Wildcats in the House: Spiritual Stuff You Can Get from High School Musical

Bought this first for myself, then bought copies for kids in my Sunday School class and used it as a series of lessons on friendship. Biblical references are awesome and watching the movie along with the book made it even more realistic for the kids (4th & 5th graders).

Steve Russo is on to a good thing and conceivably the DisneyChannel people agree with him, for otherwise why would they let Devotional Publisher Bethany House have all those licensing rights? Just to quote the lyrics from HSM's top numbers (including "Stick to the Status Quo," "Breaking Free," and "We're All in This Together") would set a secular publisher back big bucks. Looks like some enlightened top management has seen fit to approve the Russo family's investigation into the question, how Christian is High School Musical? Steve says he got into the show due to his two young daughters. Can't help but notice that only 1 daughter (the younger) is given co-writing credit on WILDCATS; does this indicate some friction between Steve and his older daughter, or is he saving her for his inevitable followup on HSM 2? As it is, Gabi is an enchanting presence who drifts in and out of Steve's rapidfire confessions jotting things down like, "Isn't Dad crazy?" When he was still a teen, he was the drummer in an (unnamed) Northerm California band that opened for such big name rock groups as Fleetwood Mac and Santana. But the super-hyped world of rock got to be too much for Steve, and instead he found the one friend without whom there's just no music in the world. Gabi on the other hand has been Christian for most of her life. You know what? As I say, she writes the way a tween talks, but in one portion of the book her comments seem a little, well, adult, and I wound up not believing in her as a literary device. Either she's the smartest 11 year old ever created by God, or she has been given huge amounts of "help" by her dad (or other interested parties.) What kid talks like this--"Look back at the word sin. Most of your bad thoughts and actions roll around that middle letter, "I"." Uh-hunh, sorry, I'm skeptical. Liberal America likes High School Musical because it encourages their sons and daughters to enter musical theater without worrying about being stigmatized as "gay." It's nice to see conservative, evangelical America going in the same direction, though the Russos don't use the g-word as such. The world saw Troy as the basketball whiz while Gabriella was typecast as the freaky math girl. You know the world can see us, they sing, "in a way that's different than who we are." I did respect the Russos' feeling that the creators of HSM are basically Christians with a positive message for Christian youth. They are the first to point out the Biblical implications of Troy and Gabriella's famous dance love number, "Breaking Free." Boy and girl sing out, "More than hope, more than faith--this is truth." And as the Russos have cleverly noticed, in the Bible nothing, not even faith nor hope, is as potent as Truth! John 8:32 says, "The truth will set you free."

If you know who Troy and Gabriella are, if you have ever sung Bop to the Top at the top of your lungs or danced to the beat of Get `Cha Head in eth Game, you must have a tween in your midst. Yes, the embers of High School Musical and now High School Musical 2 glow brightly in the Berg house. I have probably watched High School Musical at least a dozen times, and have danced to the CD hundred of times in my own kitchen, with my kids, of course. And though the story is timeless as it shows kids how to be individuals, reach for the stars, be s true friend and stick together, I have to admit that I have never given much thought to any spiritual lessons my children might be learning from High School Musical. So I was intrigued by the premise of Steve Russo's new book, Wildcats in the House - Spiritual Stuff You Can Get from High School Musical. He co -wrote the book with his 11 year old daughter, Gabi, and brings insight into many tough topics kids of today face. And he does it with a Biblical perspective. Our children need us to meet them where they are emotionally and spiritually. We need to be in their lives and in every way, and being able to take a hit movie like High School Musical and relate it to life lessons and faith in God is a fantastic way to meet your kids right where they are. I am passing my copy of Wildcats in eth House on to my 2 tween daughters to read. And I look forward to a girl's night out where we can talk about each chapter in the book. I might even play the soundtrack in the care ride and sing along. Enjoy the journey - Trish Berg Mom, Author, Speaker, Book Reviewer www.TrishBerg.com The Great American Supper Swap - Solving the Busy Woman's Family Dinnertime Dilemma Rattled: Surviving Your Baby's First Year Without Losing Your Cool