Cloudy with a Chance...

It's a rainy Sunday on Cape Cod, a good day to spend watching movies. Last night, we took the kids to the movie theater to see "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs," which was the top-grossing movie last weekend (I don't know yet about this weekend, but the theater we were in was pretty full.) We all loved it, and it appealed to us all for different reasons. We all laughed a lot. And I would totally recommend it.

The movie is based on the classic illustrated children's book of the same title. All three of my kids read this story over the years in their kindergarten classes. My daughter's class wrote and illustrated their own version with their favorite foods falling from the sky. My oldest child is now thirteen, but he still remembered the story. And enjoyed the movie along with his younger siblings (if you have a teenager, you know how unusual it is to please everyone at once!)

This new retelling has added depth, making you care about the characters and not just the zany plot. I got caught up in their stories and forgot to play my usual animated movie game of "whose voice is that?" The only one I recognized right off the bat was Mr. T as the policeman (a brilliant piece of casting.)

The main character is Flint, the child inventor with big dreams but no luck - all his inventions go wrong. Even the food creating machine doesn't work the way he intended. But he doesn't give up.

The whole theme of being true to yourself and following your dreams resonated with me - especially right now as I await the release of my first novel... coming this Thursday. Days away.

Go see the movie with your kids if you get a chance. It's a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Borrow someone else's kids if you need to. Let me know if you enjoyed it as much as we did!

And don't forget to visit me here again on Thursday to celebrate the release of Unfolding the Shadows. I'll be posting an excerpt of my book and a link to the publisher's site to purchase your own ebook.