Happy National Reading Month! When this time of year comes around, I usually don’t do anything to celebrate the occasion. As a reader, I have felt bad about not doing anything to acknowledge it. But, now that I have a blog, I have the opportunity to commemorate National Reading Month! Over the years, I’ve observed how many Hallmark Hall of Fame movies are based on pre-existing literature. This inspired me to create the Hallmark Hall of Fame Reading Challenge! As I was researching the history of Hallmark Hall of Fame, I discovered that there are a lot of plays, short stories, and novels that were adapted into films. Honestly, there were so much pre-existing literature associated with Hallmark Hall of Fame, it took me several days to complete this list. Even though this reading list is very long, you do not have to complete this reading challenge within the month of March. In fact, you can complete this challenge whenever you want! Also, you can read as many or as few books as you like! If you want to watch the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies that these literary works were adapted into, that is completely optional. Now, I’ll explain the set-up of this reading challenge list!

Starting on the left, each book is listed in the chronological order of the film’s release. For instance, even though Richard Paul Evans’ book, The Locket, was published in 1998, the movie adaptation was released in 2002. The title of the book and the book’s author are listed next. After that, the title of the film is placed within parentheses. There are times when a film adaptation does not share the same title as its respective piece of literature. A recent example of this is The Second Sister being the basis for Christmas Everlasting. Feel free to scroll through the list and find your next piece of literature for the Hallmark Hall of Fame Reading Challenge!

Hallmark Hall of Fame Reading Challenge

2018 – The Second Sister by Marie Bostwick (Christmas Everlasting)

2018 – The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe (The Beach House)

2017 – The Christmas Train by David Baldacci (The Christmas Train)

2017 – Love Locks by Cory Martin (Love Locks)

2016 – A Heavenly Christmas by Rhonda Merwarth (A Heavenly Christmas)

2012 – Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas (Christmas with Holly)

2012 – A Smile as Big as the Moon by Mike Kersjes with Joe Layden (A Smile as Big as the Moon)

2011 – Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom (Have a Little Faith)

2011 – Nobody Don’t Love Nobody: Lessons on Love from the School with No Name by Stacey Bess (Beyond the Blackboard)

2011 – The Last Valentine by James Michael Pratt (The Lost Valentine)

2010 – The November Christmas by Greg Coppa (November Christmas)

2010 – The Lois Wilson Story: When Love Is Not Enough by William G. Borchert (When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story)

2009 – A Dog Named Christmas by Greg Kincaid (A Dog Named Christmas)

2009 – Irena Sendler: Mother of the Children of the Holocaust by Anna Mieszkowska (The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler)

2008 – Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had by Brad Cohen with Lisa Wysocky (Front of the Class)

2008 – Sweet Nothing In My Ear: A Play In Two Acts by Stephen Sachs (Sweet Nothing In My Ear)

2007 – Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff (Pictures of Hollis Woods)

2007 – The Valley of Light by Terry Kay (The Valley of Light)

2006 – Candles on Bay Street by K.C. McKinnon (Candles on Bay Street)

2006 — If Nights Could Talk: A Family Memoir by Marsha Recknagel (In from the Night)

2006 – The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy (The Water Is Wide)

2005 – Silver Bells by Luanne Rice (Silver Bells)

2005 – Riding the Bus with My Sister by Rachel Simon (Riding the Bus with My Sister)

2005 – The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel (The Magic of Ordinary Days)

2004 – Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler (Back When We Were Grownups)

2004 – Plainsong by Kent Haruf (Plainsong)

2004 – The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin (The Blackwater Lightship)

2003 – Fallen Angel by Don J. Snyder (Fallen Angel)

2003 – A Painted House by John Grisham (A Painted House)

2003 – Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland (Brush with Fate)

2002 – The Locket by Richard Paul Evans (The Locket)

2002 – My Sister’s Keeper: Learning to Cope with a Sibling’s Mental Illness by Margaret Moorman (My Sister’s Keeper)

