A book series is adapted into a TV series. Not just a TV Movie, but a regular weekly series about the characters. Unless the book series is already a Long Runner, this is probably going to overtake the source material quite quickly, expand its story, and become its own Alternate Continuity. In fact, it may not even use the books as anything other than a source of characters and a premise.
However, if they are sticking to the source material, adapting for television has advantages over adapting for film. If the source material is quite dense, television runtimes provide more time to faithfully adapt plot points and show character development rather than distilling most of them. A show might also be under less pressure from the studios to produce a "tentpole" hit (which leads to a tendency to ramp up the action and bombast).
Compare The Film of the Book. Contrast Anime First.
Examples:
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Adapted into Anime
- Andersen Monogatari is a 1970s anime that adapted various works by Hans Christian Andersen.
- Another is based on a series of novels by Yukito Ayatsuji.
- The long running preschool series Anpanman was adapted after the picture book series by Takashi Yanase which ran from 1969 till the author's death in 2014.
- In 1977, Sterling North's book Rascal was adapted into Araiguma Rasukaru.
- Battery is an anime based on a light novel series by Atsuko Asano.
- Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation is based on a series of novels by Shiori Ota with illustrations done by Tetsuo.
- Brothers Conflict is based on a series of novels created by Atsuko Kanase, written by Takeshi Mizuno and illustrated by Udajo.
- A Certain Magical Index is based on the novels by Kazuma Kamachi.
- Deltora Quest is based on the first series of Deltora Quest books by Emily Rodda.
- Erin is a television anime series based on the original duology of The Beast Player.
- From the New World is based on a novel by Yusuke Kishi.
- Gate is based on a series of novels by Takumi Yanai.
- Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics is a 1980s anime by Nippon Animation that adapted various fairy-tales.
- HaruChika is adopted from a series of novels written by Sei Hatsuno. The show got their designs from a manga adaptation of the books illustrated by Namaniku ATK.
- Heavy Object is based on much of the novel series by Kazuma Kamachi. However, the two-part finale is an original story.
- Heidi, Girl of the Alps is an adaptation of the 1880 children's novel Heidi.
- Hyouka is based on the Classics Literature Club series of novels by Honobu Yonezawa.
- In/Spectre is based on the novel of the same by Kyo Shirodaira.
- Joker Game is based on the novels of the same name by Koji Yanagi.
- Kuromajo-san ga Toru!! is based on a series of children's novels by Hiroshi Ishizaki.
- Kurozuka is based on a series of novels by
- Toei Animation created an anime adaptation of Little Women in 1981. Nippon Animation created an adaptation in 1987 as a part of their World Masterpiece Theater series.
- The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED is based on the novels of Yasutaka Tsutsui from Fugo Keiji.
- Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is based on a series of novels by Nahoko Uesashi.
- Moshi Koukou Yakyuu no Joshi Manager ga Dorakkaa no "Management" o Yondara is based on a novel by Natsumi Iwasaki.
- Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse is based on the first half of the light novels of same name, which are themselves a Spin-Off from the third entry in the Visual Novel series Muv-Luv.
- Paprika is based on novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui.
- Psychic Detective Yakumo is based on a series of novels by Manabu Kaminaga.
- RDG: Red Data Girl is based on a series of novels by Noriko Ogiwara.
- Requiem from the Darkness is based on a series of novels by Natsuhiko Kyogoku.
- Sherlock Hound is a Lighter and Softer adaptation of Sherlock Holmes set in a World of Funny Animals.
- The Snow Queen (2005) is an adaptation of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. It adds another stories by Andersen.
- Sound! Euphonium is based on a novel by Ayano Takeda.
- Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note is based on a series of children's novels written by Ryou Sumitaki, the latter of which being adopted from a series of Light Novels written by Hitomi Fujimoto.
- The Tatami Galaxy is based on a novel by Tomihiko Morimi.
- Trapeze is based on a series of short stories by Hideo Okuda.
- The Eccentric Family is based on novel by Tomihiko Morimi.
- The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, a 1980 anime series based on the Swedish children's novel of the same name.
- In Japan, The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz is a sci-fi anime series based on the Land of Oz series. The English dub condensed it into a film.
- In 1986 Panmedia produced an anime known in English as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was based on Land of Oz books.
- From The '70s, Nippon Animation has been adapting books into anime series as a part of a series named "World Masterpiece Theater". It originally began with Mushi Productions adapting series in The '60s:
- Moomin (1969) is a 1969 adaptation of The Moomins. TMS Entertainment did the first 26 episodes while Mushi did the rest. It is the only part of the World Masterpiece Theater to be done by TMS. Tove Jansson disowned the series due to its divergences from the original works.
- Andersen Stories is a 1971 adaptation of stories by Hans Christian Andersen
- New Moomin is a 1972 adaptation of The Moomins that is Truer to the Text than the previous adaptation.
- Rocky Chuck the Mountain Rat is a 1973 adaptation of the Burgess Bedtime Stories. It was the last WMT done by Mushi.
- Heidi, Girl of the Alps is a 1974 adaptation of Heidi. It was done by Zuiyo Enterprise. Zuiyo filed for bankruptcy in 1975 and their animation studio then became Nippon Animation. Zuiyo continued on as a separate entity from Nippon Animation, and has continued to hold the copyright of the Heidi anime ever since.
- A Dog Of Flanders is a 1975 adaptation of A Dog of Flanders. It was done by Zuiyo Enterprise/Nippon Animation. Afterwards all of the World Masterpiece Theater productions have been done by Nippon Animation.
- 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother is a 1976 adaptation of Heart by Edmondo De Amicis.
- Rascal The Raccoon is a 1977 adaptation of Rascal, A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North.note
- The Story Of Perrine is a 1978 adaptation based of En Famille by Hector Malot.
- Akage no Anne ("Red-Haired Anne") is a 1979 adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. This was the last in the series to feature contributions by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
- The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer is a 1980 adaptation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
- The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island is a 1981 adaptation of Swiss Family Robinson.
- Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow is a 1982 adaptation of Southern Rainbow by Phyllis Piddington.
- Alps Story My Annette is a 1983 adaptation of Treasures Of The Snow.
- Katri, Girl of the Meadows is a 1984 adaptation of Paimen Piika Ja Emanta by Auni Nuolivaara.
- Princess Sarah is a 1985 adaptation of A Little Princess.
- The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love is a 1986 adaptation of Pollyanna.
- Love Story of the Young Grass is a 1987 adaptation of Little Women. Known as "Tales of Little Women" in its English dub version.
- Little Prince Cedie is a 1987 adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy.
- The Adventures of Peter Pan is a 1989 adaptation of Peter Pan.
- My Daddy Long Legs is a 1990 adaptation of Daddy-Long-Legs.
- Trapp Family Story is a 1991 adaptation of The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, a memoir written by Maria Augusta von Trapp in 1949.
- The Bush Baby is a 1992 adaptation of The Bushbabies by William Stevenson.
- Tale of Young Grass Nan and Miss Jo is a 1993 adaptation of the Little Women sequel, Little Men
- Tico of the Seven Seas is a (loose) 1994 adaptation of Moby-Dick
- Romeos Blue Skies is a 1995 adaptation of The Black Brothers by Lisa Tetzner.
- Famous Dog Lassie is a 1996 adaptation of Lassie Come Home.
- Homeless Girl Remi is a 1997 adaptation of Sans Famille by Hector Malot.
- Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette is a 2007 adaptation of Les Misérables.
- Porphy's Long Journey is a 2008 adaptation of The Orphans Of Simitra by Paul-Jacques Bonzon.
- Konnichiwa Anne Before Green Gables after the Anne of Green Gables prequel Before Green Gables.
- The 1938 book The Yearling was adapted into a 1983 anime. The English dub is sometimes referred to as Fortunate Fawn.
Adapted into Live-Action TV
- The 100, from the books by Kass Morgan.
- 666 Park Avenue from the book by Gabriella Peirce.
- About a Boy from the book by Nick Hornby.
- Amber Brown (2022): It's based on the series of popular children's books written by Paula Danziger.
- American Gods (2017) from American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
- And the Winner is Love from the novel of the same name by Junzi Yize.
- Animorphs from the books by K.A. Applegate.
- Are You There, Chelsea? from the non-fiction book Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler.
- Ashes of Love from Heavy Sweetness, Ash-like Frost by Dian Xian.
- The Baby-Sitters Club spawned a thirteen episode show in 1990 and another longer show in 2020.
- Baghdad Central
- Beautiful People was loosely based on Simon Doonan's memoirs, but with a Setting Update and a lot of licence taken with other aspects.
- The Beauty Queen Of Jerusalem is adapted from the novel of the same name by Sarit Yishai-Levi.
- Berlin Alexanderplatz was adapted by Rainer Werner Fassbinder into a landmark miniseries made in 1980.
- Bitten from The Otherworld by Kelly Armstrong.
- Black Sails from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- Bones, from the books by Kathy Reich. All original stories, and indeed mostly original characters. (It's arguable whether Temperance "Bones" Brennan is even the same character as Temperance "Tempe" Brennan given her different husband and having more children than the book character, among many other things.)
- Bosch, from the books by Michael Connelly.
- Cadfael, from the books by Ellis Peters.
- The Carrie Diaries from the book by Cadance Bushell.
- Chef wa Meitantei is adapted from Fumie Kondo's novels (Taruto Tatan no Yume, Bangsho wo Anata ni and Macaron wa Macaron)
- The Cherry Queen, adapted from the book by Justus Pfaue.
- Christy from the book by Catherine Marshall.
- The Chronicle from the News from the Edge books by Mark Sumner.
- Cinderella Chef from the novel of the same name by Yin Zi 281.
- Crossbones from The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard.
- Dalziel And Pascoe from the books by Reginald Hill. The series mixed original stories with book adaptations for a while, then moved entirely into new material. Meanwhile Hill carried on writing new books, a couple of which were eventually adapted despite the show having moved into an Alternate Continuity.
- The Dead Zone from the book by Stephen King.
- The Deer and the Cauldron (2014) and Royal Tramp, both from The Deer and the Cauldron by Jin Yong.
- Dexter from the books by Jeff Lindsay.
- Dinotopia from the books by James Gurney.
- Dracula (2013) from the book by Bram Stoker.
- The Dresden Files from the books by Jim Butcher.
- Elidor from the book by Alan Garner.
- Ellery Queen, from the Ellery Queen novels by . . . Ellery Queen. The pilot was a direct adaptation of one novel, and another episode was based on a short story, but the rest of the stories were original.
- Emerald City based on the Land of Oz books by L. Frank Baum.
- The Eternal Love and its sequels, from the novel Bao Xiao Chong Fei: Ye Wo Deng Ni Xiu Qi by Fan Que.
- The Expanse, adapted by Syfy from James S.A. Corey's novels is a reasonably faithful adaptation of the overall plot (though with lots of minor details changed or added).
- The Famous Five has had two series. One from 1978-1979 and one from 1995. The latter is Truer to the Text.
- Father Dowling Mysteries from a series of books by Ralph McInerny, though none of the plots of the books were used in the episodes of the series. Recursive Adaptation occurs In-Universe when an author uses one of Father Dowling's adventures as the basis for a book.
- Father Brown from the short stories by G. K. Chesterton. A loose adaptation from the get-go, and pretty much entirely original from the second season onward. (There is also a 1974 Father Brown series that is a much more direct adaptation of the stories.)
- Fellow Travelers: It's based on the book of the same name.
- Fergus Mcphail from the book by David McRobbie
- The Finder from The Knowland Retribution and The Lacey Confession by Richard Greener.
- The Finder also known as Finders Keepers is an adaptation of the Emily Rodda book Finders Keepers made by The ABC.
- Flash Forward from the book by Robert J. Sawyer.
- Friday Night Lights was based on the non-fiction book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream.
- Game of Thrones is based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. Straight adaptation (at least for the first 4 seasons).
- House of the Dragon is an adaptation of the spin-off book Fire & Blood.
- Games People Play (2019) from Games Divas Play by Angela Burt Murray.
- G C B from Good Christian Bitches by Kim Gatlin.
- General and I from the novel of the same name by Feng Nong.
- The Glamorous Imperial Concubine from the novel of the same name by Murong Yin Er.
- Goodbye My Princess from the novel Eastern Palace by Fei Wo Si Cun.
- Good Omens (2019) from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.note
- Goosebumps (1995) from the books by R. L. Stine. Basically a Genre Anthology, which each book being adapted into a single episode (or sometimes stretched out into a two-parter).
- Go Princess Go from the novel of the same name by Xian Chen.
- Gossip Girl was based on a series of books by Cecily von Ziegesar.
