You mean Family as in Family Movie? Skewing young? Not like Another Bullshit Night In Suck City or The Kiss or (hated it) Corrections?

To Kill A Mockingbird

Swiss Family Robinson Mysterious Island Oliver Twist The Hunchback of Notre Dame The Princess Bride

The Hobbit and the Lord of the Ring series by Tolkien The Narnia series by Lewis Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Carroll

Giant.

I'm curious: if writers here were setting out to write a family spec screenplay, what sort of thing would you be looking to learn in your fiction reading? Me? I'd be looking for what kind of stories have stood the test of time; patterns in the narratives (like coming of age stories); what well-drawn children characters look like on the page. I'd also be interested in what stories were in the public domain that haven't been adapted to the screen. What about you guys? I had an exceptional lucky childhood: my parents read to me, and my aunt and uncle bought us books as gifts. So, in addition to the great suggestions we've had so far, I have a lot of suggestions for this category. And hey: if you are a parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or friend of a child, these books make magical presents--I've continued the family tradition and I give books to all the kids in my life now, too. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery The Borrowers by Mary Norton The Call of the Wild by Jack London Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Charlotte's Web by E.B. White A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens The Chrysalids by John Wyndham Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Maples Dodge Heidi by Joanna Spyri Ivanhoe by Walter Scott A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Lizard Music by D.M. Pinkwater Mary Poppins by PL Travers Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett The stories of Hans Christian Andersen The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley Watership Down by Richard Adams Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum A Wrinkle in Time by Madelaine L'Engle

My wife teaches middle school literature and her favorite book is Tuck Everlasting. (I have not read it.) There are two film adaptations, one in 1981 and one in 2002. My favorite stories as a child (which I do not recommend) were the Hardy Boys novels (I read them all) and the Encyclopedia Brown stories.

> (which I do not recommend) Oh, you made me laugh, David. I read the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and the Bobsey Twins as a kid, too--I only just discovered they were all written by Edward L. Stratemeyer under a variety of pen names! Maybe everyone else already knew that, but it was a shock to me.

Here is a recap of our suggestions so far, an impressive list. 1. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi 2. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 3. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 4. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery 5. The Borrowers by Mary Norton 6. The Call of the Wild by Jack London 7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 8. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White 9. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 10. The Chronicles of Naria by C.S. Lewis 11. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham 12. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card 13. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney 14. Giant by Edna Ferber 15. Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Maples Dodge 16. Heidi by Joanna Spyri 17. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein 18. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo 19. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott 20. A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne 21. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling 22. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving 23. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 24. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 25. Lizard Music by D.M. Pinkwater 26. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein 27. Mary Poppins by PL Travers 28. The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne 29. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 30. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie 31. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren 32. The Princess Bride by William Goldman 33. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe 34. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 35. The stories of Hans Christian Andersen 36. The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting 37. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss 38. The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas 39. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll 40. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee 41. Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson 42. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt 43. The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley 44. Watership Down by Richard Adams 45. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 46. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin 47. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum 48. A Wrinkle in Time by Madelaine L’Engle You're always welcome and encouraged to double check and make sure I didn't miss anything. And, this list is NOT closed: if you have more suggestions, please keep them coming.

Make that 58, with some suggestions that came in on another post: 1. 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass 2. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi 3. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 4. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 5. Alvin Ho by Lenore Look and LeUyen Pham 6. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery 7. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer 8. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson 9. The Borrowers by Mary Norton 10. The Call of the Wild by Jack London 11. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 12. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White 13. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 14. The Chronicles of Naria by C.S. Lewis 15. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham 16. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card 17. The Evolution of Calpunia Tate by Jaqueline Kelly 18. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney 19. Giant by Edna Ferber 20. The Golden Compass (aka Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman 21. Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Maples Dodge 22. Heidi by Joanna Spyri 23. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein 24. The Hope Chest by Karen Schwabach 25. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo 26. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott 27. A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne 28. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling 29. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving 30. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 31. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 32. Lizard Music by D.M. Pinkwater 33. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein 34. Mary Poppins by PL Travers 35. The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne 36. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 37. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie 38. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren 39. The Princess Bride by William Goldman 40. Roald Dahl, collected works 41. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe 42. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 43. The stories of Hans Christian Andersen 44. The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting 45. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger 46. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss 47. The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas 48. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll 49. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee 50. Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson 51. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt 52. The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley 53. Watership Down by Richard Adams 54. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead 55. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 56. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin 57. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum 58. A Wrinkle in Time by Madelaine L’Engle

I wonder if I may add a manga adaptation? Does that count as a "book"? (It is on amazon...) If so, I might add the manga adaptation of "Spirited Away," Hayao Miyazaki (Author, Illustrator). In all honesty, I am not a magna fan and certainly no expert. I have spoken to or hear 3rd hand some "real fans" and I think this is a classic in this genre.

That's a great addition, David. Thank you!