The DVD of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was finally released last Wednesday, November 9. We asked readers of Writing to compare the book to the movie and to tell us what they liked better.

Here's what some of them had to say:

I would have to say the movie is better than the book. I say this because for one, I'm not too crazy about reading. Another thing is I think even though the movie was less detailed than the book, I like the modern twist to it. In the book, the oompa loompas were little dancing midgets, while in the movie they were renamed as rock stars. Another thing that I think made the movie better was that in the movie you actually know how everything was supposed to look and how the characters were supposed to look and how their faces react to certain things. What I mean by this is that a picture can mean 1,000 words. These are my reasons for liking the movie better than the book. -- Bob E., Grade 7

In The Missing Manatee by Cynthia DeFelice, 11-year old Skeet Waters finds a dead manatee. He tries to track down the killer and .... (well, you have to read the book to find out what happens next!)

On page 46, Skeet says:

"When I finally got to sleep, I had some very weird dreams. The manatee killer appeared. As I fought him, he turned into a giant hammerhead shark, laughing at me, his big mouth open to show rows of shark teeth."

Write about one of your crazy dreams. Submit it to us.

I'm getting on a plane tomorrow. I'm flying across the country. Washington State, here I come! (See, I have to say "Washington State" because, living on the East Coast, when I say just "Washington", people assume I mean D.C. It's exactly like when we say we're going to "New York" we usually mean New York City. Hmm... it's a Connecticut thing.)

Longest parenthetical ever!

Anywho... I love to fly. I hardly ever do it which makes each trip a special one. What I don't love is trying to pick out a book for the flight. This morning I was going absolutely nuts as I stared into my many bookshelves. What is the perfect airplane novel? Man, it's tough.

Last time I was on a plane, I flew to California. I brought with me The Confessions of Max Tivoli. Great great book. Max is born as an old man and ages backward through his life. So it was wild reading as I flew west across three time zones and landed in the past.

Yesterday was Sesame Street's birthday! In honor of 36 years of groundbreaking children's programming, we give you some of our favorite characters from the show! Who's your favorite Sesame Street character? Let us know who and why and we'll post your writings here!

Big Bird

When you're a kid, the thought of an 8 foot 2 inch bird can be a scary one. Think dinosaur on the loose. But add a splash of canary yellow, a curious nature, large innocent eyes, and a spirit of adventure to the mix and what do you end up with? A huggable, kindred spirit. That's what Big Bird was to me. An immense yellow birdie who saw the world through my eyes—and spoke to me. He could do all the things I wanted to do—write poetry, draw, ride a unicyle, ice skate, roller skate, dance, sing … and he was only 6 years old!!! But he never seemed out of reach—he told me it was OK to make mistakes, to be yourself, and to not have all the answers to life. He reminded me that "Asking is a good way of finding things out!" Come to think of it, I guess Big Bird’s larger-than-life yellow frame still speaks to me.