- Guardian from the novel Zhen Hun by Priest.
- Half Moon Investigations, from the book by Eoin Colfer.
- Hannibal from the books by Thomas Harris.
- Haven from The Colorado Kid by Stephen King.
- The Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre 2009 and Heavenly Sword and Dragon-Slaying Sabre, both from Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre by Jin Yong.
- Hellcats from Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders by Kate Torgovnik.
- Hemlock Grove, from the book by Brian McGreevy.
- His Dark Materials, an adaption of the His Dark Materials novels.
- Homicide: Life on the Street from the non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon.
- Horatio Hornblower from the books by H.M. Forester, which did something similar to Jeeves and Wooster.
- Hua Xu Yin: City of Desperate Love from the novel of the same name by Tang Qi Gong Zi.
- Hou$e of Lie$ from the non-fiction book House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time by Martin Kihn.
- Huge from the book by Sasha Paley.
- Ice Fantasy from the novel City of Fantasy by Guo Jing Ming.
- I Just Want My Pants Back from the book by David J. Rosen.
- Immortality from the novel The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat.
- Inspector Morse, from the books by Colin Dexter. The first series was straight adaptations of the novels, the second had two adaptations and two original episodes (one of which got recursively adapted by Dexter himself). From then on, it had original storylines, until the last few specials, which were all based on the novels.
- Instinct from Murder Games by James Patterson.
- Intelligence from Phoenix Rising by John Dixon.
- Interview with the Vampire (2022) from The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.
- Isaura the Slave (2004) is the second telenovela that adapts Bernardo Guimaraes' book of the same name.
- Jack Irish is a TV adaptation of the Jack Irish novels written by Peter Temple.
- Jeeves and Wooster from the books by P. G. Wodehouse. Took elements from the original books and combined them into new stories.
- The Journey of Flower from the novel of the same name by Fresh Guo Guo.
- Joy Of Life from the novel of the same name by Mao Ni.
- The King's Woman from the novel The Legend of Qin: Li Ji Story by Wen Shi Ren.
- Kitchen Confidential from the non-fiction book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain.
- The Last Detective from the books by Leslie Thomas. The pilot was based on the first book, but the rest were original.
- The Last Ship from the book by William Brinkley.
- The Leftovers from the book by Tom Perrota.
- The Legend of Chusen from the novel Zhu Xian by Xiao Ding.
- The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003, 2008 and 2017), from the novel of the same name by Jin Yong.
- The Legend of Mi Yue from the novel of the same name by Jiang Sheng Nan.
- Legend of the Seeker, from the The Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind.
- The Legend of Xiao Chuo from the novel of the same name by Jiang Sheng Nan.
- The Legend of Zhen Huan from the novel of the same name by Liu Lian Zi.
- Life as We Know It from Doing It by Melvin Burgess.
- Like A Flowing River from the novel River of Time by A Nai.
- Lipstick Jungle from the book by Cadance Bushell.
- Little House on the Prairie from the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- Living Biblically from The Year Of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs.
- The Lizzie Bennet Diaries from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
- Lockwood & Co. (2023) from the books by Jonathan Stroud.
- The Longest Day in Chang'an from the novel of the same name by Ma Bo Yong.
- Longmire from the Walter Longmire books by Craig Johnson.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power from the appendices and Second Age references of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
- Lost Love in Times from the novel of the same name by Shi Si Ye.
- Love and Redemption from the novel Liu Li Mei Ren Sha by Shi Si Lang.
- Love Better Than Immortality from the novel Chuan Yue Zhi Tian Lei Yi Bu by Shu Ke.
- Lovejoy from the books by Jonathan Gash.
- Love Me if You Dare from the novel of the same name by Ding Mo.
- Love O2O from the novel of the same name by Gu Man.
- The Lying Game from the books by Sara Shepard.
- The Magicians, from the the books by Lev Grossman.
- Mayfair Witches from the Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy by Anne Rice.
- The Man in the High Castle from the book by Philip K. Dick.
- The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was based on a series of short stories by Max Shulman.
- Men Behaving Badly is based off Simon Nye's 1989 novel of the same title.
- Midsomer Murders from the books by Caroline Graham. The first-season episodes were all based on the novels, then they invented their own plots. Two of the books were never adapted.
- Monday Mornings from the book by Sanjay Gupata.
