Let’s face it, with schools canceled and everyone socially distancing there is going to be a lot of family fun time. For a lot of families that will mean an increase in screen time. My kids – who aren’t allowed screen time during the school week – have watched a Harry Potter movie every night and are playing Minecraft right now. Screen time lock down FAIL! So I’m trying to incorporate some reading into the TV watching. Here is a list of books that have been adapted into movies. Reading a book and watching the movie can lead to a discussion comparing and contrasting the book to the movie. Scroll down for a list of questions to get the discussion started.
1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Wonder is the story of Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face. Auggie has significant facial deformities has been homeschooled all his life. For fifth grade he heads to public school where he wants what every other kid wants, friendship and the ability to be himself.
This book was made into a major motion picture starring Julia Robert, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay.
2. Lemony Snickett’s Series of Unfortunate Events
Lemony Snickett’s Series of Unfortunate Events follows the turbulent lives of the Baudelaire siblings, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. After their parents die in a fire, the children are placed in the care of a dubious uncle, Count Olaf, who is trying to steal their inheritance. Count Olaf is aided by a group of accomplices and the children are subject to the “help” of adults who aren’t really helping them at all. These books are dark and sarcastic but are more ridiculous than scary.
The books were turned into a Netflix series starting Neil Patrick Harris. You don’t have to read all thirteen books before you dive into the TV series. You can read the first four books and then watch the first season, books five though nine are covered in the second season, and the last season adapts the remaining four books.
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a graphic novel (we LOVE graphic novels) following Greg Heffley as he navigates his first year of middle school. He has to deal with kids who are bigger and already shaving when he isn’t ready to do so. In Book One, Greg is happy to have his friend Rowley along for this crazy ride. But when Rowley suddenly starts to become popular, friendships are tested and hilarity ensues. These 16 books will keep your kids entertained for weeks.
These 16 books were turned into four movies: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.
4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
I credit the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan for teaching my son more about Greek Mythology than I will ever know. Percy Jackson, a kid with learning disabilities, has been kicked out of more schools than he can count. When his teacher turns into a monster and tries to kill him, his mom finally tells him the truth about his history. He gets sent to a summer camp for demigods and finds out that his father is Poseidon, King of the Sea. Together with his friends, Percy Jackson must stop a war between the gods.
There are two film adaptations of these books: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. My son wasn’t a huge fan of the movies which are said to deviate substantially from the books but it might be a good opportunity to compare and contrast the movie and the books and to see which your kids like better.
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I love, love, loved this series and so did my daughter. We loved it so much that we got my niece hooked on it too. The Hunger Games is a young-adult dystopian novel following sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen. The book takes place in the North American land of Panem consisting of a wealthy Capitol and 12 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, as punishment for an uprising of the districts, each district sends a boy and girl as tributes to fight to the death in an arena.
This three part series was turned into three movies that follow each of the books. As much as I couldn’t stop reading the books, I couldn’t stop watching the movies – although my daughter hasn’t watched them yet (she gets scared easily). The clothes alone were worth the screen time! (Where can I get the knit scarf shirt combo thing that Katniss is wearing in the beginning of the second movie?!). And Jennifer Lawrence’s archery prowess (she was trained by an Olympic archer) was stunning. These books and movies are filled with themes that are great for discussion with your older tweens and teens…especially as we are dealing with COVID19.
6. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Help takes place in Mississippi in 1962 and features Aberdeen, a black maid, who gets fed up with quietly taking orders, her sharp-tongued friend Minny, and white socialite and college-graduate Skeeter, who is full of ambition but considered a failure because she isn’t married. Together these women ban together to write a tell-all book about working as a black maid in Mississippi. We are going to tackle this book during our homeschool/social isolation period. While it is an adult novel, I don’t think it contains anything that is inappropriate for my kids and I think they will enjoy it. I was going to read this aloud to them but I downloaded the ebook from the library and I think I am going to struggle with the dialect, so we are going to try the audio instead. I am so excited to listen to the audio since it has a cast of narrators reading the different parts. I think its going to be an awesome read for my kids!
