Night at the Museum: The Junior Novelization

Night at the Museum #1

by Leslie Goldman

Here is a novelized version of the new hit comedy film released by Fox Studios in December ’06. It’s an expanded version of Milan Trenc’s picture storybook for children, The Night at the Museum, which was first published by Barron’s several seasons ago. On his very first night at work, the night guard at New York’s Museum of Natural History begins to see the museum’s exhibits come to life. He tells his son about the many strange things he sees each night. At first reluctant to believe his father’s fanciful tales, the son begins to see Dad in a new light when he, too, spends a night at the museum. He discovers that his father’s amazing world is real. The film’s unusual and entertaining story, starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Van Dyke, is faithfully recreated in this funny and fanciful novelization for young readers.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Adventure, Young Adult

139 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

Reviews

[Sunshine Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Night at the Museum: The Junior Novelization" written by Leslie Goldman is a light, imaginative read that brings the movie’s magical museum adventure to readers. It follows Larry Daley, a struggling father who takes a night-security job at New York’s Museum of Natural History—only to learn that, after dark, the exhibits awaken and turn the building into a wonderfully chaotic world of living history.

The premise remains irresistible: dinosaurs roam the halls, historical figures speak and argue, miniature cowboys wage battles, and an ordinary night guard has to keep everything from falling apart before sunrise. The story mixes fantasy, action, a warm father-son relationship, a plot twist with the security guards, and a “things come alive” comedy.

"I just follow the instructions," said Larry.
"Do them all. Do them in order. Do them quick. And the most important thing to remember is don't let anything in... or out," said Cecil" (pg. 35).

This is my first time reading a book written by Leslie Goldman. A quick read (139 pages). I enjoyed the image of a dinosaur starting each chapter and Janitor's keys separating the sections in the text. The book shows 8-photos from the movie.

So many funny moments:
✷ The T-rex wants to play fetch
✷ The monkey steals the keys
✷ The Easter Island head wants gum gum
"This is so not worth $11.50 an hour" (pg. 40).

"He backed away, holding up his hands and hoping the T-rex was a nice dinosaur" (pg. 37).

Fun historical facts fill the pages:
✷ Teddy Roosevelt was the 26th U.S. President from 1901 - 1909. He built the Panama Canal.
✷ The Easter Island head was carved from volcanic ash and stands more than 20 feet tall and weighs over 20 tons.
✷ Lewis & Clark were explorers in 1803. They traveled on the Missouri River and were gone for 28 months/8,000 miles with Sacajawea (the Indian woman) as their interpreter and tracker.
"The world is full of mysteries and delights. A person should never be bored" (pg. 80).

Readers who already enjoy the film will likely appreciate revisiting favorite characters and scenes in book form. I enjoyed the description of Dick Van Dyke (playing the character of Cecil): "He was an old man... he had lots of energy. He also seemed very friendly" (pg. 24).

The film is more vivid, especially because its visual comedy is such a big part of the experience. "Night at the Museum: The Junior Novelization" is best approached as a companion to the movie. "Not as easy as it looks in the movies, huh, Larry?" (pg. 126).

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Is the Book "Night at the Museum" better than the Movie version?
Find out on my Blog Series titled Book Vs Movie: https://www.sunshinerodgers.com/movie...

[Linkchoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was lame. I loved every second of it. Don't judge I'm only human.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the movie. My boys love the movie. The 7-year-old made me read this to him. Ugh. The movie was SO much better.

[Roman Paniagua · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently read Night at the Museum by Leslie Goldman.The way I think of this book is that this is a decent one to read because it is creative and it is easy to understand what is happening in this story. I feel that this book is a good one to read because you can learn what is in a museum and learn about what's in there.

The setting takes place in a Natural History Museum in New York and there is a grown up man named Larry that works there as a security guard and at night all the props that are in the museum come to life which is creative to write about. Larry is a single man that had no job until now. The conflict to this story is when Larry’s relatives come to the museum during the night time and somehow they turned bad and took over him and the museum.

This book is a good one because it is creative and it is good to read so you can see what is in a Natural History Museum.I can feel the resolution is when Larry fixed up the Museum at the end when there was a disaster with his family relatives.

I would recommend this book to people who love natural history museum's and dramatize books and Movies like this one. My favorite part of the book was when Larry first found out that at night all the materials in the museum come to life.

[Matthew M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy
Length: 139 pages

Brief summery: Night At The Museum is about a guy named Larry who got a job as a night guard at a museum. He goes to the job interview and he got the job. He doesn't really stay at jobs for to long because he gets fired a lot. So when he went to his job at night the museum come to life. He knows nobody will believe him and they didn't but he knew that it did. Later in the story if you read it you will see deferent things Larry does to keep it under control.

What i like/dislike about this book: I like this book because I thought it was cool that the museum came to life at night also I thought it was cool what Larry does to keep the museum under control. Overall, it was a good book.

[LoSinNing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is interesting and the plot is wonderful. I like the main character Larry very much because he won't give up when he was facing difficulties, and he have a high responsibility to take care of the artifacts. I highly recommend this book to my family and friends because I'm sure they can have fun while reading this book.

