Contra Morrissey, I love it when my friends become successful. Daniel Kraus, Chicago area writer and friend from the old days, won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for his World War I horror novel Angel Down.

Longtime readers know that I occasionally review books for the Wall Street Journal. I actually pitched a review for Angel Down, but it was not to be. But when Kraus won the Pulitzer for it, my editor at the WSJ gave me a different assignment: to sum up the highlights of Daniel Kraus’s career. Not easy! He’s one of the hardest working writers I know. Over the past 15-odd years, he’s put out some thirty books in many different genres, and he’s even got a movie coming out this fall! It was tough winnowing it down to the essentials, but here’s a gift link to the article. (“One of the most versatile, imaginative, and prolific writers of his generation”? Yeah, I stick by that!)

Here’s to all of our friends getting the success they deserve. (Oh, and today happens to be the birthday of the other fellow in the photo below, Adam Selzer, who is a fantastic author, tour guide, ghost hunter, and force of nature in his own right. It’s from when Dan, Adam and I all happened to have books out on Delacorte Press, and we briefly branded ourselves as “The Brothers Delacorte”—more photos here).

It’s the last 90-Second Newbery screening of the season! Actually, we were supposed to do our Minneapolis screening back in March 15, but it got snowed out. Luckily we were able to reschedule it to June 14, at the same venue: the Minneapolis Central Library!

I was joined by my fantastic co-host Jacqueline West, author of the NYT-bestselling middle grade series The Books of Elsewhere and more, including the upcoming YA horror novel Black Point. Jacqueline is a great writer, has an infectious laugh, and she can REALLY SING. Check out how she belts our opening song, a rewritten version of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast:

Let’s check out the movies that we featured at the screening! The first one is based on Victoria Jamieson’s 2016 Newbery Honor Book Roller Girl, and it’s by Hazel and friends from Minneapolis:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “It was an inspired idea to retell the story in the style of various Queen songs . . . The best thing about this movie are the open-hearted, go-for-broke performances, excellent singing and choreographed dancing, and cleverly rewritten lyrics! A fun concept and impressive execution!”

We featured two movies from Garlough Environmental Magnet School of West St. Paul. This first one is based one Kate DiCamillo’s 2014 Newbery Medal Winner Flora and Ulysses, and it’s by Madeleine, Penelope & Lucy:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Making Ulysses himself the narrator at the outset was a smart choice. I was amused at how this movie made the out-of-control vacuum run over Ulysses on its own at the beginning, and how we ‘zoomed out’ to a seeming overhead shot of the town as the vacuum hurtles down the street to ‘Incandesto’ — where Ulysses falls into a vat of ‘cleaning product’ and begins to glow, turning into a superhero! . . . Stylish and fun to watch!”

We also showed this movie from Garlough Environmental Magnet School, based on E.L. Konigsburg’s 1968 Newbery Medal Winner From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and adapted by Grayson O’Keefe, starring his friends Emerson, Azariah, Ja’Keem, Isabel, Aleena & Marcus:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This movie was great fun because of the energetic and fun performances of Claudia and Jamie . . . But my favorite part was how instead of Claudia and Jamie trying to solve the mystery of an angel statue that might be by Michelangelo, they’re trying to solve the mystery of whether a certain cheeseburger is from McDonald’s! Entertaining and silly in all the right ways.”

We also featured two movies from Scenic Heights Elementary in Minnetonka. This first one is based on Cece Bell’s 2015 Newbery Honor Book El Deafo:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “A fun romp through the highlights of the book! I thought it was clever how all the actors wore rabbit ears, just like how all the characters sported rabbit ears in the original graphic novel. There were great performances throughout, from the dad’s funny ‘Geez, you’re overreacting’ to the way the mom protests ‘No, she’s only four!’ as the camera zooms in on her face melodramatically. ”

We also featured this movie of Flora and Ulysses from Scenic Heights Elementary:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This movie made creative use of green screen to put us in the various scenes, and I loved the energetic performances of all the actors! I particularly liked the slo-mo effect when Flora is rescuing Ulysses the squirrel from the vacuum cleaner (and I appreciated that you were able to get hold of an actual vacuum cleaner to use for the scene) . . . fast, wild, and entertaining!”

We also featured two movies from Delano Public Schools. This first one is based on Tae Keller’s 2021 Newbery Medal Winner When You Trap A Tiger:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This movie had a lot of energy and emotion. I particularly appreciated the tiger in its costume, especially when it was goofily dancing around in the middle of the street at the beginning (Good old-lady wig for Halmoni, too!).”

And also from Delano Public Schools, we have this adaptation of Erin Entrada Kelly’s 2025 Newbery Medal Winner The First State of Being:

As the judges wrote in part on the 90-Second Newbery website (complete review here, “I liked the breakneck pace of this movie as it sprinted ludicrously quickly, but accurately, through the plot points of the book! The background music was a great addition, especially when it changed to match the action of the scenes (such as how it became more hopeful when the time-travel egg started working again) . . . I liked the sly humor of some of the parts, like when the earthquake is predicted and then the intertitle dryly notes ‘One earthquake later.’ Well done!”

And those were the local entries for the Minneapolis 2026 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Thank you to the filmmakers and the parents and teachers who support them, and to the Minneapolis Central Library for letting us use their auditorium, to Jacqueline West for co-hosting, and to Jackie Hjelden for getting the ball rolling on organizing. See you next year . . . and I hope it doesn’t get snowed out this time!

