The Authoritative Guide to Children’s Books Turned Into TV Shows
The connection between children’s literature and children’s television is strong. Name a classic children’s series and there’s a decent chance it has been adapted for the small screen at one time or another (some have been adapted more than once). It what is sure to be my slowest-loading post of all time (what with all the Youtube clips) I decided to put all the children’s books that have been turned into TV shows in one place.
Here are all the examples I could track down.
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Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
Clifford’s Puppy Days (PBS)
Clifford the Big Red Dog (PBS)
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmr4slaywAs
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That (PBS)
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
Arthur by Marc Brown
Arthur (PBS)
Curious George by Margaret and H.A. Rey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emCiXumS_ME
Curious George (PBS)
Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
Martha Speaks (PBS)
The Chicken Problem by Jennifer Oxley; illustrated by Billy Aronson
Peg + Cat (PBS)
Goosebumps by R.L. Stine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC3kue_C35g
Goosebumps (The Hub)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzZ-AW5-n04
Peter Rabbit (Nick Jr.)
Olivia by Ian Faulkner
Olivia (Nickelodeon)
Animorphs by K.A. Applegate
Animorphs (Nickelodeon)
The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The Adventures of the Little Prince (Nickelodeon)
Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird; illustrated by Helen Craig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RBKY9VmGFM
Angelina Ballerina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU3a2DliEA8
Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps (Nick Jr.)
Busy, Busy World by Richard Scarry
The Busy World of Richard Scarry
Busytown Mysteries (Nick Jr.)
Franklin in the Dark by Paulette Bourgeois and illustrated by Brenda Clark
Franklin
Franklin and Friends (Noggin)
Miss Spider’s Tea Party by David Kirk
Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends Nick Jr.
Kipper by Mick Inkpen
Kipper the Dog (Nick Jr.)
Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik; illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Little Bear (Nick Jr.)
Max and Ruby books by Rosemary Wells
Max and Ruby (Nick Jr.)
Mr. Men books by Roger Hargreaves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APHH-6l_EXs
The Mr. Men Show
Mr. Men and Little Miss
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Paddington (Nick Jr.)
Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry
Thomas the Tank Engine
The Big Honey Hunt by Stanley and Janice Berenstain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJKpcfm1qD4
The Berenstain Bears (Noggin)
Ella the Elegant Elephant by Carmela and Steven D’Amico
Ella the Elephant
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Redwall (Noggin)
The Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole; illustrated by Bruce Degen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiZT1bdGllM
The Magic School Bus (Noggin)
Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwjkQKSw5w
Scaredy Squirrel
George and Martha by James Marshall
George and Martha
Read Me a Story, Stella by Marie-Louise Gay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeHZvgumGxQ
Stella and Sam
Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon; illustrated by Tony Ross
Horrid Henry (CITV (UK))
Filed under: Articles
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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Not a classic children’s series, but The Octonauts were a children’s book series before they were a TV show too.
Oh, I didn’t realize that!
Travis,
For those of us who had to suffer through it, I didn’t mind that you left off Caillou. Ergh,
And the Arthur shows were, to my endless enjoyment, the hippest shows on PBS kids for quite a while. They jumped the shark with the celebrity guests (“Wade Boggs! What are you doing here”) but look for the episode about Head Lice and the one about the Land Of Poetry and they are as good as it gets.
There is something perversely great hearing Alec Baldwin read the Thomas the Tank Engine stories. I get this sense he’s trying to keep it together the entire time.
This is a fun list! I’ve been trying to think of any others… I know I used to watch the Babysitter’s Club and I think there was a Ramona show too. Also, David the Gnome was based on the Secrets of the Gnomes… does that count as a children’s book? There’s also a series based on the Charlie and Lola books.
There sure was a Ramona television show–with actor now director Sarah Polley as Ramona Q.
A great list, but a few that were missed: The Dumb Bunnies, Babar, Sendak’s Seven Little Monsters, and George Shrinks.
Thank you!
There are also Rolie Polie Olie, Oswald, Corduroy, Ebb and Flo, Ritter Trenk.
Madeline and The Moomins
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