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International Literacy Day celebrates the joy of reading and writing. Image ©Dollarphoto.com/cirodelia

Celebrate International Literacy Day with One of These 25 Books that Made It to the Big Screen

September 8th marks International Literacy Day. The event, first celebrated in 1966, emphasizes the importance of reading and writing for children and adults. This year’s theme for the event is “literacy and sustainable societies”.

While some children and adults struggle with learning challenges that make reading more difficult, others haven’t discovered a love of reading. To help encourage a reluctant reader let your child pick what he or she wants to read. Graphic novels, comic books, magazines or joke books can be a good beginning. Non-fiction, sports stories or how-to manuals may appeal to some children more than novels. Help your children find subjects that interest them. Many libraries offer books with easier vocabulary aimed at older readers including non-native speakers. Some children will be more eager to read if they can use an electronic device. Many children’s books are now available in e-book format.

Read to your child often. Books, newspapers, magazines, road signs and to-do lists are all things children can practice reading. Many children want to read the same book over and over. While that can sometimes feel monotonous to a parent, re-reading books helps children recognize words, sentence structure and story line and will eventually help them read the book on their own. As well, reading to your child helps improve vocabulary. Use a dictionary to help them look up words they don’t understand.

Leave notes for your children. Encourage them to write letters or notes to you. Invite other family members or friends to send letters, cards or texts to your child. And remember the importance of being a role model when it comes to reading.

Do you have a reluctant reader who loves movies? Encourage her or him to find a book that has been made into a movie. Read the book first then watch the movie and talk about the things that were different or the same. Encourage your child to write a movie script for one of his or her favorite books

To get you started here are 25 books that made their way to the big screen.

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

Stuart Little by E. B. White

Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

Ramona and Beezus by Beverly Cleary

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

The Sword and the Stone by T. H. White

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Bridge to Terabithia by Donna Diamond and Katherine Paterson

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riodan

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Holes by Louis Sacharnn

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unforunate Events by Daniel Handler

Curious George by H.A. and Margret Rey

More details about the movies mentioned in this post…

How To Train Your Dragon

How To Train Your Dragon

The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

A fitting tribute to the spirit of the classic novel.

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins

Curious George

Curious George

The famous story book character gets a chance to monkey around on the big screen.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Harriet The Spy

Harriet The Spy

Holes

Holes

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

You'll never see a thunderstorm the same way again.

Journey To The Center Of The Earth

Journey To The Center Of The Earth

Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte’s Web

The Polar Express

The Polar Express

You will believe.

Old Yeller

Old Yeller

Horton Hears a Who

Horton Hears a Who

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden

Black Beauty

Black Beauty

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Treasure Island

Treasure Island

Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia

Madeline

Madeline

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Stuart Little

Stuart Little

Winnie The Pooh

Winnie The Pooh

The Sword In The Stone

The Sword In The Stone

Ramona and Beezus

Ramona and Beezus

Little Women

Little Women

A not so little story about the ups and downs of life and love in Civil War America.