There’s a linear connection through history from the first moving images to the YouTube videos, movies and video games that kids, and we all, watch on hand-held and electronic devices. This connection is crucial to media literacy, and to understanding ourselves and the history of storytelling through this visual medium. Film naturally ties into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and the new Common Core standards required by teachers in the public school system. A film is “magic” because so many elements come together to create a work of art, but they are elements of both creativity and science (can you separate the two?): the writing of the screenwriter, the technical skills of the filmmakers, the math required for budgeting and technology, the engineering of new inventions that have advanced film from its inception.
An appreciation for storytelling, for the past, and for the many inventions and stories that have brought us where we are today in media is what inspires me to bring this children’s book to life.
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The Author
Jennifer Churchill
Growing up in the 1970s as a classic movies lover, Jennifer could have been reincarnated from the 1930s. The way they talked, the banter, the black-and-white images, the clothes they wore, the music – classic films just drew her in. Her favorite film is The Awful Truth from 1937, and she’s recently developed a crush on Chester Morris.
The Inspiration
Weston Harley Gilmore
At two years old, Weston has been Fred Astaire in Top Hat and Spanky from The Little Rascals for Halloween. He also knows the words to “Would You” from Singin’ In The Rain.
