Which Came First, the Movie or the Book?

This post is written by Tabitha.

We are a movie watching family. It is one of our favorite things to do, next to reading and playing board games.

I really don’t have to motivate my kids to read. However, sometimes there are books that I’d like them to read but they don’t quite believe me that it is something they’d like.

At other times they just have too many other books to read and don’t want to start something new. They have favorites and don’t want to branch out of their comfort zone. Or they think they are at a certain reading level and a book I’ve suggested is “too hard!”

One thing we’ve done to introduce excitement for new books is to watch a movie based on the book. With the really popular movies, like Harry Potter, we’ve said they can’t watch the movie UNTIL they’ve read the book. We currently have 3 kids waiting to watch the 2nd part of the 7th movie… they’ve read the book, we just haven’t had the chance to watch the movie with them yet.

The Lord of the Rings is another set of movies that they need to read the books before watching. This is just due to the more mature content of both the movies and the books. We did have one teenage son express interest in the Twilight series, and he read the books before watching any of the movies. (Maybe something to talk about with girls? We weren’t sure why.) We read the Hunger Games when our children expressed an interest in it, and have since found out they are making a movie.

With some classic books (and plays), there are many different movie versions, including some “inspired by” movies that are just too good to pass up. For example, a favorite in our house is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead which is another side of Hamlet by Shakespeare.

Also by Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet has been done many times in many forms, including a recent animated feature, Gnomeo and Juliet. You can watch something with the original language, something animated, something inspired by, or something that completely spoofs the book. This is especially good for older students when they’d like something more than just the obvious retelling of the story.  Homeschool students can compare, contrast, and express preferences.

There’s also O Brother, Where Art Thou? based on the Odyssey, and many others. I think Hollywood wouldn’t get anywhere without authors, either in long ago history or current times.

With the younger set, Winnie the Pooh is amazingly popular. Not the straight to video stuff, mind you, but the old classic shorts and even some of the newer stuff. It has led even some of my middle (ages 6-10) children to find my classic Winnie the Pooh books, The House at Pooh Corner as well as several others. As a college student I even read the Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet. I’m thinking it might be something I read with my older kids.

There are many, many movies that are very well done. The Tale of Despereaux introduced our whole family to an amazing book through a fun movie. Other movies we have enjoyed are Because of Winn Dixie, Peter Pan, The Black Cauldron, Bridge to Terabithia, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the Chronicles of Narnia, Horton Hears a Who, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, and many, many more.

I introduced my second son to the Redwall series by Brian Jacques a few years ago. Since then he has read them all. He found the animated Redwall series on Netflix and now has sparked an interest in reading the books in several younger brothers. (He takes after his parents… you read a good book, you just have to share it!)

Overall, movies are a fun incentive to read a book, to bring interest in new books, and to enjoy time as a family and bring up conversations about books. However, ALL of my kids, as well as my husband and I, agree, the books are always better.

Tabitha (wife to Tom, homeschooling mom to 8+ kids ages 15 to on the way, learning something new all the time).