Books Into Movies

Horton, Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss

The first book/movie I compared is Horton, Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss.  This classic tale was lived up to nicely in the movie adaptation.  The movie does an excellent job of following the storyline of the book, while adding details in areas of the book left vague.  For example, the book focuses on Horton as the main character, whereas the movie depicts both Horton and the Who-Ville Mayor as main characters. A few other important differences from the book and movie, included the movies introduction and expansion of roles for several characters, including Horton’s friends and enemies and other Who’s from Who-Ville.

In some ways, I believe I connected more with the movie version than the book because of the expansion of the sub-characters. Compared to the book, I felt the movie was more dimensional and in depth. Giving names and stories of the characters in WhoVille allowed me to connect with the characters more than the book alone.  

In  comparison, I would look at a movie such as Cat and The Hat, which is based upon the book by Dr. Seuss. That movie did not live up to what I thought derived in the book version.  The movie felt like it was focused more on pure entertainment and took many expansions and turns away from the book to make it a good adaptation of the original. 

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White


This classic tale was delightfully retold on the big screen in 2006 in the movie adaption.  The movie, like the book, tells the story of a friendship between Charlotte, the spider, and Wilbur, the pig.  The movie adaption sticks closely to the original text in this telling and does a remarkable job of depicting the talking animals with realistic animation. I found this adaptation of the book quite charming and far more realistic than earlier animated versions of the book. Watching this movie with my children, I was taken back to the first time I read the book as a child.  I fell in love with Wilbur and Charlotte and their unique bond of friendship.  My children loved it equally as well, even to the point of crying at the end when I had to explain over and over again, why Charlotte died.  


What makes Charlotte's Web such a classic tale is that it is timeless in nature.  The story of friendship is as true today as it was when first published in 1952.  While some of the smaller details depict an era from long ago, the central theme of friendship, loyalty, and companionship remains constant. 

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I remember reading this book as a child and immediately falling in love with the fantasy world of Narnia.  It is a book that I read over and over again through my adolescence and each time I found new insights and meanings that I had not found before.  Even as an adult, reading the book provided a new level of understanding, particularly in the correlations between the story of Narnia and the Christian beliefs of Jesus and the story of his resurrection as told in the Bible. When the movie came out, I hesitated on the decision of whether or not to watch the movie, mainly because the images and the feelings those images produced in my mind from the words of the book, had created such a complete picture of Narnia and the characters, that I was afraid the movie would change that imagery in my mind. But after some time, I went ahead and watched the movie and was relieved that the movie did an excellent job of playing out the very images that I had created in my mind.  The movie lived up to both the story and the fantasy world created by C.S.Lewis.  Following very closely with the book, the movie chronicles the story of four children, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy, who discover the world of Narnia through a secret entrance hidden inside a wardrobe. Without being overly critical, there were very few discrepancies between the book and the movie.  In the movie, the insertion of digitally enhanced characters to create the fictional characters such as Aslan, Tumnus, Mr and Mrs. Beaver, were not only realistic but very believable.  

Compared to other fantasy type books for children, such as books like the Harry Potter series, I never felt the connection like I did with the Narnia series. While good, the Harry Potter books don’t seem to have the levels of meaning intertwined in them like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It’s the connection and complex levels of a book that captivate my imagination and interest. 

The Cat and the Hat & The Lorax

The Cat in the Hat is a classic tale that provides a valuable lesson of right and wrong or even more simply, following your conscience I believe. The children are placed in situations where they must learn to stand up for what they know is right. There are many contemporary books that teach that same value, perhaps not in the same way rhythmic manner that Dr. Seuss did, however, the messages are clear. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen would be an example of a book that presents that tension of right and wrong, yet is directed towards older children.  In this book, teens are faced with the right and wrong choices faced when being bullied as well as the choices to make when it comes to standing up for what they believe in. 

