Walden Media
Summary
Provides an engaging and inspiring look at public education in the United States. This documentary has helped launch a movement to achieve a real and lasting change through the compelling stories of five unforgettable students such as Emily, a Silicon Valley eighth-grader who is afraid of being labeled as unfit for college, and Francisco, a Bronx first-grader whose mom will do anything to give him a shot at a better life.
Summary
When straight-laced fire superintendent Jake Carson and his elite team of expert firefighters come to the rescue of three siblings in the path of an encroaching wildfire, they quickly realize that no amount of training could prepare them for their most challenging job yet: babysitters. Unable to locate the children's parents, the firefighters have their lives, jobs, and even their fire depot turned upside down and quickly learn that kids, much like...
3) Holes
Summary
Young Stanley Yelnats finds himself at Camp Green Lake, where digging a hole a day keeps the warden at bay and "builds character". An ancient family curse still dogs Stanley and he's thrown headlong into the adventure of his life. Stanley and his campmates will have to forge fast friendships to unearth the mystery of what's really going on in the desert.
Summary
Oldschool grandparents Artie and Diane get more than they bargained for when they get stuck babysitting their type-A daughter's overprotected kids. But things go from hectic to hysterical when Artie realizes the kids are running the house with their newfangled technology. By playing by his own rules, which include sugary snacks, old fashioned games, and tough love, Artie manages to outsmart the kids and achieve the impossible - bringing the family...
Summary
An inspiring true story of courage and friendship the whole family will love. When 15-year-old Jay Moriarty discovers that the mythical Mavericks surf break is real, he reaches out to local surfing legend Frosty Hesson to train him to ride it. What begins as a mentorship turns into an extraordinary bond that transforms both their lives, as Jay and Frosty learn valuable lessons about conquering fear in pursuit of your dreams.
Summary
Jesse Aarons is in the 5th grade and has trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. He becomes upset when new classmate Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and some other striking differences, the two become fast friends. Together, they create Terabithia where they rule as king and queen and is a land filled with monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants. This friendship helps Jesse cope with a tragedy that makes him...
Summary
When Lucy Pevenise, her older brothers Edmund and Peter, and her older sister Susan are sent to the country for safer keeping during the initial bombing raids of WW II, they decide to play hide-and-seek in the strange house of the mysterious professor.During the game Lucy discovers a mysterious wardrobe and discovers an entirely different world. The place is called Narnia, and it's been locked in winter for over 100 years by someone known as "The...
Summary
In ordinary Somerset County, a young farm girl named Fern rescues the runt of a litter of pigs from her father's ax. Fern names the pig Wilbur, takes care of him, and continues to visit him every day after he is moved to her Uncle Homer Zuckerman's barn across the road. But it's Wilbur's friendship with Charlotte the spider that ultimately saves him from the "smoke house" when Charlotte's talent for weaving praiseworthy words about Wilbur into her...
9) Everest
Summary
Inspired by the incredible events surrounding an attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, the film documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle...
10) The Giver
Summary
The story centers on Jonas, young man who lives in a supposedly ideal world of conformity and contentment. Yet as he begins to spend time with the elder, who is the sole keeper of all the community's memories, Jonas quickly begins to discover the dark and deadly truths of his community's secret past. At extreme odds, Jonas knows that he must escape their world to protect them all; a challenge that no one has ever succeeded at before.
12) Savvy
Author
Summary
Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--A magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.