Disney and Studio Ghibli aren’t the only companies that have used books for inspiration for movies. Some of these movies are easy to find these days, but some aren’t because they haven’t been released on dvd and aren’t available on any streaming service. If you want to see one of them and have trouble finding a copy or finding one at a reasonable price, there are three options:
- Check YouTube (some old movies find their way there),
- Check Internet Archive (they have some movies as well as books, generally older ones)
- Ask your local library if they have a copy or if they can do an inter-library loan to find one.
Many libraries also have copies of movies, and movies based on books are of special interest. Public libraries can request materials from libraries across the country for free, although I can’t promise that all of these are available at public libraries these days, either. Movies on dvd are easier to find than ones on vhs.
I’ve decided to sort the books below by genre instead of the makers of the movies because the different movies were produced by a variety of companies, and some books were made into movie versions more than once by different companies. Some of these are full-length movies and others are just short films.
General Fiction
Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates (1865)
Fifteen-year-old Hans and his younger sister Gretel dream of skating in an ice-skating race where the prize is a pair of silver skates. However, their father is injured and in desperate need of an operation. There is no money for them to afford the skates they will need to participate in the race until a doctor’s kindness changes things for their family. By Mary Mapes Dodge.
Heidi (1880)
A five-year-old orphan girl goes to live with her grandfather, who is a hermit in the Swiss Alps. By Johanna Spyri.
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886)
An ordinary American boy suddenly learns that he is the grandson of an English nobleman. His grandfather had disapproved of his son’s marriage, but now that his son is dead, he wants to get to know his grandson and sends for him. Meeting the boy softens the grandfather’s heart, but trouble looms when another woman shows up with another boy, claiming that this other boy is the real heir to the estate. By Frances Hodgson Burnett.
A Little Princess (1905)
Young Sara is a bright, imaginative girl attending a boarding school in England. However, when word arrives that her father is dead and that Sara is destitute, Sara’s situation abruptly changes from that of one of the school’s favorite students to that of a mere charity case. Sara is now forced to work as a servant for the school, but Sara is a spirited girl and manages to make a new life for herself. This book is public domain and is available on Project Gutenberg. By Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Little Women (1868)
During the American Civil War, the four March sisters grow up and discover their destinies. Part of a series. By Louisa May Alcott.
Maniac Magee (1990)
A strange runaway boy finds a new home, becomes a local legend, and teaches a town about the meaning of race and family. By Jerry Spinelli.
The Railway Children (1906)
When their father is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, three children move to a house in the countryside with their mother. The house is near railroad tracks, and their adventures with the trains and a particular Old Gentleman who rides them, helps to improve their situation and prove their father’s innocence. This book is public domain and is available on Project Gutenberg. By E. Nesbit.
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903)
When her family falls on hard times, young Rebecca is sent to live with her aunts, who had been really hoping that her mother would send Rebecca’s practical older sister instead. Rebecca is a dreamy, imaginative girl, but in spite of her Aunt Miranda’s impatience with her, she charms everyone and earns their respect. This book is public domain and is available on Project Gutenberg. By Kate Douglas Wiggin.
The Secret Garden (1911)
An orphan girl born in India goes to live with her uncle in Yorkshire, England in a house filled with secrets and sadness and finds herself investigating a mysterious walled garden and trying to bring it back to life. It has been made into movie versions multiple times. The book is public domain and available to read on Project Gutenberg. By Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Stone Fox (1980)
A boy enters a dogsled race to earn the money he and his grandfather need to save their farm. By John Reynolds Gardiner.
The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899)
When their family falls on hard times, the Bastable children come up with wild schemes to restore their family’s fortunes. This book is public domain and available on Project Gutenberg.
Series
When an aging, unmarried brother and sister decide that they could use some extra help on their farm, they the decide to take in an orphan boy who can help with the farm chores. However, by mistake, the orphanage sends them a red-haired young girl instead, changing their lives and others in the community with her liveliness and imagination. 1908-1939.
