Best Recent Movies Based on Chapter Book Series

There has been an influx of Hollywood movies recently that are based on popular children's chapter book series. As a school librarian I love seeing movies come out that are based on these book series. When a child sees a movie he loves, he often wants to read the book that the movie is based on. Better than that, since most of the recent movie releases are based on book series, there are more books for the kids to read, beyond the single one the movie is based on. If you want to get your kid hooked on reading, check out these recent movies based on chapter book series.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Released in April 2010, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie is based on the hilarious book by Jeff Kinney of the same name. If your kid enjoyed the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie then he will love the book. The book has more wit and humor than the movie, and there are three additional titles to follow up the original. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a great recent book series turned movie.

The Lightning Thief. Following the success of the Harry Potter series, the Percy Jackson series, the first title of which is The Lightning Thief, features much of the same magical and mythical adventure. The Lightning Thief movie was released to theaters in the spring of 2010. Kids who loved the adventure and mythology of the movie may love the book by Rick Riordan even more. And when your child finishes The Lightning Thief he has four more books in the Percy Jackson series to keep him reading.

How to Train Your Dragon. Most people seem totally unaware that the 3-D move hit, How to Train Your Dragon, is based on a book series by British author Cressida Cowell. Cowell's first book of the series is indeed titled How to Train Your Dragon and while the movie is only loosely based on the book, kids who enjoyed the movie are likely to enjoy reading the book as well. Additionally, there are five other books available as part of Cowell's Dragon book series.

Getting kids hooked on reading in our media-saturated world is no easy task. Don't think of other media as the enemy, but rather embrace it as a tool to help steer your child toward reading. Check out these three recent movies based on chapter books and get your child interested in the rest of the great book series.