- The Mrs Bradley Mysteries from the books by Gladys Mitchell.
- A Murderous Affair In Horizon Tower from the novel of the same name by Chen Xue.
- Murdoch Mysteries is based on the seven-book series by Maureen Jennings. The television series has far outstripped the books, with a ninth season airing in 2015.
- The Musketeers from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
- Napoléon (2002) is based off the 4-volume epic biography of Napoléon Bonaparte by Max Gallo.
- Nestor Burma, based off the Mystery Fiction novel series by Léo Malet.
- The Nine Lives of Chloe King from the books by Celia Thomson.
- Nirvana in Fire from the novel of the same name by Hai Yan.
- The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency from the book by Alexander McCall Smith.
- Novoland: Eagle Flag from the novel of the same name by Jiang Nan.
- Ode to Joy is based on a series of novels by A Nai.
- Oktoberfest 1900 from Oktoberfest 1900 - Träume und Wagnis by Petra Gill.
- Orange Is the New Black from the non-fiction book by Piper Kerman.
- Outlander from the books by Diana Gabaldon.
- The Owl Service from The Owl Service by Alan Garner.
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023) from the famed Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series by Rick Riordan; A Truer to the Text adaptation compared to the 2010s film series.
- Pretty Little Liars, from Sara Shepard's eight-book series (the title comes from that of the first book).
- Princess Agents from the novel 11 Chu Te Gong Huang Fei by Xiao Xiang Dong Er.
- Princess Silver from the novel The White-Haired Imperial Concubine by Mo Yan Shang.
- The Princess Wei Young from the novel The Princess Wei Yang by Qin Jian.
- Privileged from How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls by Zoey Dean.
- The Queen's Gambit is based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis.
- Resurrection from The Returned by Jason Mott.
- The Return Of The Condor Heroes 2006 and The Romance of the Condor Heroes, both from The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong.
- The Rise of Phoenixes from the novel Huang Quan by Tian Xia Gui Yuan.
- Rizzoli & Isles, based on the Rizzoli/Isles novels by Tess Gerritsen.
- The Roman Mysteries from the books by Caroline Lawrence. So far, all based on the books, although they skipped the first one, and so had to add the Everyone Meets Everyone story to "The Secrets of Vesuvius".
- Roswell, from the Roswell High books by Melinda Metz. The book's writer and editor were part of the TV series' writing staff.
- The first two seasons of Round the Twist were based on the short stories of children's author Paul Jennings.
- Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace from the novel Hou Gong Ru Yi Zhuan by Liu Lian Zi.
- Scarlet Heart from the novel Bu Bu Jing Xin by Tong Hua.
- The Secret Circle, from the books by L.J. Smith.
- Secret of the Three Kingdoms from the novel of the same name by Ma Bo Yong.
- A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017) was adapted by Netflix from the books of the same name written by Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler.
- Sex and the City was based on a book of essays by Candace Bushnell.
- Shadowhunters, from the The Mortal Instruments books by Cassandra Clare.
- The Shannara Chronicles, from the the books by Terry Brooks.
- Sharpe from the books by Bernard Cromwell. Mostly, but not entirely, based on the books.
- Sherlock Holmes:
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson is a Soviet adaptation.
- Elementary takes place in modern day New York City. Sherlock and Moriarty are still British but Joan Watson is American.
- Sherlock is a Setting Update set in The New '10s Britain.
- Shetland from the books by Ann Cleeves. Two series adapted from the novels, then original stories.
- Shōkōjo Seira is a 10-episode 2009 series based on A Little Princess.
- Shrill is based on the book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West. Notably, West assisted in the development of the series.
- Singing All Along from the novel Xiu Li Jiang Shan by Li Xin.
- The Slap is an ABC mini-series based off the critically acclaimed novel written by Christos Tsiolkas in 2008. There is also an American adaptation in the works for NBC.
- Sleepy Hollow from the short story by Washington Irving.
- The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty from the novel of the same name by Meng Xi Shi.
- Sparrow from the novel of the same name by Hai Fei.
- Spenser: For Hire from the Spenser books by Robert B. Parker.
- Spooksville from the Spooksville books by Christopher Pike.
- The Story of Minglan from the novel of the same name by Guan Xin Ze Luan.
- The Strain (TV series) adapted from The Strain.