Shoes Series
A very loose series about children who find their life’s ambitions and begin making their way in the world. Some characters recur but are not in every book. The best-known book in the series is the first one, Ballet Shoes, which has been made into a movie. By Noel Streatfeild. 1936-1962.
Adventure
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884, 1885)
A follow-up story from the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huckleberry Finn’s abusive father returns to take advantage of the money that his son now has. To escape from him, Huck fakes his own murder and runs away, joining with an escaping slave who is running away around the same time. Much of the book concerns a battle of conscience as Huck alternately worrying about whether or not he should turn the slave in and about the consequences of doing so, and yet they help each other and share in each other’s adventures, ultimately both desiring freedom. By Mark Twain.
My Side of the Mountain (1959)
A twelve-year-old boy hates living with his large family in a cramped apartment and decides to go to the empty farm in the Catskills once owned by his great-grandfather. The boy learns self-sufficiency, living by himself, but when the rest of his family comes to join him, he realizes that there are also benefits to being with the people he loves. By Jean Craighead George.
Stargirl (2000)
A quirky girl high school girl and her fluctuating popularity at school raise questions about popularity, nonconformity, and personal identity. By Jerry Spinelli.
Tom Sawyer (1876)
In 1840s Missouri, a young boy gets into mischief and has adventures with his best friend. Then, the boys witness a murder and uncover a fortune in stolen gold. By Mark Twain.
Series
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
A boy named Greg keeps a diary of his everyday adventures and the trials and tribulations of school and growing up. 2004, 2007-Present.
Humor
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!
After finding a book at the library about how to turn himself into a perfect person, Milo decides to give it a try! The book is still in print, but the movie (from 1983) isn’t. It hasn’t been released on dvd, but you can see a shortened version on Internet Archive.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
A family of young bullies ends up joining a church Christmas pageant and changing not only themselves but their audience for the better. The movie (from 1983) has been released on dvd, and I’ve seen it posted on YouTube.
A red-haired girl with super strength lives alone in a small town in Sweden, entertaining her friends with tall tales and wild adventures.
Series
Also called the Bruno and Boots series. Bruno and Boots are a pair of pranksters at a boarding school in Canada. By Gordon Korman. 1978-1995.
Short funny stories about a school that was accidentally built sideways. Nothing normal ever happens at Wayside School! By Louis Sachar. 1978-1995.
Mystery
Father’s Arcane Daughter (1976)
A mysterious woman joins a wealthy family, claiming to be a long-lost daughter who was believed to be dead, and she changes their lives for the better. However, is she really who she claims to be? The movie version from 1990 was titled Caroline? By E.L. Konigsburg.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967)
Two runaway children hiding in the Metropolitan Museum of Art uncover the secret of a sculpture that may have been sculpted by Michelangelo. By E.L. Konigsburg.
The House of Dies Drear (1968)
An African American boy and his family move to a house that was once owned by an abolitionist who helped slaves on the Underground Railroad and discover the secrets behind the supposed hauntings of the area and a hidden treasure.
A pair of siblings investigate some mysterious people on the island where they are staying on vacation. Not only do they solve a mystery, but they help their older sister find her life’s ambition. It hasn’t been released on dvd, and I can’t find it on YouTube. The only way to get it appears to be ordering a copy of the vhs.
The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899)
The Bastable children try various schemes to help their father when the family needs money. Part of the The Bastable Children Series. This book is public domain and available on Project Gutenberg. By E. Nesbit.
The movie version was called Get a Clue! A group of seemingly unrelated people find out that they are the beneficiaries named in the will of a wealthy recluse. The recluse has set a puzzle for them to solve in order to inherit his fortune. The movie is available on dvd, but don’t forget the exclamation point in the title, which differentiates it from a Disney movie with the same name that has nothing to do with this book.
Series
Four children who lived alone in a boxcar after the death of their parents are taken in by their grandfather and solve mysteries everywhere they go. 1924, 1942-Present.
