As a teacher I have noticed that just about any book becomes popular overnight once a movie version is announced. Old books, new books, books with boring covers, it does not matter. If there is a movie coming out, kids will read the book. Take advantage of this. Have your kids read the book first. Then watch the movie with them and have a compare/contrast conversation. If the book is at a reading level that is to advanced for your child, switch the order. Watch the movie first. That way when he reads the book he will already have an idea of what is going on and will be able to apply that to the written work. You may even be able to help your child see that reading can be even more fun than the movie.
I agree wholeheartedly about reading the book before the movie. That's the rule in our house. You can imagine the dismay of my third-grader when he saw "The Spiderwick Chronicles." He said, "MOM!!! THEY LEFT OUT THE WHOLE FOURTH BOOK!!" To which my reply was, "Yes, honey, books are better than movies!!" He just finished Inkheart and saw that movie. Again, he said the book was better...Next, Harry Potter!!
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