[Lai Sin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it is too difficult for me to read as it is too boring for me.
This book has many words that I do not know , so I am not very enjoy to read .
But , if you want to improve your English , you can read this book .

[Shan Tse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is interesting and the plot is amazing.I would like to recommend this book to my friends.

[MinJi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s really cute and brilliant idea that many museum exhibits become alive at night. Also, it was fun to follow Larry’s narration.

The movie is better because the story seems more vivid when it’s visualized, but it’s an interesting story. I love the imagination that old things get lives back at night in the museum. Especially, when the museum is one of my favorite places in NYC.

[Lady Earth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Igazi meseregény: egy apa harca a fiának a megbecsüléséért – és hogy végre rendes munkát találjon magának. Ám a varázslatos múzeum éjszakai történései egybekovácsolják őket, és Larryból is embert faragnak a múzeum lakói sőt még a gonosz öregfiúk egyletét is legyőzik. Rövid, szórakoztató kisregény és aranyos mint a belőle készült film.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this on a list for "I only watched the movie" - Unfortunately I failed to realise that this book was brought out after the film so I didn't really get any secret or missed scenes, it was exactly the same as the film.

[Avery Eowyn!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

The movie is such a comfort movie to me ever since I was a child. Book does the same job, and even gives a little more information on the characters and setting. Loved this as a kid, love it now.
I also 100% had a crush on Ahkmenrah (played by Rami Malek) at one point. Still a cutie.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I've seen the movie I've forgotten some of the instances that happened. This book seemed to follow it pretty closely though I have to say that Larry seemed like a real jerk at the beginning of the story. Still, it was fun enough to spend a few hours with.

[Skylar MoonStone · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is almost identical to the movie but with less dialog between characters. If you haven't seen the movie, it would be nice to read first to see if you like it but other than that, I would recommend the movie over the book & as a bookworm, that feels wrong to say.

[Jon Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was cool how all the statues came to life

[Desi · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I know, the book was written after the movie was made. I've always enjoyed the movie, so it was only natural to enjoy the book as well.

[Issei]

interesting. I feel fresh because I have already seen in the move.

[Kevin Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book and watched the movie, and they are both SO GOOD!!! I recommend this to Every. Single. Person. In. The. Universe. It's that good.

[Katiem · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a Junior Novelization this book sure does start at a plodding pace. We almost gave up, but we kept with it and it did pick up somewhat. Not a favorite, but not the worst thing I read this year.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I’m counting this towards my yearly reading goal. And yes, it’s one of the better film-to-book adaptations I’ve read (though the bar is LOW for that).

(Read this book via the Internet Archive)

[Lara Vehar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite movie. This book was great. It didn't add anything... but it also didn't remove anything vital from the story. It was short and sweet and I loved it.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not entirely accurate to the movie, and I wish it had been, but it was still really good!!!

[Przytulajka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kocham film. Jednak pomimo to nie rozumiem, dlaczego powstała książka. Jakby odebrano filmowi całą magię.

[W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read this.

But, romance is dead except for the roman and the cowboy...

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read that was similar to the movie. Larry becomes the night guard at the museum where everything comes to life at night. Larry learns his history and learns that he can do great things.

[Sam Verba · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Read this book to my son before his naps over the past couple weeks and it is so cute. And now I know where A Day To Remember got the name for that one of song. 😂

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just how I remembered the movie being.

[sclx.archives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larry’s misadventures as the clueless night guard are amusing, but they lack the charm Ben Stiller brought to the role. Honestly, if you’ve seen the movie, you’re not missing much here.

[Mason Fitzmorris]

I recently read, Night at the Museum by Leslie Goldman. The book takes places in at New York’s Museum of Natural History. The main character Larry. Larry is the one who watches over the Museum at night. Some of the other supporting characters are Nicky Daley, Larry's son, Dr. McPhee, Larry's boss, Jedediah, Octavius, Cecil Fredericks, and Theodore Roosevelt.

In this book there are a couple of problem one of the first problems are that Larry can’t get a jobs and he is about to lose his house because he can’t pay his rent , then the other problem was that all Museum displays ran out of the museum and made some evidence that the they came out the museum.

I would recommend it to kids that are 1st to 6th grade because it’s not a very realistic book. On a scale to one ten I would give this book a 6 because it’s not a book that gets you hooked from the very beginning. All in all the book was good for if one need a book to get out of the way.

[Hailey Story · Rating 3 out of 5]

The theme of this book would be survival. When Larry is working his night shift and has to run away from a dinosaur he has to survive that until he realizes the dinosaur didn't want to do anything mean to him. When Larry gets tied down by the little guys he has to try and figure out how to escape them. This book shows that even though most of the things are dead or plastic in the museum that doesn't mean you still cant use your imagination. The dinosaur can be a symbol in this book showing Larry that he needs to focus on his son, Nick and start to care about him more. This is a good book to read if your into crazy stuff like this and what might happen at a museum when your not there...