So we went to the movies… we did!!! We have only ever done that once before so when the invitation landed two weeks before… well two weeks is a long time for excitement to build… and did it build!!!
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism… is the first movie based on the fabulous fun series of Molly Moon. If you haven’t met Molly Moon yet then your middle schoolers will thank you for an introduction. My kids have enjoyed the Molly Moon books again and again and again. Molly Moon is an eleven year old orphan with a variety of hidden talents. She arrives on the orphanage steps in a Moon’s Marshmallow box, and so her name is chosen and life in a miserable English orphanage begins. From the outside Molly Moon looks like your typical kid, she loves ketchup sandwiches and can drink squash concentrate… and she loves books. She has her own special nook in the local library and clearly a place in the librarian’s heart. Molly is awkward and doesn’t make friends easily, she is very often the victim of bullying and out of necessity is somewhat of a loner. While lurking in the library she discovers a book on hypnotism and she is drawn into the book and slowly but surely masters the art and also slowly and intentionally is able to overcome her foes.
Molly’s best friend and ally is a youngster called Rocky, he is almost everything that Molly isn’t – he is likeable and naturally friendly. And then there is Molly’s dog: Petula is a pet pug, initially she belonged to the dreadful head mistress of the orphanage… but a series of incidents resulted in her being another one of Molly’s deep and enduring friends. And this pup has quite a few skills too. The dreadful headmistress is called Agnes Adderstone and as the antagonist in a children’s book she is full of meanness. You can meet all the characters in the books on her website here.
Anyway, there was plenty popcorn and soda… it was the movies after all. Here is a movie that is a great kid movie… the baddies are bad, but not terrifying. The goodies are good, but very human and full of limitations. They have to dig deep to find their inner strength and it takes nail biting time to master the powers necessary to overcome the baddies. Ultimately, good conquers bad, Molly Moon triumphs and learns some genuine life lessons along the way… not to mention friendships that are pushed to the limit, endure and in fact end up stronger for all the knocks they have taken. This is a sweet kids movie, the kind that are really hard to find, there is nothing overly scary or untoward… the story is endearing, and unlike many children’s movies you don’t leave feeling like you have been brainwashed with the not-so-hidden message of a blessed little thought. Just a good fun watch…
You can meet the author, Georgia Byng here and how totally cool is her list of favourite books.
With school holidays looming, just the other side of end of year craziness, you will be looking for things to do with your kids. Well, we really enjoyed Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism.
Thank you so much to PanMacmillan South Africa for providing us with movie tickets. This is not a sponsored post, we were not paid to write it, and the opinions expressed are as usual our own.