of all time even started as books, from Gone with the Wind to the Harry Potter series. In 2018, these book-to-movie adaptations have been dominating the screens, and today I’m running down a list of my favorite must-sees!

A Wrinkle in Time

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Written originally by Madeline L’Engle’s 46 years ago, this beloved children’s series finally came to the big screen in March! With big names like Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Pine, this movie lived up to the book’s incredible reputation.

Love, Simon

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Originally a popular YA novel titled Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, the movie “Love, Simon” is a heartwarming coming-of-age film that left audiences in a pool of happy tears. Definitely a 2018 favorite!

Ready Player One

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Steven Speilberg took on the dystopian classic novel with the March release of Ready Player One. Set in 2044 in a VR simulator, the movie doesn’t lack in action or special effects that truly bring the story to life.

Annihilation

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Starring Natalie Portman, this massively anticipated adaptation was released in February 2018. The original author, Jeff Vandermeer, wrote this as the first in a trilogy, and it follows a team of women who venture into a somewhat celestial, abandoned area known as Area X.

Has one of your favorite books been turned into a movie? Let me know in the comments below!

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Tips for Writing Memorable Kid Lit

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When a child finds a book that they love, he can become a reader for life. But what makes a good children’s book? What qualities should it possess to make a child hold onto its memory and message?

If you’re an aspiring author or simply someone who loves kid lit, and you’re trying to answer these questions yourself, here are some tips to help!

It’s all about imagination. Kids love to use their imagination, and their favorite books take their imaginations to new levels. Think about the most popular children’s books—Harry Potter, Where the Wild Things Are, even the Oz series—they all use enormous amounts of imagination, and kids remember them for life.

Create strong, memorable characters. Children’s fiction is not the place to play around with unlikeable, complex characterization. You need a hero, and you need a hero that your young readers will want to be best friends with. In Night Buddies, John is the character that kids relate to, but Crosley is the one that stands out to them because they want to be his best friend too!

Think about the lesson of your story. Good children’s books don’t need to end with a cheesy, “And this is what he learned,” line, but they do need to offer kids insight into some kind of moral or life lesson that they are still trying to grasp in their lives. We turn to books in order to understand something about the world we live in, whether we are reading as children or adults, and it is important that children get this from the very first books they read.

If you’re a writer, think about incorporating these tips into your own stories. Don’t forget to let me know how it goes in the comments!

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Parenting Quotes to Get You Through the Hard Days

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No matter how perfect your child is, I’ve never met a single person who didn’t say parenting came with its own set of challenges. Toddlers throwing temper tantrums, teenagers staying out until all hours of the morning, newborn babies who refuse to sleep through the night—being a parent is sometimes as exhausting as it is rewarding. But on the hard days, there is always solace in knowing you aren’t alone.

Here are some of my favorite quotes about parenting that never fail to put a smile on my face.“Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them.”

“90% of parenting is thinking when you can lie down again.”

“Having a 2-year-old is like owning a blender you don’t have the top for.”

“Before becoming a parent, I didn’t know I could ruin someone’s life by asking them to put pants on.”

“When I tell my kids I’ll do something in a minute, what I’m really saying is ‘Please forget.'”

“My kid is turning out just like me. Well played, karma. Well-played.”

“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing.”

 

What is your favorite parenting quote? Let me know in the comments!

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How to Uncover Your Child’s Passions

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As parents, one of the most fulfilling parts of our lives are getting to watch our children flourish doing the things they love. But what if your child doesn’t know what he or she loves? What if he or she is feeling unmotivated, or discouraged because they don’t know what their passion is? The good news is, as parents, we can help. Here are some ways you can help your child uncover their passion.

Encourage them to try everything. You don’t know if you love or hate something until you try it, so anything your child is remotely interested in is something you should encourage them to try. Push them to join a soccer team, take ice skating lessons, write a short story, or paint a picture. Let them know that they can do anything they want, and then help them do as many things as they can.

Don’t let them give up. If your child decides they want to play soccer, but they fall on their face during their first practice, don’t let them quit. It’s rare to be good at something from the start, and as their skills develop, they may learn that they love an activity they thought they hated. Be careful with this one though—there is a fine line between pushing your child to stick with something, and forcing them to spend time doing something they actually hate.

Pay attention. Maybe your child doesn’t know what they want to try, but you’ve seen them light up during a school assignment where they had to give a science report. Slowly introduce more books about science into their life, or sign them up for a science camp in the summer. Pay attention to what peaks your child’s interests, and you might show them something about themselves they hadn’t even discovered yet.

Be supportive. You might not agree with your child’s passions, and that’s okay. Maybe they want to get into camping when you’ve always been a hotel person, maybe they love video games and you think they’re being lazy, or maybe they love art when you’ve always wanted them to become a doctor. Be supportive of their passions anyway. Because at the end of the day, if your child is happy and feels fulfilled by their calling, you’ve done your job.

What are some of your child’s passions, and how do you support them? Let me know in the comments!

