We just had the opportunity to watch Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler, or as my kids call him, “That Happy Gillmore dude.” The kids loved it and my husband thought it was great for the kids, but a bit predictable. I liked that the movie sparked my children’s imaginations.

As a handyman at the hotel his father used to own, Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) spends his days changing light bulbs and competing with the hotel’s smarmy manager (Guy Pearce) for the attention of the new owner’s beautiful, hard-partying daughter, Violet (Theresa Palmer). When his sister Wendy (Courteney Cox) asks Skeeter to babysit her kids for a week while she’s out of town, Skeeter entertains his niece and nephew with elaborate, original bedtime stories that transport them to exotic locales. When he tries to help his family by telling one outlandish tale after another, it’s the kids’ unexpected contributions that turn all of their lives upside down.

A preview: space story

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One of the challenges at My Readable Feast is to find recipes that go with the books or activities. Much to my surprise, people have actually concocted some Pinocchio recipes.

Here are a few:

Geppetto’s Fruit Dip
Cast party recipe from KMR Scripts

Ingredients:

1. 8 oz pkg  cream cheese (softened)
2. ¾ cup brown sugar (light or dark)
3. ¼ cup white sugar
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix everything in a bowl until creamy. 
2. Let set in refrigerator an hour or so to let the sugars dissolve.
3. Great with apple slices or spoon on bananas.

Pinocchio’s Artichoke Dip
Cast party recipe from KMR Scripts

Ingredients:

1. 1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts — drained and chopped
2. 1 cup (4 oz) grated parmesan cheese
3. 1 cup mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
4. 1 tomato, chopped sliced green onions (About 6-8.  Use the green parts, too.)

Directions:

1. Mix the artichoke hearts, parmesan cheese and mayonnaise together. 
2. Spoon into a pie plate and bake at 350º for about 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. 
3. Remove from oven and sprinkle the onions and tomatoes on top. 
4. Serve with crackers, chips or hot bread and enjoy!

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The Disney classic Pinocchio is so entrenched in our collective imaginations that we forget the movie is based on a book by Carlo Collodi. There are many book versions of Pinocchio, some for children, some for older kids, and many for adults.

Here are a few that stand out:

• Pinocchio Picture Book by Carlo Collodi and Katie Daynes for ages: three years and up from Usborne Books. This traditional tale is warmly retold with colorful illustrations and captivating text.
• Pinocchio (Young Reading Series 2 Gift Books) as retold by Katie Daynes. This 64-page Usborne Book is for older children ages five to 12 years. This version also comes in a Pinocchio CD and book pack filled with lively music, dramatic sound effects and superbly characterized readings.
• Pinocchio (New York Review Books Classics) This is the grown up and original version where Pinocchio is one of the great subversives of the written page, a madcap genius hurtled along at the pleasure and mercy of his desires, a renegade who in many ways resembles his near contemporary Huck Finn.
• Pinocchio (Penguin Classics) In this version for ages nine to 12, Pinocchio plays pranks upon the kindly woodcarver Geppetto, is duped by the Fox and the Cat, kills the pedantic Talking Cricket, and narrowly escapes death, with the help of the blue-haired Fairy. A wooden puppet without strings, Pinocchio is a tragicomic figure, a poor, illiterate, naughty peasant boy who has few choices in life but usually chooses to shirk his responsibilities and get into trouble. This sly and imaginative novel, alternately catastrophic and ridiculous, takes Pinocchio from one predicament to the next, and finally to an optimistic, if uncertain, ending.

There was one summer a few years back when it seemed that Mary Poppins was constantly being placed in the DVD player by one of the children. That summer we all fell in love with Julie Andrews as Mary and Dick Van Dyke as Bert. We were always singing songs like “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and “Something about Mary.” Plus, I swear those wonderful animated penguins must be the grandfathers of the ones in Madagascar.

As an adult you have to wonder about the crazy Banks family. Mom is so busy being a suffragette that she’s ignoring the children, who are running all over London. Dad is no better since he’s entirely too wrapped up in his career and constantly firing the help. Then there’s the nutty neighbors shooting cannons and the nanny lets the children hang out with chimney sweeps and gives them a “tonic” to get them to sleep at night. And what’s going on with Mary and Bert anyway, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more indeed! Sounds like a Victorian version of Cops, and I’m not so sure Super Nanny would approve. Then again she’s no Julie Andrews.

Mary Poppins, based on the popular children’s stories by P.L. Travers, is in my opinion, is one of the best Disney films of all time. Just set the DVD player to “Repeat” please and the speakers up loud, it’s that good!

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Recently released just in time for Chinese New Year comes one of China’s top grossing family films and Disney’s first Chinese language film, The Secret of the Magic Gourd. It’s the story of a young boy, Raymond, a daydreamer whose vivid imagination has made him an outcast at school.

On a solo fishing trip, Raymond reels in the mysterious Magic Gourd, who offers to make all his wishes come true. When each of Raymond’s seemingly simple wishes backfires, creating unintentionally hilarious consequences for the boy, he realizes that “there’s no such thing as an unearned reward,” but with a little hard work, he can create his own kind of magic and achieve his dreams.

If you love Chinese children’s folk tales, you’ll enjoy it since the movie is based on the Chinese children’s novel, The Secret of the Magic Gourd. In addition to the English soundtrack, Mandarin and Cantonese soundtracks are also available on the same DVD – great practice for all of you learning Mandarin or Cantonese!

High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu’s does the voice for the character of Bailey the Gourd. If that doesn’t get your reluctant tween to watch the movie, I don’t know what will.

My children enjoyed watching The Secret of the Magic Gourd. They have cousins who live in Hong Kong, and I know they’d love it, too.

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