8 Must-Read Books to Add to Your Child’s Library Before Seeing the Movies

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
If your child came of age during the release of the Harry Potter books or movie franchise, you probably couldn’t keep them away from the theaters. But now that the films have come and gone, it feels essential to let a new generation of readers fall in love with this series before the actors’ faces become synonymous with the characters. Yes, I am nostalgic for a time when all we had were Rowling’s vivid descriptions and Mary GrandPré’s beautiful cover and chapter illustrations to let our imaginations run wild.

The His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman
Better known as The Golden Compass on film screens with Nicole Kidman as the icy villain, this series was a box office disappointment and, sadly, the planned sequels never even came to fruition. It’s best to sit with the pages of Pullman’s epic fantastical world, his exquisite way of weaving worlds and words, and follow Lyra and Will’s stories through to the end.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
While Scorsese’s film adaptation is a feast for the eyes and expands the stories of many of Selznick’s characters, the original print edition is one you need in your personal library. The first non-picture book to ever win a Caldecott Medal, the illustrations are inky, beautiful treasures and you’ll want to pull them from a shelf and thumb through before bedtime or on the next rainy day.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Long before the worlds of The Hunger Games and Divergent came to bookstores and movie screens, Lois Lowry’s story of Jonas fueled our dystopian imaginations. This Newbury Medal winner came to the big screen twenty years after its release and brought us an aged-up protagonist and a few other deviations from the source material, all of which left fans of this modern classic feeling a little cold. Stick to the original paperback.

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
While I’ll confess to watching the 1993 version of this classic on repeat as a young teen, the breathless, gasping, young reader who devoured this novel as a little girl implores you to hand the kids in your life a print copy before they find numerous movie and musical adaptations to obsess over.

While I’m at it, I’m going to loop this plea in with L.M Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Because once they see the CBC mini-series, it’s over. Let’s not even get into the announcement of the new television movie adaptation with Martin Sheen. I think every fan gave an in-unison eye roll and a chorus of Um, no. (But, yes, as soon as that madness comes to America, I’ll be the first to host the viewing party.) All I’m saying is, get these books on your child’s shelf before it becomes a problem.

Holes, by Louis Sachar
This National Book Award winner also won the Newbury Medal in 1999 and Disney brought it to theaters just four years later. While the film was well received and stays, mostly, true to the book (the screenplay was written by Sachar himself) it failed to depict Stanley as an overweight teen. It’s worth holding this story in your hands and reading Sachar’s strange and compelling tale about digging for the truth.

The BFG, by Roald Dahl
Yup. The movie is slated for release in summer of 2016 so before Steven Spielberg gives you his love-letter of a film, you’ll want to get this classic on your kid’s shelf.
What other books do your kids need to read before they see the film version?