Books vs Films

Is it better to read the book or see the film? Or is there merit in both? For years now I've always slightly considered film adaptations of books inferior to the books themselves, in particular films of children's books! It upsets me greatly that a child might only know who The Cat in the Hat or The Grinch is because they've seen the films! I can't bear the thought of children not exploring the books I loved when I was little, or worst still, not even knowing they exist! Children these days seem to watch a lot more films, and they seem even more readily available with on demand viewing and digital downloads common in most houses (don't even get me started!). I suppose i'm just really scared that the book will go extinct and the children of today will grew up not knowing the pleasure of getting lost in a book, instead of screen.

The only film adaptation of children's stories that I can remember when I was a child were the Disney films, and as I now know, these were grossly different to the texts from which they took their names! You only have to watch the film Saving Mr Banks to see what liberties Walt Disney took with author's original works! If you haven't seen this film, its about P.L Travers, creator of the wonderful Mary Poppins, and the struggle she went through when Walt Disney 'Disney-fied' her beloved books. Its well worth a watch! Anyway, if adaptations were around they were more than likely to be on the tele, but I don't seem to remember there being that many, which I suppose is why I'm biased towards the book! I read, A LOT, and so books were a huge part of my childhood. 

Anyway, recently i've come to realise that the adaptation may not be so bad after all, and frankly I shouldn't be such a book snob! The more I thought about the film/TV adaptation vs the book I realised that I too was guilty of enjoying film or TV before book. I actually don't think I would have read a lot of the novels i've read if it wasn't for the BBC! I read Tess of the D'Urbevilles after watching the tele adaptation, and the same can be said for Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), The Ladies Paradise (Emile Zola), and Cider with Rosie (Laurie Lee). And of course i'd be lying if I said i'd read all the Harry Potter books before i'd seen the films! The films actually inspired me to read the books! Often i've enjoyed an adaptation on the tele or seen a really good film version of a book, my first thought is 'I need to read this!', so this left me wondering whether seeing a film could also inspire a child to read a book? I could deal with that! Maybe film adaptations might not be the route of all evil after all.....

If you know me you'll know I have a Lilia (7) and an Archie (4), my little second cousins. When I went to see them the other day they were buzzing about having just seen the brand new film adaptation of The BFG. It is the must-see film of the summer holidays and they told me it was great! I was very pleased to hear that having seen the film Lilia was now keen to read the story, so we grabbed the book and started reading, taking it in turns. It was really lovely to see her engaging with the story and the characters. I think having seen the film, and therefore now knowing the story, she was able to enjoy the book more and have a greater understanding of Dahl's tale. Below is a drawing she did of the BFG himself, after we read his description in the book. I love it!

So could seeing the film of a book actually encourage children to read and enhance their understanding and enjoyment of a story? Absolutely! I've certainly got a more open mind on this subject now. I think children will always eventually find these books, even if they've seen a film adaptation. In fact seeing the film may even make them seek out the book! As much as on demand tele allows for films to become a regular event, I think reading will still play a huge role in the lives of children. So, to answer my original question, there's certainly merit in both film and book and whatever sparks a child's imagination and gets them reading, i'm for it!! 

Thanks for reading, L x