The Children's Literature Podcast

237 – 10 Things I DON’T Hate About Sonnet 141

10 Things I Hate About You was an instant teen classic, adapting Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew for a 90’s audience. The film’s title comes from a bit of bad but sweet teen poetry written by the shrew herself, Kat Stratford. Julia Stiles’ moving reading of her character’s reinterpretation of the poem is the emotional peak of the film, showing us how love finds a way through even the thorniest paths. Let’s take a look at Sonnet 141 by William Shakespeare as well as Kat’s poem, which is oddly named because she seems to hate more than 10 things about Patrick Verona. Do your own version of this homework assignment! I would love to read your own re-write of Sonnet 141.

236 – Animal Farm, Joseph Stalin, and . . . Keir Starmer?

My friend Miguel Lopez returns to the show, taking a break from his Ph.D studies of World War II to help me understand how Animal Farm by George Orwell creates a fictional portrayal of Stalin and Stalinism. We also answer a listener's question about whether the memes referring to British Prime Minister (for now) Keir Starmer as "Keir Stalin" are making fair criticisms of his policies, or if this is just social media ragebait.

235 – Animal Farm Was So Bad I Needed An Emotional Support Sandwich To Review It

Animal Farm directed by Andy Serkis and written by Nicholas Stoller is an utter abomination.

234 – Pop Culture Roundup

Here’s my thoughts on three upcoming adaptations of children’s stories. First, the preview trailer for the new Little House on the Prairie adaptation by Netflix looks like it might actually be . . . Good??? Also, it sounds like those rumors about HBO considering turning Lord Voldemort into Lady Voldemort might have some truth to it (ugh). And to wrap up, I react to a new featurette that’s been released about the upcoming Masters of the Universe adaptation and I’m feeling reassured, because they put to rest any idea that He-Man’s healthy brand of masculinity will be smeared as “toxic” in this adaptation.

233 – NASA, Artemis and Orion!

Human beings are going back to the moon! As I recorded this episode, Artemis II was on its journey to the moon and back again, with four crew members on board the Orion spacecraft. But what do Artemis and Orion have to do with each other? Quite a lot, actually! These two were hunting buddies who loved to explore the wilderness together. There are many twists on the myth, but all of them ended badly for poor Orion. NASA is rewriting the tale so that Artemis and Orion are once more exploring the last true wilderness — space — but with a happy partnership for them this time.