2001 – Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby (In Love and War)

2001 – Follow the Stars Home by Luanne Rice (Follow the Stars Home)

2001 – The Flamingo Rising by Larry Baker (The Flamingo Rising)

2000 – The Runaway by Terry Kay (The Runaway)

2000 – Looking for Lost Bird: A Jewish Woman Discovers Her Navajo Roots by Yvette Melanson with Claire Safran (The Lost Child)

2000 – Cupid and Diana by Christina Bartolomeo (Cupid & Cate)

2000 – Atticus by Ron Hansen (Missing Pieces)

1999 – A Season for Miracles by Marilyn Pappano (A Season for Miracles)

1999 – Caleb’s Story by Patricia MacLachlan (Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter’s End)

1999 – Durango by John B. Keane (Durango)

1999 – Night Ride Home by Barbara Esstman (Night Ride Home)

1998 – Grace & Glorie: A Play in Two Acts by Tom Ziegler (Grace & Glorie)

1998 – Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler (Saint Maybe)

1998 – Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn (The Echo of Thunder)

1998 – The Love Letter by Jack Finney (The Love Letter)

1997 – Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons (Ellen Foster)

1997 – What the Deaf-Mute Heard by G.D. Gearino (What the Deaf Man Heard)

1997 – For the Roses by Julie Garwood (Rose Hill)

1997 – The Wild Palms by William Faulkner (Old Man)

1996 – Calm at Sunset, Calm at Dawn by Paul Watkins (Calm at Sunset)

1996 – Lily Dale by Horton Foote (Lily Dale)

1996 – The Boys Next Door by Tom Griffin (The Boys Next Door)

1995 – Journey by Patricia MacLachlan (Journey)

1995 – Redwood Curtain by Lanford Wilson (Redwood Curtain)

1995 – The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (The Piano Lesson)

1994 – The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (The Return of the Native)

1994 – Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (Breathing Lessons)

1993 – To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay (To Dance with the White Dog)

1993 – Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan (Skylark)

1992 – A Shayna Maidel by Barbara Lebow (Miss Rose White)

1992 – O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (O Pioneers!)

1991 – Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (Sarah, Plain and Tall)

1990 — Decoration Day by John William Corrington (Decoration Day)

1990 – Father’s Arcane Daughter by E. L. Konigsburg (Caroline?)

1989 – The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher (The Shell Seekers)

1988 – The Tenth Man by Graham Greene (The Tenth Man)

1988 – April Morning by Howard Fast (April Morning)

1988 – Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr (Stones for Ibarra)

1987 – Foxfire by Susan Cooper (Foxfire)

1987 – The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden)

1987 – Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitemore (Pack of Lies)

1987 – The Room Upstairs by Norma Levinson (The Room Upstairs)

1985 – Love Is Never Silent by Joanne Greenberg (Love Is Never Silent)

1985 – The Corsican Brothers by Alexandre Dumas (father) (The Corsican Brothers)

1984 – La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas (son) (Camille)

1984 – The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson (The Master of Ballantrae)

1983 – The Winter of our Discontent by John Steinbeck (The Winter of our Discontent)

1983 – Thursday’s Child by Victoria Poole (Thursday’s Child)

1982 – Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie (Witness for the Prosecution)

1982 – The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

1981 – Dear Liar: A Biography in Two Acts: Adapted from the Correspondence of Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell by Jerome Kilty (Dear Liar)

1980 – A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities)

1980 – Gideon’s Trumpet by Anthony Lewis (Gideon’s Trumpet)

1979 – All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (All Quiet on the Western Front)

1978 – Stubby Pringle’s Christmas by Jack Schaefer (Stubby Pringle’s Christmas)

1978 – Homely Girl, A Life: And Other Stories by Arthur Miller (“Fame” is included within this book) (Fame)

1977 – The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer: A Novel by Douglas C. Jones (The Court Martial of George Armstrong Custer)