Did you enjoy the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Do you want us to keep doing it? Then please help us out with a tax-deductible donation. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization.

We’re coming to the end of the fifteenth season of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! And on May 29, we had our Tacoma screening at Grant Center for the Expressive Arts. Thanks to Mr. Johnson at Grant Center for setting up the GoFundMe for this screening, and to all the wonderful folks who donated to it, with a special thanks to the Friedman family for their generous matching contribution! And thanks most of all to the young filmmakers who created the movies, and the teachers, librarians, and family who helped them.

And thanks to my lovely and talented co-host, Tacoma’s own Doug Mackey! As usual, he and I sang a ridiculous song to open the show . . . this time, based on “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, with lyrics rewritten to be about the Newbery.

Doug is a true showman, and I love that I get to perform a goofy song with him every year!

Every screening features a mix of locally-made movies and the best of what we’ve received nationally throughout the year. Let’s look at some of the local movies that were featured!

ActorCraft Page, Stage, and Screen of Gig Harbor, WA has been participating lately with some really snappy movies. Their 32 Hour Film Frenzy Workshop made this adaptation of Lois Lowry’s 1994 Newbery Medal Winner The Giver, and the script, performances, and cinematography were all top-notch:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “The script did a fantastic job of telling the story quickly and with humorous verve—and I particularly liked that the Giver himself is pretty funny (‘I’m known for my motivational speeches’ and ‘I’ll finally get some rest, maybe take interpretative dance’ were my favorite lines of his) . . . But the strongest thing about this movie is the performances: anchored by a realistic Jonas and a wry Giver, and supported by often amusing performances from the friends and family and other characters.”

The good folks at ActorCraft also did this adaptation of Donna Barba Higuera’s 2022 Newbery Medal Winner The Last Cuentista:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Strong, compelling, believable performances—some incredible acting and directing here! I was particularly impressed at the scenes of the secret meetings in which everyone is sharing recollections, and at the end when everyone is standing up to announce their specific memories. In a canny move, this movie dispenses with many of the picky details of the story (the visits to the planet, the subplot about the poison, etc.) and chose instead to concentrate on the book’s more general themes of memory, cultural inheritance, and meaning-making.”

We got five movies from Bryan Johnson’s fifth grade class at Grant Center for the Expressive Arts! The first one is based on Kwame Alexander’s 2015 Newbery Medal Winner The Crossover, and it’s by Mila, Akira, Ma’liya, Emmett, and Michael:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Fantastic! From the very beginning I knew this would be good, with the music’s opening flourish and all the cast popping their heads into the frame from offscreen—brilliant! There was an ingenious use of green screen throughout, with extra touches like an animated CGI tiger, or the way the dad’s corpse hilariously flies up into the sky during his funeral. The lyrics to the theme song for ‘Sofia the First’ were cleverly written into ‘Filthy the First’ and effectively got across the main plot points of the story. The singing was enthusiastic and fun to listen to, as well!”

This next movie from Grant Center is based on Rebecca Stead’s 2010 Newbery Medal Winner When You Reach Me, and it’s by Isaiah, Claire, Wren, Cora, and Elizabeth:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “It was a fun idea to adapt the story in the style of K-Pop Demon Hunters, complete with flashy outfits (I especially liked that pseudo-militaristic one with the elaborate epaulettes) and a reference to the ‘Soda Pop’ song at the end . . . The story was grounded by a believable and compelling performance of Rumi . . . Fun to watch!”

M.T. Anderson’s 2024 Newbery Honor Book Elf Dog and Owl Head was adapted by Mimi, Katja, Janessa, Simon, and Bennett:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This was a fun sprint through the story, made especially entertaining by the committed performances of the dogs crawling around, making dog noises, and even dogfighting . . . Hit many of the plot points compellingly and with style!”

Maxine, Teddy, Frances, Janaee, and Adam did this adaptation of Beverly Cleary’s 1982 Honor Book Ramona Quimby, Age 8:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “I love it when filmmakers adapt the books in a musical style! The singing and performances were fun to listen to, and the subtitles helped keep the cleverly written lyrics clear so I could understand every word. There was a cool use of green screen for backgrounds, and also for the occasional surprising foreground detail like the raw egg on Ramona’s face and the vomit! The enthusiasm and committed spirit of all the performers really made this movie work, and the movie hit most of the plot points in a way that was both swift and entertaining.”

Finally from the Grant Center, we have George Selden’s 1961 Newbery Honor Book The Cricket in Times Square, as adapted by Violet, Brynn, Jerimiah, Lulu, and Tyce. This movie is a creative imagining of what would happen to Chester the cricket after the events of the original book: he visits the countryside, but on his way back to New York City, he makes a wrong turn, and ends up in Seattle! This movie shows off some of Seattle’s notable tourist attractions:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “The background music kept the energy up, the performances were lively and appealing, and I was intrigued to meet Chester’s new Seattle friends, each with distinct personalities. I agree: the Seattle waterfront park is better than a drainpipe, and ‘New York can wait!'”

And that was the Tacoma 2026 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Here’s to many more screenings in Tacoma—it’s such a warm, supportive, creative community there!

Did you enjoy the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Do you want us to keep doing it? Then please help us out with a tax-deductible donation. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization.