When my son was five, I did the typical first time homeschooler thing: We read the "Tale of Despereaux" together and watched the new movie with the goal of comparing the two.  Of course, he was five.  What I expected from my five year old, I have no idea.  Over the years my methods may have changed a little, but our love of books and movies remains.  We still read books, watch movies, and compare. 

Recently, while watching the new "A Wrinkle in Time", my 10 yr old son turned to me and said, "The book is way better!"

I replied, "The book is always better."

But then my 11 yr old son retorted, "But not with Star Wars.  In Star Wars the movies are better than the books."  Of course, he was right and I realized that while I had given them books as their first loves, I hadn't brainwashed them into always thinking the book is better.  What made Star Wars movies better? 

The boys and I all agree:

The medium is where it's at.  

Star Wars is a better movie than a book because it was a movie first.  It was written to be a movie.  Therefore, the movie is better.  A Wrinkle in Time is a better book than a movie because it was a book first.  It was written to be a book, experienced as only a book can be, and enjoyed through the imagination. 

Coming from this perspective opens up a Pandora's box of extra questions to discuss:

• When does a movie succeed at being as good as the book? 
• What could the producer have done to make this movie like the book?
• How did the producer succeed in relating the thoughts of the characters on screen?
• Were the actions of the protagonist consistent with the protagonist from the book (movie)?
• What made the book better for the imagination? 
• How could the book have described some of the scenes in the movie differently?
• When was the first hint at the climax in the book? movie?

While there are many more questions we can discuss about the different mediums, let's not lose focus of the goal:  Developing our children's minds through great thinking and conversations. For truly, when we enter into watching a movie or reading a book expecting it to hold to the other medium, then we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. 

• One of my boys' favorite books/movies to do this with is "The Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.  Interestingly enough, the muppet's movie version is fairly accurate to the book, and the book has 5 staves, one for each advent Sunday plus Christmas Eve!