Teens may be surprised to learn that I Know What You Did Last Summer, I Robot,and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy started out as books before they became full-length feature films. Comparing a book to its movie adaptation can create quite the discussion, especially if your favorite print pages have been left on the editing-room floor. Although movies can visually enhance a novel's images, I still stand by the saying that's on my favorite coffee mug, "Never judge a book by its movie."
VAN DRAANEN, Wendy. Flipped. Random. 2001. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-0-375-81174-6. PLB $19.60. ISBN 978-0-613-62948-5. Pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-0-375-82544-6. Ages 12 up.
Flipped is in theaters this month and fans of the book will quickly notice that director Rob Reiner has set Van Draanen's story in 1963 instead of in the present day. The novel tells two tales alternating between a boy's and a girl's point of view. Bryce can't understand why Juli won't leave him alone; Juli understands just how much Bryce needs her help. Will love conquer all, as with all good romances?
LEWIS, C. S. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Harper Collins. 1994. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-023486-7. PLB $17.20. ISBN 978-0-88103-769-2. pap. $6.99 ISBN 978-0-06-447107-7. Ages 8-12.
CARROLL, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Illus. by John Teniel. Knopf. 1992. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-0-679-41795-8. pap. $3.95. ISBN 978-0-553-21345-4. Ages 10 up.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is due out in December, and Alice in Wonderland opened last March. Although both of these books are typically found in the children's room, they're appealing to every age group and as you, ahem, mature, you'll discover more substance and meaning in these classic tales.
In the past year, many YA and children's books have been turned into movies aimed at teens. Here's a sampling to get you started-maybe it'll even inspire an "I've seen the movie and now I'm reading the book" movement in your library.
ADAMS, Douglas. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Crown. 2004. Tr $15.00. ISBN 978-1-400-05292-9. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-345-39180-3. Ages 14 up.
ASIMOV, Issac. I, Robot. Random. 2003. Tr $24.00. ISBN 978-0-553-80370-9. Pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-553-29438-5. Ages 14 up.
DUNCAN, Lois. I Know What You Did Last Summer. Laurel Leaf. 1999. PLB $17.20. ISBN 978-0-88103-516-2. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-440-22844-8. Ages 14 up.
LASKY, Kathryn. Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture. Scholastic. PLB $16.00. ISBN 978-0-613-67484-3. pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-439-40557-7. Ages 8-12.
MANNING, Matthew. Iron Man: The Ultimate Guide to the Armored Super Hero. DK. 2010. Tr $24.99. ISBN: 978-0-756-65749-9. Ages 12 up.
MEYER, Stephanie. Eclipse. Little, Brown. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-0-316-16020-9. PLB $24.99. ISBN 978-1-4352-4206-7. pap. $12.99. ISBN 978-0-316-02765-6. Ages 12 up.
O'MALLEY, Brian Lee. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life: Vol 1. Oni Press. 2009. PLB $20.95. ISBN 978-1-4420-1155-7. pap. $11.99. ISBN 978-1-932664-08-9. Ages 12 up.
RIORDAN, Rick. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief. Disney. 2005. Tr $17.99. ISBN:978-0-786-85629-9. PLB $16.85. ISBN 978-0-7569-6603-4. Ages 9-12.
ROWLING, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Scholastic. 2007. Tr $34.99. ISBN 978-0-545-01022-1. PLB $39.99. ISBN 978-0-545-02936-0. Pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-545-13970-0. Ages 9 up.
I'm pretty sure the Hitchhiker's Guide started as a script actually for a BBC radio show... the book came later.
Posted by Nichole on August 18, 2010 03:05:30PM
Is there a good website that has a listing of movies that were books first.
Posted by suzanne on August 18, 2010 09:30:50PM
Hi Nichole,
I found these websites helpful. They have movies based on books for adults, teens and kids.
--Sara
http://www.bookreporter.com/features/books2movies.asp
http://www.mymcpl.org/books-movies-music/based-book
Posted by Sara on August 19, 2010 08:04:06AM
Nichole is right -- for what it's worth, the first version of Hitchhiker's was
a radio drama on the BBC, written by Douglas Adams. Later he turned it
into a series of books. (Not that it matters in recommending books for
teens to read, but it's interesting as part of the discussion about one story
going through different mediums.)
Oh, and neither "I, Robot" nor "Hitchhiker's" were released as kids or YA
fiction, but as adult fiction. (The pedant in me wants to point that out, as
the article implies otherwise.) If Hitchhiker's had been written for teens, I
suspect it wouldn't have had quite so many drinking jokes in it... :-)
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