The Right Lever

Oct 17, 2024

Hand your kid the right lever, and they can move the world. With the right equipment and a bit of direction, they can make anything... even a professional-looking movie that may change their future.

The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is the brainchild of author James Kennedy. Each year, teams of kids all over the world read a book that has been the recipient of the annual Newbery Award for children's literature (here's a list of those books). With a bit of guidance from handy adults, they compress the whole story into 90 seconds of dialogue and film the result for the world to see. The results are usually side-splittingly funny, especially when kids incorporate their own style or twist: Even the most profound or disturbing stories that you can't believe actually are kids' books (think Bridge to Terabithia or The Yearling) become hilarious when pushed into a 90-second space and acted and directed by kids. My own kids have participated in past years, with 90-second renderings of A Single Shard, Hoot, and The Whipping Boy.

It's easy to participate, and it costs nothing! First, grab your kids and check out past years' winners at 90secondNewbery.com to get inspired. Then read the directions for creating a 90-Second Newbery in five steps, choose a book, get some kids on board to write, act, and direct after school or on the weekends... and EUREKA, you'll wind up with a brainy-yet-riotous entry that you can post to YouTube and send to relatives...and maybe be one of the 2025 winners! It's perfect for families, schools, friend groups, clubs, libraries, and scouts! Just get it submitted by January 17, 2025. (Entries for the screenings in San Antonio, Boston, and Tacoma have a special later deadline of March 24, 2025.)

Participating in the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival when she was 12 changed my daughter Ella's life: She saw it was possible to frame the world in a lens and edit it to her vision, and she's now a travel videographer. KidsOutAndAbout.com is the 2024-2025 Media Sponsor of the 90-Second Newbery. So if your kids' team makes a movie between now and January, please let me be the third to know—right after Grandma—and I'll tell the world.

—Deb