A historical mystery series with Christian themes that takes place in turn-of-the-century South Carolina. Amanda Shaw is an orphan with a mysterious past but who finds a new life with relatives she had never met. By Lois Gladys Leppard. 1983-2004.
Nancy Drew Mysteries
Nancy Drew encounters and solves mysteries with her friends in her hometown of River Heights and around the world. By Carolyn Keene, A Stratemeyer Syndicate series. 1930-Present.
The Three Investigators Series
Three friends form a detective business, using a trailer in a salvage yard as their headquarters. 1964-1987, re-released 1990s.
Historical Fiction
Carrie’s War (1973)
Young evacuees from London during World War II get caught up in the family troubles in the house where they are staying and the legend of a mysterious house and an old skull. By Nina Bawden.
Make a Wish, Molly (1994)
When Molly is unable to eat cake at a friend’s house because she’s celebrating Passover, her mother invites her friends to their house to show them how they celebrate birthdays. This book is the sequel to Molly’s Pilgrim.
Molly’s Pilgrim (1983)
An immigrant girl is teased by children in her American school for being different until a lesson about pilgrims helps the other students to see her in a new way.
The Sign of the Beaver (1983)
In 18th century America, a 13-year-old boy helps his father build a new cabin for their family on the frontier. When his father leaves him to watch over the cabin while he returns to their home town to bring the rest of the family to the cabin, the boy learns to take care of himself with the help of a Native American friend. Lonely and worried about what will happen if his family never arrives, the boy considers accepting an offer from his friend to join his tribe and travel with them. By Elizabeth George Speare.
The movie version was called Miracle at Moreaux. A group of French school children hide Jewish children from the Nazis during World War II. The movie is different from the book in a number of ways, and it is available on dvd.
The Whipping Boy (1986)
A bored and bratty prince runs away with his whipping boy and learns lessons in friendship and responsibility. By Sid Fleischman.
Series
A collection of different series of books, each focusing on a girl from a different period of American history. 1986-Present.
Life changes for farm family on the Great Plains during the early 1900s when the father marries a mail-order bride. 1985-2006.
Fantasy
An inventor purchases an old race car and fixes it up, but some of the changes to the car happen because this car is magical, and it takes its new family on an incredible journey. By Ian Fleming.
The movie differs considerably from the original book. The movie is widely available on dvd.
The Little White Horse (1946)
Maria Merryweather, an orphan, goes to live with a cousin, Sir Benjamin, at his mysterious estate, Moonacre Manor. There are secrets and magic and a strange kind of sadness connected with the house, and Maria must delve into the past to learn what she must do to change it. By Elizabeth Gouge.
This book was turned into a movie called The Secret of Moonacre, although some of the aspects of the story were changed for the movie.
Marianne Dreams (1958)
Marianne begins a drawing when she is sick in bed and finds herself entering the world of her drawing when she dreams at night. Her adventures there with a boy who is also ill teach her patience and perseverance in dealing with her own illness and helping others. By Catherine Storr.
In 1988, the story was made into a movie called Paperhouse. Paperhouse is a much darker version of the original story, though. There was a much earlier television mini-series from 1972 based on the book called Escape Into Night, which was much more faithful to the original story, although in that version, Marianne had a broken leg from a riding accident instead of being ill. All six episodes of Escape Into Night are currently on YouTube.
A Pattern of Roses (1972, 1975)
A boy whose parents are renovating an old cottage in England begins learning about the history of the house and another boy who once lived there and died under mysterious circumstances years ago and left behind a tin box full of his drawings. As the modern boy investigates the mystery, he finds that events from this past boy’s life are strangely also beginning to happen to him as well, and the two of them have some odd things in common. The US edition of this British book is called So Once Was I. By K. M. Peyton.
There are themes of death and memory, but as the modern boy contemplates the legacy of the boy who died young many years ago, he comes to some important realizations about his own life, education, and ambitions and makes a decision about his own future legacy. He has been deeply unhappy about his education and his parents’ plans for him for some time, but the boy from the past makes him see what’s really important and what he really wants, giving him the courage to take his life into his own hands. The movie version is notable for being Helena Bonham Carter’s first movie role. She played young Netty.