1977 – The Last Hurrah by Edwin O’Connor (The Last Hurrah)

1976 – Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (Peter Pan)

1976 – Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (Beauty and the Beast)

1976 – Meeting at Potsdam by Charles L. Mee Jr. (Truman at Potsdam)

1976 – Works of George Bernard Shaw by George Bernard Shaw (“Caesar and Cleopatra” is included within this book) (Caesar and Cleopatra)

1975 – The Rivalry by Norman Corwin (The Rivalry)

1975 – Valley Forge by Maxwell Anderson (Valley Forge)

1975 – Eric by Doris Herold Lund (Eric)

1975 & 1974 – Paul Gallico’s The Small Miracle by Paul Gallico and Bob Barton (Something Wonderful Happens Every Spring & The Small Miracle)

1975 – If Only They Could Talk & It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet by James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small)

1974 – The Gathering Storm by Winston S. Churchill (The Gathering Storm)

1974 – Still Life by Noel Coward (Brief Encounter)

1974 – Crown Matrimonial by Royce Ryton (Crown Matrimonial)

1974 – The Country Girl by Clifford Odets (The Country Girl)

1973 – The Borrowers by Mary Norton (The Borrowers)

1973 – Lisa, Bright and Dark by John Neufeld (Lisa, Bright and Dark)

1973 – Peanuts & You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown)

1972 – The Man Who Came to Dinner by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (The Man Who Came to Dinner)

1972 – The Hands of Cormac Joyce by Leonard Wibberley (The Hands of Cormac Joyce)

1972 – Harvey by Mary Chase (Harvey)

1971 – A Death in the Family by James Agee (All the Way Home)

1971 – The Snow Goose: A Story of Dunkirk by Paul Gallico (The Snow Goose)

1971 – The Collected Works of Paddy Chayefsky: The Stage Plays by Paddy Chayefsky (“Gideon” is included within this book) (Gideon)

1971 – The Price by Arthur Miller (The Price)

1970 and 1953– Hamlet by William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

1970 – The Greatest Story Ever Told by Fulton Oursler, Henry Denker, and Warren Parker (Neither Are We Enemies)

1969 – The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell (The Littlest Angel)

1969 – The File on Devlin by Catherine Gaskin (The File on Devlin)

1968 – Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (Pinocchio)

1968 – The Works Of J. M. Barrie by J. M. Barrie (“The Admirable Crichton” is included within this book) (The Admirable Crichton)

1968 – Elizabeth the Queen by Maxwell Anderson (Elizabeth the Queen)

1967 – Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw (Saint Joan)

1967 – A Bell for Adano by John Hersey (A Bell for Adano)

1967 – Anastasia by Marcelle Maurette (Anastasia)

1966 – Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward (Blithe Spirit)

1966 – Barefoot in Athens by Maxwell Anderson (Barefoot in Athens)

1966 – Lamp at Midnight by Barrie Stavis (Lamp at Midnight)

1965 – Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (Inherit the Wind)

1965 – The Magnificent Yankee by Emmet Lavery (The Magnificent Yankee)

1964, 1954, 1953, 1952, and 1951 – Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti (Amahl and the Night Visitors)

1964 – Painting as a Pastime by Winston S. Churchill (The Other World of Winston Chuchill)

1964 – The Romancers by Edmond Rostand (The Fantasticks is loosely based on “The Romancers” (The Fantasticks)

1964 and 1958 – Little Moon of Alban by James Constigan (Little Moon of Alban)

1964 – Abe Lincoln in Illinois by Robert E. Sherwood (Abe Lincoln in Illinois)

1963 – Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion)

1962 – Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (Cyrano de Bergerac)

1962 – The Teahouse of the August Moon (play by John Patrick, novel by Vern Sneider) (The Teahouse of the August Moon)

1962 – Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring (Arsenic & Old Lace)

1961 – Victoria Regina by Laurence Housman (Victoria Regina)

