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Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

From Page to Film

By Kathryn R. Hoffman

Ron Weasley, Stuart Little, Shrek: What do they have in common? All are characters in books—and all have made the big leap from the printed page to the big screen!

Hollywood has discovered that popular children's books can make hit movies. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone earned more money than any film in 2001. Filmmakers hope to work the same magic with other books, including Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat.

Write and Rewrite
It's not easy turning a book into a movie. Screenwriters have a challenging job. They turn written words and imagined scenes into spoken words and action. Sometimes, they must make a 400-page tale fit into two hours. At other times, the screenwriter expands a short story like Shrek.

That's one reason the film is never exactly the same as the book. "It has to be different," says author Natalie Babbitt, "or it's not going to work." She wrote Tuck Everlasting. The movie has a love story that's not even in the book!

Some people are disappointed when the story is changed. Not Chris Van Allsburg, the author of Jumanji and The Polar Express, which is being made into a movie. But "a book is often just the starting point," he says. That's good advice for both filmmakers and readers: Start with the book, and then go see the movie!

Next: Top 5 Kids’ Movies