The Princess and the Goblin (1872)
A young princess, while exploring a hidden part of the castle where she lives, discovers a room occupied by a mysterious woman who only the princess can see, possibly the spirit of her great-grandmother. The things she tells the princess and the princess’s new friendship with a young boy who is a miner help to save her from the goblins, who have evil intentions toward her and her kingdom. By George MacDonald.
The movie follows the original story fairly well, although the location was changed to Ireland. The original book, called Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, took place in Scotland. The movie is available on dvd.
The Thief Lord (2000)
A pair of orphaned brothers try to hide out in Venice, joining a gang of other orphaned children. They discover a magical merry-go-round that can make old people younger and young people older, changing the lives and destinies of some irresponsible adults and a boy who needs to take responsibility. By Cornelia Funke.
Tom’s Midnight Garden (1958)
Tom is spending the summer with his aunt and uncle. He is lonely at first, but he discovers that when the clock chimes thirteen times at night, he can go back in time, where he befriends an equally lonely girl named Hatty in a beautiful garden. By Phillipa Pearce.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
A young farm girl is carried off to a magical land by a tornado. This book is public domain and is available on Project Gutenberg. By L. Frank Baum.
Series
Harry Potter Series
A best-selling series about an orphan boy who discovers that he is a wizard and attends a school for wizards in Britain. As he grows up and his education as a wizard progresses and he prepares to face down the evil wizard who killed his parents, Harry learns many secrets about life, death, magic, and his own mysterious past. By J.K. Rowling. 1997-2007.
How To Train Your Dragon
A Viking boy captures and trains a young dragon as a rite of passage. The two become friends and heroes. By Cressida Cowell. 2003-2015.
A boy brings toy plastic figures to life by locking them in an old cupboard with a special key. 1980-1998.
Jack and Annie discover an old tree house in the woods that is filled with books and can take them to different periods of time. By Mary Pope Osborne. 1992-Present.
A magical nanny comes to take care of children and take them on amazing adventures. 1934-1988.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
A boy learns that his father was actually one of the Greek gods, and he is sent to a special camp to learn how to use his abilities along with other children descended from gods. By Rick Riordan. 2005-2009.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Three children move to a new home and discover fairies. The adventures of the original series were continued in a follow-up series called Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles. By Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. 2003-2009.
Mildred Hubble is the worst witch at witch school, but sometimes, being a little different from everyone else can be a good thing. By Jill Murphy. 1974-2018.
Science Fiction
Series
Books of Ember
Post-apocalyptic sci-fi series about a group of people living in an underground city while the surface world recovers from worldwide devastation, waiting to emerge and repopulate the world. By Jeanne DuPrau. 2003-2008.
Scary
Come Back, Lucy (aka Mirror of Danger) (1973, 1974)
Lucy is a young orphan who was raised by her kind and old-fashioned aunt. When her aunt dies, Lucy goes to live with her cousins, a more boisterous and modern family. Lucy has a difficult time adjusting to her new home and life, but then, she makes an exciting discovery. Lucy finds a mirror in the attic that allows her to see and connect with a girl named Alice, who lived in the house 100 years earlier. At first, Lucy enjoys traveling back in time to visit Alice in the past, participating in a more peaceful, old-fashioned kind of life. However, Alice actually has sinister intentions for Lucy. By Pamela Sykes.
The book has two titles because it was originally published in the UK and retitled when it was published in the US. The movie version is actually a tv mini-series made in the UK with the original title of the book, Come Back Lucy.
The Dollhouse Murders (1983)
The dolls in an old dollhouse seem to be reenacting the unsolved murder of Amy’s grandparents years ago. The movie was made for television in 1992.
Down a Dark Hall (1974)
A young adult gothic horror novel about girls at a haunted boarding school who channel the spirits of famous people to complete their unfinished works. By Lois Duncan.
The movie version was made in 2018 and is much darker than the original book.
