On Thursday, Mar. 24, 2016, Malden Reads hosted a family movie night at the Ferryway School for Malden students and their families. Before beginning the movie, the families that attended were able to participate in an arts and crafts activity. The event attracted well over 100 students and families.
Families met in the Ferryway cafeteria for crafts and refreshments. Students crafted their own paper airplanes and rocketships made from blocks. Stamps were laid out to create unique designs of space exploration. Prior to the start of the movie, light refreshments were offered while waiting for the show to begin. When it was time for the show to begin everyone transitioned into the auditorium to relax and watch the film.
The featured film was “Home,” a children’s movie that depicts the story of an alien who befriends a human girl while his race of aliens attempts to take over the planet. As described by Malden Reads Volunteer Martha Bezzat, “The alien is on a journey to make friends and the girl is on a journey to find her mother. Their friendship develops over time and the alien learns how to love his friend.”
The story involves entertains youth with an inspirational story about a humorous alien learning what “home” means. Bezzat explained that “[the main characters] have to overcome impossible odds to find ‘home.’ The movie was chosen to correspond with the ongoing Malden Reads theme of space exploration and the overcoming of seemingly impossible odds.
“One of the themes of The Martian, the adult book choice this year, is overcoming incredible odds to get back home to earth, the most important reason of which is the human connection the lead character misses while he is stranded on Mars,” explained Bezzat. “Home” also included themes of survival so it paired well with The Martian.
The film demonstrated the great importance in discovering where one’s personal home is and how family contributes to that. It also teaches youth to learn to challenge adversity. Malden Reads has more events soon to come for Malden families to join and explore this year’s selected theme.
