Books made into Movies
One way to get kids excited about reading is to select books that have been made into movies. After reading the book aloud, independently, or as a family, watch the movie together. After the movie, discuss things that are the same and things that are different.
Discussion Questions
Characters: How did the characters look in your mind vs in the movie? Were any characters missing from the movie? Why do you think that character was removed? Were any new characters introduced?
Timeline: Was the sequence of events changed in the movie? How? Why do you think that was changed?
Plot/Story: Was the story changed? In what ways? Why do you think the screen play changed the story? Was one version "better" than the other? Why?
Picture Books, suggested for any age to enjoy
Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
Cat in the hat
Clifford the big red dog
Cloudy with a chance of meatballs
Curious George
Eloise
Green eggs and ham
Gruffalo
Horton hears a Who!
Hortan hatches the egg
How the Grinch stole Christmas!
Jumangi
The Lorax
Lost and Found
Madeline
Polar express
Shrek!
Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Stellaluna
Where the wild things are
Zathura
Chapter Books, suggested for elementary age students to enjoy
Alice’s adventures in wonderland
Anne of Green Gables
Babe: the gallant pig by Dick King-Smith (movie: Babe)
Ballet shoes
Because of Winn-Dixie
BFG by Roald Dahl
Black beauty
Borrowers (movie: Secret World of Arrietty)
Boxcar Children
Bridge to Terabithia
Charlotte’s web
Charlie and the chocolate factory
Chitty chitty bang bang: the magical car
City of Ember
Diary of a wimpy kid
Ella enchanted
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Felicity, An American girl adventure
Freaky Friday
Great Gilly Hopkins
Harriet the spy
Heidi
Holes
How to train your dragon
Hundred and one Dalmatians
Incredible journey
Indian in the cupboard
Inkheart
Invention of Hugo Cabret
James and the giant peach
Jungle Book
Kitt Kittredge, An American girl
Lightning thief, Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Lion, the witch and the wardrobe (chronicles of Narnia)
Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Little princess
Matilda
Molly, an American girl
Mr. Popper's penguins
Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins returns (3rd movie option, Saving Mr. Banks)
Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH
Neverending story
Nim’s island
Night at the museum
Paddington
Peter pan
Pippi Longstocking
Ramona
Ramona and Beezus
Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm
Rescuers
Samantha, an American girl
Secret garden
Spiderwick chronicles
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Stuart Little
Sword in the stone
Tale of Despereaux
When calls the heart
Where the red fern grows
Wind in the willows
Winnie the Pooh
Witches by Roald Dahl
Wizard of Oz
Wrinkle in Time
Chapter Books, suggested for middle school students to enjoy
A Monster calls
A series of unfortunate events
Around the world in 80 days
Book thief
Boys in the boat
Call of the wild
Divergent
Emma
Everything, everything (8th grade and up)
The Fault in our stars
Giver
Gossip girl
Gulliver’s Travels
Harry Potter
Hate U give (8th grade and up)
The Hobbit
Hunger games
Journey to the center of the Earth
Little Women
Lying game
Martian
Maze runner
Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children
Oliver Twist
Pretty little liars
Tuck everlasting
Twenty thousand leagues under the sea
Unbroken (for WWII fans)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
White Fang