The Lorax is an interesting book that although published in 1971, its message is still relevant to today.  I would think, that had the book been published in recent years, the message would not seem so controversial. The message of the Lorax is clear…specifically making one look objectively at the harm mankind is doing to our planet, whether it is with the deforestation of Earth or other important conservation issues of our day. It is didactic because it is illustrating how one person’s actions have consequences for all, whether it is in nature or moralistically.

There are probably more didactic children’s books today than in the past because conservation of our Earth and protection of our environment or even endangered cultures has become socially acceptable to promote and teach about. There are many books today that teach the lessons of conservation.  Some examples of these didactic books include:

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Nivola

Where Once There Was a Wood (REPRINT) by Denise Fleming

Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Cullerton Johnson

Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli

Older books on conservation:

The Wump World by Bill Peet

Why the Sky is Far Away – A Nigerian Folktale by Mary-Joan Gerson

Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg

Farewell to Shady Glade by Bill Peet. 

Newbery Award and Caldecott Award

The Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal are both awards given to outstanding works in world of children’s literature.  The Newbery Medal is an award given for literary merit by the Association for Library Service to Children. Named for John Newbery, an 18^th century English publisher of juvenile literature, it established in 1921 as a way of honor those books and authors who provide an outstanding contribution to children’s literature. One author/book is award the Newbery Award every year while other books which could be considered runners-up can be award the Newbery Honor award.  The Newbery Honor was established in 1971.  Some criteria a book must meet to be considered for the Newbery Award include it’s place of publication, which must be in the United States.  The author must be a United States citizen as well.  Besides being written for children, a book must in some way contribute to literature to be considered for the Newbery Award.  

The Caldecott Medal is award given to a distinguished artist of a children’s picture book.  As is the Newbery Award, the Caldecott Medal is awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children.  This award was named for Randolph Caldecott who was a nineteenth-century English illustrator and first awarded in 1938.  The artists who are considered runners-up are awarded the Caldecott Honor award.  Criteria for the Caldecott Medal include place and date of publication.  The book must have been published in the United States in the preceding year.  All illustrations must be original work and the artist must be a U.S. citizen.  Books are judged among other things, for the artistic technique, interpretation of the story through pictures, and the recognition of a child audience. 

Newbery Award: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon By Grace Lin

This Newbery Award winning book is a tale of fantasy, culture and most simply, a tale of faith all wrapped into one.  I must admit, I was a little uninterested in the book upon first appearances.  I'm not a huge fan of fantasy type literature, however, with an open mind I began my journey.  I was quickly amazed at how encaptured I was by both its literacy characteristics as well as the woven tale where myth and reality meet.  The story intertwines the culture and mythology from the Chinese culture with the practicality of life that many endure, the struggle for prosperity and good fortune.

Without going into vast detail, the story centers around Minli, a young girl growing up in a poor village, where her parents and her endure the daily struggle to work and provide a meager existence for herself and her family.  Her father instills hope in her through the telling of Chinese legends.  These legends are told throughout the book and provide clues to unraveling the mystery that elude Minli and her parents the most - the secret to happiness.  The search for answers to her questions of happiness lead Minli on a journey across her land, where she encounters new friends that slowly help her to unraveling the mystery.  The tale was reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy has to travel to an unknown load, encounter good, bad and everything in between to realize that what she desired most was something she had all along.  Minli too had to travel to find that happiness isn't defined by what a person owns or how much money they have, but rather the love and friendship from those around you.

Another theme of this book is the connection that all people have to each other, to nature, to the world in general.  The concept that we are all connected and intertwined by destiny, yet it is our actions that help to shape that destiny is a central concept of this book. For Minli, she searches for the Old Man of the Moon, the one who ties people together and writes their destinies.  However, through her journey, she realizes that the Old Man of the Moon, like that of life, has a plan far greater than what Minli can understand.  It is not until the end that she realizes her path of searching, was her destiny and it was through her compassion and friendship with the friends and characters along the way, that she fulfilled her destiny and brought prosperity to her village.