This is the first in series of posts about a book trailer project I’m doing with my fourth graders.
Having my students do their own book trailers is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. That said, I have had reservations, say that so many of the kid-created trailers I’ve seen seem to be more witty parodies rather than presentations of the actual sensibilities of the books themselves. Live action I find particularly dicey, say some of the 90 second Newbery offerings. As delightful as they are they do not, in my opinion, represent well the books as much as riff off of them in entertaining and amusing ways. An example is A Wrinkle in Time in 90 Seconds; those of us who know the story find this extremely fun and those who do not may be curious, but it does not to my mind communicate the ominous quality of the book itself. Same problem in my opinion is with this one for Charlotte’s Web.
Frankly, I think drawings, graphics, and animation make for a more successful kid book trailer. This one by twelve-year old Lily for Lauren Synder’s Bigger than a Bread Box does a beautiful job communicating what that book is all about. I also like this stop-animation one for Island of the Blue Dolphins and this one for Everything on a Waffle. You may disagree, but I feel these graphic-oriented trailers give a better sense of the books than those by live actors.
Next: Making my own book trailer first.
educating alice 