Water cooler: All-star cast groups up for reading of Roald Dahl’s ‘James and the Giant Peach’

The Roald Dahl HQ YouTube channel has been active for years now, but it has been in the last few days that it received more views than ever before. The reason is the launch of reader’s theater approach to reading “James and the Giant Peach,” hosted by filmmaker Taika Waititi with a star-studded cast of readers.

The appearances and performances have so far have been outstanding. In the first episode, Chris and Liam Hemsworth played the screeching voices of James’ terrible aunts. Nick Kroll plays the old man in the woods who offers James some beans in a bag and says, as Waititi puts it, “…this is magical stuff – take it!” Waititi makes sure to note he wouldn’t recommend taking anything from a stranger, but alas the story goes on.

Meryl Streep and Benedict Cumberbatch join for the second episode to play their versions of Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. With that combination, there is no way for it to be a disappointing storytime.

Waititi is a New Zealand writer, director and actor who rose to popularity internationally with the release of his comedy mockumentary “What We Do in the Shadows” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014. He went on to direct “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” wrote the initial screenplay for “Moana,” broke into the major Hollywood market by directing “Thor: Ragnarok” and most recently received two Academy Award nominations (winning one for Best Adapted Screenplay) with his film “Jojo Rabbit.”

Many people are familiar with Waititi’s unique blend of zany and dry humor and his reading of “James and the Giant Peach” is no exception. It makes for great kids’ entertainment, but the best part is that it’s genuinely fun for adults to watch, too.

Waititi and many of the guest readers take time to pause and engage with the audience, commenting on the craziness of the story, asking questions and making silly faces in reaction to the material. The videos also feature fun animations to help the audience visualize the world. Waititi even comes equipped with various props and an extra microphone for live sound effects.

The videos each serve as a fundraiser to benefit Partners In Health, which is a nonprofit corporation that aims to bring health care to impoverished areas. All donations are matched by the Roald Dahl Story Co.

Watch the trailer to spot the upcoming appearances in the next eight episodes – so far the highlights include Cate Blanchette, Eddie Redmayne, Kumail Nanjiani, Mindy Kaling, Ryan Reynolds, Olivia Wilde and Josh Gad.

Brain train

Which Roald Dahl book has been turned into a Broadway musical?

• The BFG
• Matilda
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• The Witches

Tuesday’s answer: Hawaii

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is coming up, and this year a lot of people won’t be able to celebrate it like they normally do.

Because it is a federal holiday, many people who have the extra day off often enjoy spending time in the newly arrived nice weather with friends and family.

This year the celebrations will be smaller-scale, but it may also be a good opportunity to learn more about the origin of this American holiday. Most of us know it is a reflective time to honor those who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces, but not everyone knows how the holiday started.

Here are a few facts to get you acquainted with the history of Memorial Day and help you celebrate the holiday Monday even if it’s just at home.

The actual origin of the holiday is debated – more than 25 places claim to have begun the holiday, but in 1996, president Lyndon B. Johnson named Waterloo, New York, as the original place of Memorial Day.

Although people decorated soldiers’ graves before the end of the Civil War, it was after the end of the war in April 1865 that the women-led commemorations during wartime began to become a more formalized practice.

In the beginning of these formalized memorial celebrations, there was still some division between the North and South, as each side would host celebrations for their previous “side” and many used the opportunity to rehash memories of the war and the doings of the “enemy” at the time.

It wasn’t until 1967 that the holiday was officially called Memorial Day by federal law. Several commemorative holidays were moved to the now-traditional last Monday of May, which was passed as federal law in 1971.

In a nonquarantine year, it’s estimated that approximately 32 million people travel by car over Memorial Day weekend.

On Memorial Day, the American flag is flown at half-mast until noon, then raised to full-mast until sunset.

Mindfulness

It’s not just the adults that had to deal with their world being upturned – it happened to kids, too.

Being suddenly taken out of school with a complete upheaval in schedule and social life is a stressful experience.

To add to that, because this pandemic is invisible but also happening on a huge scale, it makes it harder to understand and find ways to cope.

Here are a few tips to help kids cope with the stress of the quarantine so they can keep their minds healthy while we stay home to keep our bodies healthy.

Let them air their concerns, even if you already have the answers ready: Letting kids articulate and express their worries without too much interruption helps them work through stress and negative emotions.

Keep a regular routine: Easier said than done, but routine helps maintain good habits, healthy behavior and a sense of normalcy. Aim for consistency over performance. Let kids know it is OK to try again for tomorrow if it was too hard to stick to a schedule today.

Don’t hide what is happening: Of course, some details should be moderated according to age, but providing information in a reassuring way helps kids feel confident in the actions your family is taking to stay safe.