I suppose it’s naturally just the librarian in me, but I have always encouraged books over movies. I often find that the movie is so much different from the book. However, there are some exceptions, and as part of National Young Readers Week, my son and I watched a couple of movies that were books first. This is a practice I normally do in my own library at work, because I love giving my students the chance to see their favorite books come alive. It’s a fun learning experience for them to be able to contrast and compare the book and the movie.
OUR FAVORITES
My son just recently became interested in the Magic School Bus series. We were excited to see The Magic School Bus offered as part of Netflix streaming lineup. We snuggled in on the couch and watched Ms. Frizzle and the gang explore outer space and the human body, titles we had recently read. The books were interesting, but seeing it come alive really thrilled my son.
I big puffy heart the Scholastic Video series, and I firmly believe these videos are a solid investment. Hands down, each and every one of these videos completely portrays the book and I use their books and videos as often as possible at work.
Although the movie is definitely longer than the actual book, this is the very first movie my son became enchanted with when he was 2 years old and I swear I can recite every line from having to watch it over and over and over. The animation is fabulous and the movie just really adds so much wonder and excitement. The songs are fun to sing and even at 8 years old, my son will still stop when we happen to catch it playing anywhere. Definitely a must-see during the holidays.
There are quite a few other movies that would be great for comparing and contrasting with the original book. Here are a few titles below you could share with your kids to get them excited about reading and watching.
On the go or snuggling on the couch at home, families can watch storybook pages come to life, anytime, anywhere with Netflix.
I wrote this post as part of my participation as a member of the Netflix Stream Team. all opinions are my own.