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Canadian Olympic Stories

Anyone who is interested in hearing the stories of Canada's athletes during the 2014 Sochi Olympics can find them at the official Canadian Olympic website

A Christmas Carol

Around this time each year I get very nostalgic and I like to revisit some of my favourite Christmas stories, movies and television specials from my youth. Much as I did for Halloween, I will try to upload some of my favourites onto my blog for you to take a look at if you so desire.

My all-time favourite Christmas story is that of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Here you can read the story as a pdf file for free:

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol

There are literally hundreds of adaptations of this holiday classic, but here are a couple of my favourites. The 1951 theatrical version, and the Disney version starring Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer (As well as some other classic Disney holiday cartoons. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Inside every man, lurks a monster!

In 1886, Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson created one of his most famous novels, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 

 

The book deals with the idea of every person's inner evil and how a person can have more than one personality. In this case, there are two personalities within Dr Jekyll, one apparently good and the other evil; completely opposite levels of morality. The book has had such an impact that the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" have even become part of the English language, meaning someone who acts differently from one situation to the next.

You can read the entire novella here:

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The story has remained a favourite of readers for all of these years, and because of its evil antagonist, Mr. Hyde, it is often adapted for use around Halloween. Looney Tunes, especially, has had no less than 2 different adaptations of the story used in its cartoon shorts. I have included these for your viewing pleasure:

Hyde and Hare 

Hyde and Go Tweet 

The idea of Mr. Hyde was also used in an episode of Scooby-Doo and dozens of other reproductions:

Scooby Doo: Nowhere to Hyde 

For anyone looking for a short, Halloween themed read for your independent book talk, this is a great story of good and evil and is only 118 pages long.

The War of the Worlds!!!

Martians have invaded Grover's Mill, New Jersey & New York City!!

This was the premise of Orson Welles' (1915-1985) radio broadcast which was aired on Oct. 30, 1938 as a Halloween episode of his program Mercury Theatre on the Air. This became one of the biggest (although unintentional) pranks in Halloween history as many people who listened to the fake news reports mistakenly believed that they were true. There are stories of people who went to Grover's Mill and called the army, wanting to help fight off the Martian invaders. In the days following the adaptation there was widespread outrage and panic by certain listeners, who had believed the events described in the program were real.

You can listen to the whole broadcast here:

Welles' radio broadcast was inspired by the novel The War of the Worlds by English author H.G. Wells (1866-1946), written in 1898. Wells is considered by many to be the father of the science fiction genre and wrote many other successful novels, including The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. 

If you would like to read The War of the Worlds, I have included a link here which takes you to the entire novel saved as a pdf file.

 

The War of the Worlds: Complete Novel

With Halloween less than three weeks away, I thought it would be fun to post some of my favorite Treehouse of Horror episodes that are based on great literary works.

This is the Simpsons' retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic and chilling poem, "The Raven."

The Simpsons: Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" Video Link

For those who may not be familiar with Poe (1809-1849), he was an American author and poet who is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is also considered by many to be the inventor of the detective story genre.

Here is the link to Poe's original poem:

The Raven

Royal Canadian Legion Remembrance Day Contest

Any student interested in creating an original poem, essay or poster for the Royal Canadian Legion's Remembrance Day contest should read the attached instructions and submit their work by the first week in November.

Remembrance Day Contest Info

Remembrance Day Contest Rules