Read Street: On mice, Harry Potter and 'Iron Man' - A blog for a community of readers, in Baltimore and beyond.

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June 9, 2008

On mice, Harry Potter and 'Iron Man'

Fellow Sun blogger Kate Shatzkin at Charm City Moms raises an interesting question -- one sparked by the upcoming DVD release of Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle. As more and more classic stories are presented as DVDs, she wonders about the impact on young readers. Will the animated tales make them read less, as they gravitate to televised and computerized fare? Or will they become more interested in reading the book, too?

I think it's tough for a book to win out over a great DVD or movie. Millions have watched Disney's Cinderella, but how many have read the fairy tale? Did the Harry Potter movies whet young readers' appetites for the next book -- or for the next movie? Then again, I just came from the amazing Iron Man movie, and I'm psyched to read some of the old comic books.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Children

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About the bloggers

While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, Nancy Knight grew up reading nearly everything she could get her hands on, including a probably unhealthy amount of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike, with the obligatory Jane Austen thrown in. She'll still read just about anything you put in front of her, especially the funny or weird. She lives in the city with her books, cat and drum set.

Dave Rosenthal came to The Baltimore Sun as a business reporter in 1987 and now is an assistant managing editor and Sunday editor. He reads a wide range of books (but never as many as he'd like), usually alternating between non-fiction and fiction. Some all-time favorites: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole; Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; and anything by Calvin Trillin or John McPhee. He belongs to a book club with a Jewish theme.