Based on Books
Thursday, October 29th, 2009How many children would have overlooked Goggle-eyes by Anne
Fine (Puffin) if the book bad not inspired a television series? How
many older readers would have picked up classics like Jane Eyre or
Great Erpectations without TV productions based on their stories?
Television is at its best when it brings books to life and to mind. If possible get your children to read a book before viewing an adaptation on the silver screen or for television. That way they can compare the treatment of plot and characters as they watch and discuss the scriptwriter’s departures from the original story. If you keep an eye out for early reviews and previews, you can have the book in the house in time for your children to read (or for the family to read aloud) before the film is scheduled to be shown on TV or released in local cinemas.
Of course, you can ride on the crest of your children’s enthusiasm just after they see a production, and make a special trip to the library or bookshop to find the novel or historical biography on which the film was based.