13 Newbery Winning Books That Have Been Filmed

Thursday 13 #6

Hello again! This week’s Thursday Thirteen is a wee bit shorter than usual, as I am on vacation this week. This week’s theme was actually inspired by some incoming search terms I encountered while checking out the stats for this blog. Someone out there was interested in Newbery Medal-Winning Books That Have Been Made Into Films…and of course I’m happy to oblige.

Let’s gets started, shall we?

1. The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon (1922) – It was made into The Story of Mankind (1957) which featured the likes of The Marx Brothers, Peter Lorre, Vincent Prince (as The Devil, no less), and Hedy Lamarr. Oh, and Irwin Allen directed it. This book was the very first to win the Newbery.

2. Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James (1927) – This one has been made into Smoky (1933), Smoky (1946), Smoky (1966), and Dymka (1985). Wow! Hard to believe I’ve never seen any of these or read the book.

3. Call It Courage Armstrong Sperry (1941) – Call It Courage (1973) was filmed for an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney, or whatever it was called at the time.

4. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (1961) – I thought that this had been filmed a couple of times, but I only found one instance of Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964) on the IMDB.

5. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1963) – Well, this one was finally made into a film called A Wrinkle in Time in 2003. I loved the book, but I haven’t had a chance to see the film. Given that one of my favorite actors is in it, that’s a bit strange.

6. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (1968) – This is another of my childhood favorite books. You have to admit that they had a pretty clever idea of where to run away to. This book has been filmed twice (but I’ve only seen the more recent one.) The Hideaways (1973) cast Ingrid Bergman as Mrs. Frankweiler, whereas Lauren Bacall played that role in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1995).

7. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (1972) – The Secret of NIMH (1982) was a film that really got to me. As I recall, they changed the lead character’s name to “Brisby” in order to not have to deal with Wham-o’s “Frisbee” trademark.

8. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1978) – This is the infamous first book with a sad ending that I ever read. This would be why I did not see either Bridge to Terabithia (1985) or Bridge to Terabithia (2007).

9. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (1979) – This is the first Ellen Raskin book that I ever read. I then went on to read everything else by her that I could get my hands on. I wonder why I haven’t seen Get a Clue (1997). I’ll have to look into that.

10. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1986) – I read this book while I was taking my Children’s Services class when I was working on my Master’s Degree. It was a lovely little book. With a cast that includes Glenn Close and Christopher Walken, I expect that Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991) is lovely little film. Yet another one to add to my list.

11. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (1991) – This is the next book for the Fremont Page Turners (a book club for children in grades 4-8) if you’re interested. I’ve heard that Maniac Magee (2003) doesn’t quite do the book justice. Has anyone seen it?

12. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1992) – I admit that I haven’t seen Shiloh (1996) largely because I get too worried about animals in films like this.

13. Holes by Louis Sachar (1999) – Did you know that Louis Sachar actually got to play a part in Holes (2003)? Well, he also wrote the screenplay, so I’m not too surprised.