The Halloween Tree (1972)
A group of friends tries to save their friend’s life on Halloween and learns some of the secrets behind the holiday. By Ray Bradbury.
Wait Till Helen Comes (1986)
Siblings Molly and Michael resent their new little stepsister, seven-year-old Heather, who is bratty and clingy with her father, their new stepfather. Heather is still troubled by the death of her mother in a fire when she was three years old. The new blended family moves to a house which is actually a converted church and has a graveyard next door. One day, when Molly explores the graveyard, she finds a small grave belonging to a seven-year-old child. Then, Heather suddenly has a new locket that she claims was given to her by her new friend, Helen. Frightening things begin happening, and Molly soon realizes that Heather’s new friend is actually a ghost, and this ghost may have sinister intentions for Heather. In order to save Heather, Molly must learn both the history of this ghost and the truth about the death of Heather’s mother. By Mary Downing Hahn.
A Watcher in the Woods (1976)
A family moves into an old house in the country, and one of the daughters, Jan, feels like something is watching them from the nearby woods. Could it be connected to the mysterious disappearance of Mrs. Aylwood’s daughter, Karen, years before? By Florence Engel Randall.
This book was the basis for the Disney movie The Watcher in the Woods, but there is also a movie version that’s a ghost story rather than science fiction.
Series
Goosebumps
Very popular collection of horror novels with a variety of monsters and ghosts. By R. L. Stine. 1992-1997.
I’m not planning to cover this series in detail because it’s so popular that it’s already been covered in detail elsewhere.
Lewis Barnavelt Series
Lewis Barnavelt is an orphan who lives in Michigan with his uncle, who is also a warlock. This is the series that includes The House with a Clock in Its Walls. By John Bellairs. 1973-2008.
A series of books of scary stories for children, best known for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. 1981-1991.
Picture Books
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Everything is going wrong for Alexander today! Will it ever end, or will he have to move to Australia to escape this awful day?
Bridget likes having her grandmother living with her and the rest of her family. Her grandmother always has time for her and is willing to give her a hug. But, what will she do when her aunt urges her grandmother to move into a nursing home? Can Bridget do anything to stop her from going?
A brother and sister find a jungle board game in the park that comes to life as they play it. The movie was very different from the book!
Linnea in Monet’s Garden (1985, 1987)
A young girl travels with a family friend to visit Monet’s Garden in France, learning about his life and art. By Christina Bjork, drawings by Lena Anderson.
A witch who haunts an old house is horrified when someone buys it to turn it into a tearoom, but they end up becoming friends.
The Polar Express (1985)
A boy rides a magical train on Christmas Eve and goes to the North Pole to meet Santa and receive the first gift of Christmas.
Stellaluna (1993)
A baby fruit bat who is separated from her mother is raised by a mother bird until she is old enough to learn how to be a bat.
Where the Wild Things Are (1963)
Max is sent to his room one evening for being too wild and causing trouble, and in his imagination, he travels to a place of wild things that make him their king. By Maurice Sendak.
This book is a sequel to Jumanji. A pair of brothers find a board game that launches their house into outer space, and they have to finish the game in order to get back home.
Series
The adventures of a little girl who lives in a boarding school in Paris. 1939-2013.
Nonfiction
Castle (1977)
The story of the building of Medieval castle with detailed drawings and explanations about its architecture and defenses. By David Macaulay.
Cathedral (1973)
The story of the construction of a Medieval cathedral. The story takes place in a fictional town in France, Chutreaux, but it is based on the construction of real Medieval cathedrals. By David Macaulay.
Not specifically a children’s book, but appropriate for children and often used for children. It was a favorite of mine when I was young. It was the inspiration for the modern Cheaper by the Dozen movies, but unlike the movies, it is about real people. The father was an efficiency expert in the 1910s and 1920s, not a football coach. There is an older movie based more closely on the book. By Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
The Dangerous Book for Boys (2006, 2007)
A book of hobbies and activities for children, particularly boys.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 