You probably know by now that Nancy and I are both suckers for sweet romantic stories, so of course we both positively flipped when we read Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. And then we flipped AGAIN when we found out the book was being made into a movie. And now there’s just a couple days to go until it’s in theaters! (At least, if you live in L.A. or Sacramento or Austin. Sadly, the rest of us have to wait until August 27th.*)

Are you as excited for this film as we are? Here’s the trailer:

Looks cute, huh? Although I was pretty surprised to see that the film is set in the 1950s and 60s! The book is actually set in today’s times, but I can see that it would work in the past. What do you guys think?

If you haven’t already read Flipped, I suggest you run out and get a copy right now. It’s not a cutesy tween girl book with bubbly pink lettering on the cover; it’s a thoughtful story of two kids who make up their minds about one another early on, and then eventually start looking deeper, only to realize that their views of each other say a lot about who they are themselves — and what kind of people they want to be.

Plus it’s told in alternating points of view between Juli and Bryce, so you get both perspectives, which is a refreshing change from most books involving crushes and all that. (You can’t fool us — we know boys think about girls too!)

Of course, that’s all MY point of view. In the spirit of the book, I also want to present Nancy’s review of Flipped, which she shared in our Romance theme podcast:

So, what are you waiting for? You’ve got two days to read the book (or re-read it) before the movie comes out on Friday!

And also check out this post from Wendelin van Draanen’s blog, where she talks about her trip to visit the movie set during filming. Apparently there were a bunch of coincidences that led to a very magical experience for her. I TOTALLY got teary-eyed reading about it — not to mention even more excited for the upcoming movie! Nancy and I will be seeing it when it opens in New York. How about you?

— Karen

Karen’s first crush was on Chris, a boy who went to her preschool. She used to tell people they were going to get married. But then in elementary school, she shifted her affections to Matt, the boy who stood behind her in line and pulled on her braid. So fickle.

More about Karen »

* UPDATE 8/5/2010: So, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first? Uh, I can’t actually hear your answer, so I’m going to pretend that you said you want the bad news first. Here it is: Turns out that Flipped is only opening in limited release tomorrow, August 6th. According to this awesome movie fansite that I just discovered, the film opens only in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Austin tomorrow. For the rest of us, the wide release date is August 27th. Boo! Cry… But remember I said I have good news too? Well, this just means you have more time to read the book before the movie hits the big screen! Hey, silver linings, people…

Reviewed by: beki, Age 9 from Indiana

Rating:

hi this book is a mouse who lives in a castle with a princess and a king and other mice and rats but he is not like other mice.Read and find out what happens

Can a film adaptation ever be better than the book? What’s the next book-based movie that should be made? And what in the heck is “Lemonade Snicket”? The answers to all these questions — and more! — in our latest podcast, all about books that have been made into movies!

  (15:58) 
Download the MP3 (11.5 MB)
• This Podcast’s Bad Beginning — aka our mystery book revealed
• Books on the big screen (both real and imagined)
• Our film-bound book picks (Holes and Nim’s Island)
• Daydreams of Shia LaBeouf

And when you’re done listening, don’t forget: our next theme is historical fiction! So watch our latest Mystery Book Theater video check out these timeless historical novels. Get it? They’re timeless? Man, we are so funny…)

— Nancy and Karen

This book trailer for A Series of Unfortunate Events was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Book to Movie theme. For more on A Series of Unfortunate Events, check out our “Lights, Camera, Action” podcast.

If you like cheerful stories, then you’d be better off not watching this video. Instead, go play with a kitten, hug a teddy bear, or head off to a flower-filled park for a romp (a word which here means, “an enjoyable afternoon far, far away from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket”). I beg of you, do not watch this video.

(In addition, if you hear of the movie based on this series, please do your best to ignore it. This is for your own good.)

Get your popcorn ready, because these books all have film versions ready for the viewing! Of course, both Nancy and Karen think that the movies are never quite as good as the books, so be sure to check out the originals too. Here are our picks, in no particular order:

(And we’ll bet you were into some of these books WAY before all  the johnny-come-latelys who only discovered these titles through the movies. So stake your claim and send in your review!)

1. Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr (Karen’s pick)
2. Holes by Louis Sachar (Nancy’s pick)
3. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
4. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
5. The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
6. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
7. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
8. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
9. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
10. City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
11. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
12. The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper
13. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
14. Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz
15. Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
16. My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
17. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
18. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Or send in a review of any other book you love that has a film version!

UPDATE 9/28/09: The answer for the book-to-big-screen Mystery Book Theater was revealed in the “Lights, Camera, Action” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer (or if just want to hear Nancy’s twisted idea for “Lemonade Snicket”). Of course, you can also watch the video over and over again, and then leave your guess in the comments box!