The Help was made into a movie starring Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Jessica Chastain. Allison Janney was also in it! She is tall and awesome and I have loved her since her West Wing days.
As a sidenote: several summers we have driven from Florida to NY taking our time and exploring different routes. This summer I was planning on driving to NY via New Orleans (completely out of the way….but we haven’t been to that part of the country) so this book/movie might lend itself to some stops in Mississippi.
7. Hidden Figures Young Readers’ Edition by Margot Lee Shetterly
Hidden Figures is the story of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden – four African-American “human computers” at NASA. Battling race and sex discrimination, these groundbreaking women helped launch Americans into space.
We are lucky that the original Hidden Figures book was turned into a “Young Readers” edition and was made into a movie staring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, and Kevin Costner.
8. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
The Ramona Quimby books were life when I was in early elementary school. I read these books over and over and over again. I was so excited to introduce them to my kids when they got old enough. Beezus and Ramona is the first of the series of eight books and is the only book in the series written from Beezus’s perspective. Beezus has to learn to navigate life with an annoying little sister who scribbles in her library books and disrupts her art class. Will Beezus learn to love her sister when she doesn’t always like her?
Although the Beezus and Ramona movie is named after the first book, it is largely based on the second and third books in the Ramona series so I suggest you read those before you see the movie. Starring Joey King and Selena Gomez, this movie brings Ramona, Beezus, and life on Klickitat Street alive.
9. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl is a 12-book fantasy series that follows the adventures of Artemis Fowl, a millionaire and criminal mastermind who becomes enmeshed in a fairy underworld. While fantasy isn’t my favorite genre, my son loves it and loved these books.
This long awaited movie, which Disney began developing in 2001, stars Ferdia Shaw. It opens in May 2020 and we are so excited to see it!
10. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
If the Ramona Quimby series filled my early elementary school reading list then Anne of Green Gables filled my late elementary to middle school years. I could not get enough of these books. Brother and sister, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, try to adopt a boy to help with the farm work. Instead they are sent a chatty and precocious red-headed girl named, Anne. Anne bewitches Matthew and soon Matthew and Marilla can’t imagine their lives without Anne. This 8-book series follows Anne through boarding school. college, her first job, and marriage and children. The last book is about her daughter, Rilla. Side note: if you love Anne of Green Gables check out the Emily of New Mood Series also written by L.M. Montgomery.
There are many adaptations of Anne of Green Gables. The 1985, CBC made a two-movie version starring Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie. The series is the gold standard of Anne of Green Gables adaptations. It does so much right and I highly recommend it. There is a 2016 adaptation starting Martin Sheen. I love Martin Sheen from his West Wing days, where he played the quick-witted and fiercely intelligent president of the United States. It was different and jarring to see him play quiet and shy Matthew. I don’t feel like Sheen’s talents shone through in this adaptation and it kind of fell flat for me.
Finally, let’s talk about Anne with an E on Netflix. It’s dark and different and strayed so much from the spirt of Montgomery’s books. I can’t say I hated it, but I definitely didn’t love it like I loved the books and the 1985 adaptation. I had to suspend the reality of what I know about Anne to enjoy the series. But I know for sure it will spark a conversation with your kiddos about the differences between the book and the movie.
Questions to Ask After Reading a Book and Watching the Screen Adaptation
As promised above, here are some of the questions I ask my kids when we watch a movie that has been adapted from a book:
- What characters were in the book and not in the movie?
- What parts of the book weren’t in the movie? Did leaving out those part detract from the movie plot?
- How was the movie different from the book?
- Did the movie characters look like you thought they would?
- Was the setting in the movie what you pictured when you were reading the book?
Drop a comment below and let me know if there are any movie adaptations that your kids loved! I might just write a Part 2.
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