Best Book to Movie Adaptations

Photo by National Library of Medicine on Unsplash

One of the programs we run yearly at the Middleton Public Library is called Book Bunch & Lunch. I choose a book and for four or five weeks, the kids bring their lunch and eat while I read them a chapter or two and then we do some book related activity, and then during the final week we watch the movie based on the book. This year's book was The Tiger's Apprentice by Laurence Yep. 

Because of this program, I'm always on the lookout for great children's book movie adaptations, so the list, The All-Time Best Movie Adaptations of Children's Books from Bookriot caught my eye. I've spent so much time scrolling through lists, reading reviews, and prescreening movies that I'm happy to find any tool to help me choose! 

My favorite year so far was the year we read How to Train your Dragon. The kids loved it, the book was great, and the movie was amazing! Now with the new live action release I'd highly recommend this one for anyone looking to do something similar. 

What are your favorite book to movie adaptations for kids?

You can find the full article here. [Mabee, Megan. The All-Time Best Movie Adaptations of Children's Books. Bookriot.com. 7/14/2025.]

The DPI is considering Beanstack...and they need your input!

Dear Library Staff Coordinating Summer Library Programs,

Your input is urgently needed. The Department of Public Instruction is considering Beanstack, on an online reading challenge platform and mobile app, to support summer library programming in 2020 and beyond. 

By noon on Wednesday, April 15th please respond via a short survey (one response per library). It is critical to get a commitment of participation in order to continue with our statewide contract efforts. Confer with youth services/adult services/administration before responding. We need to know if your library would use Beanstack in 2020 (Yes/No/Already use Beanstack/Plan to use a different product). The statewide subscription would be funded through LSTA. 

Link to survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc_3ST68n6quNe86kfQTZG3ARG6BobjTIAMOw-AmzRfmDpOig/viewform?usp=sf_link

To help you determine if Beanstack would be a good choice for your summer library programming efforts, consider registering for a demo and overview webinar on either Monday, April 13th from 1-2pm or Tuesday, April 14th from 1-2pm. Register here:  https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/7951632213996237836

If attending a live webinar is not an option, a recording from the Beanstack web service and mobile app webinar on 4/9 can be found here with a password of "wisconsin". There are additional resources  and testimonials on the Beanstack resources web page: https://www.beanstack.com/resources

Additional details:

• If we offer Beanstack statewide, each library/branch would have an individual instance on the web/app. Basically, your patrons can find YOUR library and YOU can see all the data for YOUR library.
• If enough libraries respond with “Yes!”, then we hope to initiate Beanstack for Wisconsin public libraries by June 15, 2020
• The summer 2020 rollout would likely be a slightly modified version of Beanstack to accommodate a large number of libraries in a very short amount of time
• If you are currently a Beanstack customer, we will work with your library and Beanstack to determine finance options
• If your library says “No thanks” right now, you could reconsider the choice in 2021

An online reading challenge platform is likely not the best solution for everyone. DPI is actively working on solutions related to internet inequities. We will continue to explore options for remote programming and services for libraries in all corners of the state. 

Thank you for considering this option in such a short window of time. 

Sincerely,

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

Public Library Consultant – Youth and Inclusive Services

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

(608) 267-5077

tessa.schmidt@dpi.wi.gov 

Imagine Your Story Webinar, Courtesy of Our Michigan Neighbors!

The Library of Michigan’s Youth Services Advisory Council did an Imagine Your Story Webinar with ideas for early lit-teens last week and you can find it here: https://youtu.be/WrHglCmfszI.

Imagine Your Story: Ideas & Tips from the Library of Michigan’s Youth Services Advisory Council

[Recorded 1/7/2020]

Programming ideas and tips for the Collaborative Summer Library Program’s 2020 summer reading program, “Imagine Your Story,” are shared from your peers in the field.

This program is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Cathy Lancaster

Youth Services Coordinator

Library of Michigan
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
Lansing, MI 48915