Book adaptations -- when they're done right -- are movie magic. You need only look to "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" for proof that smart producers make films with a built-in fan base, and many (if not most) of our favorite kids' movies got their start on the bookshelf.
We're probably not the target audience for "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer," starring Heather Graham and a sweet li'l moppet named Jordana Beatty. The book was released in 2000, when most of us here were a touch too old to be reading about third grade troublemakers.
But all good kids' books satisfy someone's sense of nostalgia -- your "Judy Moody" might be our "Willy Wonka." And no matter how many classics get the big screen treatment, some will always fall through the cracks. So here are nine books we can't believe we've never seen onscreen.
'A Wrinkle in Time' and Its Sequels
This book has sold more than 10 million copies, and all it got was a lousy TV movie. ("Did it meet your expectations?" Newsweek asked author Madeleine L'Engle in 2004. "Oh, yes," she responded. "I expected it to be bad, and it is.")
Decades before Harry cast his first alohomora, teenager Charles Wallace traveled through time with the help of a Yoda-like unicorn in the series finale, "A Swiftly Tilting Planet."
If the "Percy Jackson" sequel falls through, we have another role in mind for Logan Lerman.
Any Poem in 'Where the Sidewalk Ends'
If Spike Jonze could coax a full-length motion picture from 338 words of "Where the Wild Things Are," we're sure any number of Shel Silverstein's much-loved, longer poems could provide adequate fodder.
We suggest "Sarah Cynthia Silvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out," a charming cautionary tale of housekeeping negligence.
We'd also watch "Sick," following little Peggy Ann McKay's wild attempts to ditch school.
Consider it a sort of "Ferris Bueller" for the tween set.
'Gregor the Overlander'
You've probably noticed the frenzy over Suzanne Collins' best-seller "The Hunger Games" and its upcoming adaptation -- as a veteran TV writer, Collins writes action scenes that jump off the page, making her characters prime candidates for big screen success. Her series for younger readers, "The Underland Chronicles," is the story of a New York City boy, Gregor, who travels to an underground city populated by rats, bats and exceedingly pale humans. It's written for the middle school set, but with themes of war, genocide and betrayal, it's another perfect choice for a movie that adults (and adult-like people) could enjoy.
'The Little Prince'
We're cheating a little here – technically, Antoine de Saint-Exupery's winsome star-traveler had his own live-action flick in 1974. But the thing is… it's really creepy. It features Gene Wilder, the star of our number one favorite kids' book adaptation of all time, but he's not enough to keep us from cringing through a short clip on Youtube.
"Le Petit Prince" has sold over 80 million copies in eleventy-jazillion languages; it's long overdue for a new movie.
With CGI technology, you wouldn't even need a weird, middle-aged dude to play the fox.
'Corduroy'
Don't say they're just cartoons. The tears we've shed for "Toy Story' (and "Up.' And "Despicable Me.' Etc. Etc. Etc.) were as real as any we cried for "Titanic."
"Corduroy" is another kids' book that got the TV movie treatment, back in 1984, but the potential for greatness is too much for television.
Combine heartwarming animation and the story of a lonely, little teddy bear searching for a home, and "Corduroy" is a no-brainer for Best Animated Feature of… whatever year gets around to making it.
'The Giver'
IMDB suggests an adaptation is in development – first with "Deathly Hallows" director David Yates attached and now, theoretically, "House of Sand and Fog" director Vadim Perelman – but we'll believe it when we see it. Plans to bring this sci-fi fable to the screen have floated through the rumor mill since 1994.
"The Giver" centers around a teenager in a dystopian society given the gift/burden of understanding the sacrifices his ancestors made to eliminate war and suffering.
Think "City of Ember" – admittedly, not the greatest movie – but edgier.
'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'
Wikipedia claims that someone buys a copy of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" every 30 seconds.
We believe it.
We've never met someone who doesn't have warm memories of the lovable insect and his voracious appetite.
And lest you think a picture book about counting to five couldn't make an awesome animated feature, let us remind you that "Shrek" started as reading material for kindergartners.
'The Witch of Blackbird Pond'
This historical novel by Elizabeth George Speare won a Newbery award way back in 1959, but more importantly, it's got New England Puritans, angry mobs, witch hunts, romance.
Most importantly, it's got the possibility of cool, 17th century costumes.
Kristen Stewart will need a new project when "Breaking Dawn" and "Snow White" wrap, right?
She'd look good in 1687 as hunted teenager Katherine Tyler.
'Everybody Poops'
An animated documentary narrated by Russell Brand.
Enough said.
