Before They Were Movies
Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia
The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer.
Four children find a magical wardrobe leading to a mystical land called Narnia, which is cursed by an evil witch.
Gaiman, Neil. Coraline
A young girl walks through a secret door that she has found in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula
Classic horror story of a Transylvanian vampire stalking the foggy streets of London for more victims.
Levine, Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted
Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
Austen, Jane. Emma
A young woman finds that it is sometimes all too easy to confuse good intentions with self-gratification.
Paolini, Christopher. Eragon
When an orphaned farm boy is chosen by a mystic stone as its keeper, his destiny is forever sealed.
Kaysen, Susanna. Girl, Interrupted
Recounts the two years the author spent in the McLean psychiatric hospital and examines the reality of the hospital world.
Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass
Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subjects of gruesome experiments in the far North.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter Series
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.
Sachar, Louis. Holes
Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.
Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot
Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.
Ende, Michael. The Neverending Story
The Nothing threatens to destroy Fantasia and its Child-Empress and a young warrior sets out to save them.
Cohen, Rachel and David Levithan. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Nick and Norah have nothing in common except their taste in music. A chance meeting and a crusade to find a legendary rock band's secret show ends up being a first date and a night that will change their lives forever.
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men
In Depression-era California, two migrant workers dream of better days on a spread of their own until an act of unintentional violence leads to tragic consequences.
Kesey, Ken. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
The story of a man whose rebelliousness pits him against the head nurse of a mental ward and the full spectrum of institutional repression.
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders
The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare's tragedy in which two teenagers who fall in love encounter opposition from their families and take their own lives.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak
A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.
Gaiman, Neil. Stardust
A young man promises to find a fallen star for the woman he loves. Little does he know that fallen star is an actual person, and she is being hunted by people wanting her secret power.
Horowitz, Anthony. Stormbreaker
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.
Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew
The story of the courtship of a beautiful but sharp-tempered woman by her persistent suitor.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird
The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice.
Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight
Bella Swan moves to a small town in Washington. She meets the mysterious and handsome Edward Cullen, a boy who's hiding a dark secret: he’s a vampire.
Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
A story about a special summer in the lives of four lifelong friends who are separated for the first time. The young women find a pair of jeans that fits each of them perfectly and they decide to use the pants as a way of keeping in touch.
Baum, L. Frank. The Wizard of Oz
After a cyclone transports her to the land of Oz, Dorothy must seek out the great wizard in order to return to Kansas.
Compiled by Diane Doty, January 2010
»
