- Cover of BFG
Today, many books and stories have been rewritten into movie scripts and splashed across the big screen. Encouraging your child to read the original story vs watching the movie can be a difficult task. But Reading not only expands your child’s vocabulary, a lot of the original stories are much better and richer for the imagination than their movie counterparts.
Some of the books that have been turned into movies are, “The BFG” by Roald Dahl was turned into a movie in 1989, “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell was put into the movies in 1946,1971 and 1994.”Bridge to Terabithia” By Katherine Paterson appeared on the big screen in 1985, and 2007. “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White was in the movies in 1973,and 2006. and a sequal “Charlotte’s Web 2:Wilbur’s great adventure” was also on screen in 2003. One of the most popular children’s books turned into a movie series is the “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling.
While there are benefits to watching the movie counterparts on the big screen, such as actually seeing what your child could only imagine previously, Hollywood edits allot out of script. They have only so much of a time slot to fill, and only so much money to produce the movie. So cuts and edits are made, removing a part of the script that may have been an important filler in the story.
Sometimes, scriptwriters edit out entire chapters and scene’s completely out, because they do not think it’s necessarily important to the plot, or they do not like the way the author ended that particular book. Sequels are also made, even though the book may not have a sequel.
Children may be disappointed when they go to watch the movie, and see several factors of their favorite books edited out of the script. Often times, Children will insist that the book isn’t the same as the movie, and will want the richness of text, and exploring their imaginations.
