Today (4th of March), we celebrate the joy that books bring to our lives. World Book Day allows us to appreciate books the way they should be appreciated.
In school, we all dressed up as our favourite characters, spent our book tokens in book shops. Even if you weren’t a reader, you couldn’t help but love this day as a child. This year will be a lot different for school children BUT it doesn’t mean the day should go ignored.
If you’re not a reader then that’s okay! More of a film person? No problem. World Book Day can still be celebrated by non-book lovers. Why not take advantage and have a movie marathon of films that were originally a book? Now, many would say that the books are always better than the films. This may be true in some cases but that doesn’t mean you should write the film off altogether. Today, we’re going to take you through our top 5 favourite book to film adaptions!
5) The Fault In Our Stars
John Green has one hell of a fanbase behind him. He released his extremely famous novel “The Fault In Our Stars” back in 2012, and found it’s rightful place at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Two years later, the story of Hazel and Augustus was brought to life with Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort playing our starring couple. Whilst it focusses on the sensitive topic of young people living with cancer, it’s also about love, relationships, and family. If you haven’t read the book or seen the film then be warned, it’s a tear-jerker. Be sure to have a box of tissues at hand.
4) Alice In Wonderland
Let’s move onto something more light hearted and extremely wacky. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the absolute classic written by Lewis Carrol dating all the way back to 1865. There have been more than one film adaptation of this wonderful story of a little girl called Alice who finds herself in a magical place. The live action adaptation that was released back in 2010 and saw a star-studded cast including Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and many, many others. But you can’t beat a classic. Disney’s animated film that was released in 1951 never gets old and holds a special place in a lot of our hearts. The film is still loved by children today and they can dream that they’re in Wonderland for months.
3) The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games trilogy was written by Suzanne Collins and the first book was published back in 2008. The trilogy was loved by many young adults and in 2012, the first film starring Jennifer Lawrence was released. The three books was spread over four action packed films with a star-studded cast. The Hunger Games follows a girl called Katniss as she battles to the death in The Hunger Games. The film and books are likely to play games with your mind. Characters are unpredictable, you don’t know who to trust, you fall in love with others, only to then see them destroyed. Are we selling it to you yet? We should be. Because the books are phenomenal and the films did an excellent job of replicating this dystopian world.
2) Harry Potter
We don’t need to tell you the plot of this book, we know you know. The books are sensational and Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint – amongst other stars – did a fantastic job of bringing the wizarding world to life. This series has captured the hearts of many over the years and generated a large fanbase. We all wanted that letter from Hogwarts telling us we’re a wizard, we all wanted to know what house we would be in, and we all wanted to punch Umbridge in the face more than we did Voldemort. It’s a fantasy world that everyone wishes were real.
1)Matilda
This wouldn’t be a very good list if we didn’t mention at least one Roald Dahl adaptation. He is the king of writing children’s books and many of them have been adapted into a film. Witches only came out just recently! But, once again, we’re a sucker for a classic. Matilda is a special little girl who loves books, is kind to everybody, but doesn’t receive the same kindness back. Oh, and she can move things with her eyes. We all know that scene where she’s trying to practice her powers, and you’re lying to yourself if you say you never tried doing that in your living room as a child and ended up disappointed when you couldn’t move the TV remote with your eyes. It’s okay, we’ve all been there.
And there you have it! A hard list to come up with for sure. There have been many fantastic film adaptations but unfortunately we can’t name them all. Be sure to spend your World Book Day reading loads, encouraging your kids to read more, or even watch your favourite film adaptation. Embrace your love for books on this day as well as every other day!
So, what is your favourite book to film adaptation? Let us know over on our Twitter! – @AboutThe_Noise