1961 – Jean Anouilh: Five Plays by Jean Anouilh (“Time Remembered” is included within this book) (Time Remembered)

1960 and 1954 – Macbeth by William Shakespeare (Macbeth)

1960 – Lost Horizon by James Hilton (Shangri-La)

1960 – Captain Brassbound’s Conversion by George Bernard Shaw (Captain Brassbound’s Conversion)

1960 and 1956 – The Cradle Song and Other Plays by Gregorio Martinez Sierra (The Cradle Song)

1960 – The Tempest by William Shakespeare (The Tempest)

1959 – A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen (A Doll’s House)

1959 – Winterset by Maxwell Anderson (Winterset)

1959 – Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O’Neill (Ah, Wilderness!)

1959 and 1957 – The Green Pastures (play) by Marc Connelly and Ol’ Man Adam an’ His Chillun by Roark Bradford (The Green Pastures)

1959 – Berkeley Square: A Play in Three Acts by John L. Balderston and The Sense of the Past by Henry James (Berkeley Square)

1958 and 1956 – The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (Kiss Me, Kate and The Taming of the Shrew)

1958 – Johnny Belinda by Elmer Harris (Johnny Belinda)

1958 – Dial M for Murder by Frederick Knott (Dial M for Murder)

1958 – Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge (Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates)

1957 – Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night)

1957 – On Borrowed Time (play) by Paul Osborn & L. E. Watkins and On Borrowed Time (book) by Lawrence Edward Watkin (On Borrowed Time)

1957 –Yeoman of the Guard by W. S. Gilbert (The Yeoman of the Guard)

1957 – There Shall Be No Night by Robert E. Sherwood (There Shall Be No Night)

1957 – The Lark by Lillian Hellman and Jean Anouilh (The Lark)

1956 – The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman (The Little Foxes)

1956 – Works of George Bernard Shaw by George Bernard Shaw (“Man and Superman” is included within this book) (Man and Superman)

1956 – Born Yesterday: Comedy in 3 Acts by Garson Kanin (Born Yesterday)

1956 – The Corn is Green by Emlyn Williams (The Corn is Green)

1955 – Dream Girl by Elmer Rice (Dream Girl)

1955 – Works of George Bernard Shaw by George Bernard Shaw (“The Devil’s Disciple” is included within this book) (The Devil’s Disciple)

1955 – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)

1954 – Moby-Dick, or, the Whale by Herman Melville (Moby Dick)

1954 – Richard II by William Shakespeare (King Richard II)

1953 – Imaginary Conversations by Walter Savage Landor and Charles George Crump (Aesop and Rhodope)

1953 – Favorite Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (“The Courtship of Miles Standish” is included within this book) (The Courtship of Miles Standish)

1953 – Of Time and the River: A Legend of Man’s Hunger in His Youth by Thomas Wolfe (Of Time and the River)

1953 – The Imaginary Invalid by Jean Baptiste Poquelin Moliere (The Imaginary Invalid)

1953 – The Trampling Herd: The Story of the Cattle Range in America by Paul I. Wellman (McCoy of Abilene)

1953 – The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke (The Other Wise Man)

1953 – Lincoln’s Little Correspondent by Hertha Ernestine Pauli (Lincoln’s Little Correspondent)

1952 – The Small One: A Story for Those Who Like Christmas and Small Donkeys by Charles Tazewell (The Small One)

1952 – Father Flanagan of Boys Town by Fulton Oursler (The Vision of Father Flanagan)

1952 – Mistress of the White House: The Story of Dolly Madison by Helen L. Morgan (Mistress of the White House)

1952 – Finding Providence: The Story of Roger Williams by Avi (The Story of Roger Williams)

1952 – Doctor Serocold by Helen Ashton (Doctor Serocold)

 

Will you be participating in the Hallmark Hall of Fame Reading Challenge? Which piece of literature from this list would you be interested in reading? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

 

Have fun reading!

Sally Silverscreen