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Why You Should Be Reading Kid Lit

It’s the common belief that children’s books are meant for…well…children. And while they often are filled with valuable lessons for children to learn, such as accepting one another’s differences and using your manners, there are some books filled with lessons for parents as well.

One most recent example is the children’s book, The Boy Who Opened My Eyes, written as a kind of memoir by Elaine Sussman about her blind younger brother, Mark. In an article from the Sun Sentinel, writer Michael Braga writes about how the book showcases parents willing to help their child through any difficult—including something as difficult as growing up without sight.

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“Mark’s parents made his life interesting, always designing ways to allow their son to experience the world of sight,” Braga writes. The book showcases the ways his parents taught him to embrace his life without sight, not feel sorry for himself despite his handicap, and the lessons they taught him about being brave and positive.

While the book can and should resonate with children about the ways they can learn and become better people from the difficulties they face, the book is also an excellent reminder to parents that their actions and the way the face challenges has a direct reflection on their children, and the adults they will grow up to be.

You can also think about a book like Night Buddies, where the parents may not be main characters, but have a big impact on the storyline. My protagonist John’s mother is a skeptic, cynical about her son’s imagination and quick to scold him for the adventures he wants to share with her. In the end, it makes him feel the need to hide a big part of his life from her.

While this can be seen as a minor storyline, it can also be a reminder to parents to listen to their children, and be kind when they open up to you. Encouraging their imagination can bring the two of you closer than ever—I have firsthand experience with that, creating these stories years before they were written with my own son.

Just remember, every book has a lesson, and every book can have value to its reader. Even if you’re an adult reading a picture book to your kids at night, take a minute to think about how the story can apply to you. You might learn more than you ever expected!

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Spring Clean Your Bookshelf

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It’s officially the first week of April! And even though many parts of the world are still covered in snow, it’s never too early to get a head start on your spring cleaning. As someone who hoards the things I love, my bookshelf is always in need of a restart and a good clearing out, which puts it at the top of my spring cleaning to-do list. Here are some tips on how you can get your bookshelves back in order!

Empty your shelves. That’s right, you need to take every single book you have off of your bookshelf to account for how much you really have.

Sort your books by genre, author, most-read, or whatever label makes the most sense for you! Make piles on your floor, and sort every book you own into one of them. This will make it easier to see how much of a certain type of book you own, and help you determine which piles are the most important to you.

Make the easy choices. As you’re sorting your books into piles, make a separate one for books you haven’t touched for over a year. Are there books you don’t even remember buying? Books you want to interest you, but anytime you go to pick it up you end up choosing something else? Books you remember hating as you read? Get rid of these books first.

Make the hard choices. Once you’re ready to start putting your books back on your shelves, make sure you are conscious of each decision. That book you loved from five years ago, are you going to ever read it again? What about the book your mother gave you, but you have no interest in reading? Any book you keep should be a book you firmly are interested in owning…don’t put back anything that you have questions about.

How many books do you have in your home? Are you a book hoarder like myself? Let me know in the comments below!

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Children’s Easter Books You’ll Love!

Spring is officially upon us, and that means Easter is just around the corner! Whether you are looking for a book to teach your child what Easter is about, or just want a fun story filled with rabbits and Easter eggs, here are a few books you won’t want to miss out on.

Happy Easter, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff

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If you and your children are fans of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, you’ll love this adorable board book. It follows the same mouse as he goes around on an Easter egg hunt!

The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story, by Mike Berenstain

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This classic children’s series follows the Bear cubs who are excited for candy on Easter Sunday, until they learn the story behind the real reason why we celebrate Easter. This is a sweet and informative book, and it includes a sheet of stickers for your kids.

Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure, by James Dean

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This #1 New York Times bestseller tells the story of Pete the Cat, and his adventure in helping the Easter bunny fulfill his Easter duties! With colorful illustrations, plus a poster, stickers, and a punch-out card, this is a book your children will love.

What are some of your Easter traditions? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

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Night Buddies: The Origin Story

Have you ever wondered how the Night Buddies series came to be? Why the main character is a red crocodile, or how I came up with the idea to write them as children’s books?

Good news! I’m back with another YouTube video this week explaining how John, Crosley, and the whole Night Buddies crew came to be. I hope it inspires you to create your own stories!

 

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Famous Authors Give Their Thoughts On Parenting

Time and again, the most famous books of all time touch on themes like family and what it means to be a parent. Today, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite quotes on parenting by authors you’ll know and love!

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“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” —James Baldwin

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“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” —Anne Frank

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“Your children are not your children.

They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you.

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” —Kahlil Gibran

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“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.” —Umberto Eco

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“What it’s like to be a parent: It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do but in exchange it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love.” —Nicholas Sparks

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“I don’t remember who said this, but there really are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.” —Anne Lamott

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“But kids don’t stay with you if you do it right. It’s the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run.” —Barbara Kingsolver

 

Which of these quotes is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below!

 

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Q&A with the Author: Part 2

I’m back with the second part of my YouTube Q&A series! This week I’m answering questions for fellow writers, giving readers an idea of where the Night Buddies books are set, and more. 

Check it out below!

And if you haven’t yet seen Part One, you can check it out here.

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