- Strike Back from the book by Chris Ryan.
- Sugar Rush from the book by Julie Burchill.
- The Summer I Turned Pretty from the books of the same name written by Jenny Han (she'd also created this show).
- Super Pumped The Battle for Uber from the book of the same name by Mike Isaac.
- Tarzan: The Epic Adventures from the Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burrough.
- The Terminal List from the novel of the same name by Jack Carr.
- Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms from the novel of the same name by Tang Qi.
- Tokyo Vice
- A Touch of Frost, from the books by R.D. Wingfield. Original stories based on the characters.
- Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy from the novel of the same name by Jin He Zai.
- True Blood from the books by Charlaine Harris.
- TURN: Washington's Spies from Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose.
- Under the Dome adapted from the Stephen King novel.
- The Untamed from the novel Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu.
- The Vampire Diaries from the books by L.J. Smith.
- Vera from the novels by Ann Cleeves. Straight adaptations to begin with, now mostly original stories but new books still get adapted as they come out.
- Wallander from the books by Henning Mankell.
- Wayward Pines from Pines by Blake Crouch.
- The Wheel of Time (2021) from The Wheel of Time.
- When Calls the Heart from the Canadian West books by Janette Oke.
- Winter Begonia from the novel of the same name by Shui Ru Tian Er.
- Witches of East End, from the books by Melissa De La Cruz.
- Women's Murder Club from the books by James Patterson.
- Word of Honor from Tian Ya Ke by Priest.
- The Worst Witch from the books by Jill Murphy. Started out as a straight adaptation, then created its own storylines, eventually producing two Spin Offs.
- The Zack Files, from the books by Dan Greenburg.
- A Discovery of Witches from A Discovery of Witches series by Deb Harkness.
- Poldark from the books of the same name. Mostly a straight adaptation.
Adapted into Western Animation
- Arthur is based on the Arthur books by Marc Brown that began two decades earlier. Since then there have been books based on the cartoon.
- Nelvana's Babar animated series is based on the Babar books by Jean de Brunhoff, although most episodes are original stories using the books' characters instead of straight adaptations.
- Bunnicula is an adaptation of the Bunnicula books, though the titular character is un-ambiguously a vampire instead of implied to really be a normal rabbit like in the books.
- Clifford the Big Red Dog, adapted from the children's books series by Norman Bridwell.
- The 2022 Apple+ series Duck & Goose is based on an ongoing picture book series by Tad Hills.
- The Day My Butt Went Psycho! is based on the The Bum Trilogy, a trilogy of grossout books by Andy Griffiths. While many of the characters and several key elements of the show are taken directly from the books, the series follows an episodic comedy format as opposed to the serialized approach of the books and is implied to take place in an Alternate Continuity where only the events of the first book occurred (if the Opening Narration is anything to go by).
- Dinotrux, adapted from the children's book by Chris Gall.
- Fangbone!, adapted from award-winning author Michael Rex's Fangbone! Third Grade Barbarian kids' graphic novels. The general premise and tone of the books is the same as the show and almost all the books' characters are present in the show, but the show chooses to tell completely original stories instead and also introduces a number of new characters to the series.
- Franklin, adapted from the children's book series by Paulette Bourgeois. Several of the books were adapted into episodes of the show,
- George and Martha was a cartoon based off the books by James Marshal.
- Grossology was based on Sylvia Branzei's non-fiction kids' science books of the same name that, as their name suggests, focused on squicky science like bodily emissions and creepy-crawlies.
- The 2021 Apple TV+ CGI preschool series Get Rolling With Otis is based off the Otis picture book series by Loren Long.
- Harold and the Purple Crayon is a short animated adaptation of the children's book.
- Happily Ever After Fairytales For Every Child is a cartoon series that takes well-known fairy tales and places them in different regions and eras. For example Goldilocks and the Three Bears took place in the Caribbean while The Little Mermaid was in ancient China.
- HBO Storybook Musicals adapted various stories and books (such as The Marzipan Pig, The Little Match Girl, The House On 88th Street, and Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day) in a musical format.
- Hilda is a adapted into a Netflix original series that is based on the graphic novels created, written, and illustrated by Luke Pearson himself.
- I Spy is a stop-motion cartoon based off the Hidden Object books.
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie was adapted into an animated series in 2017.
- Jacob Two-Two was based on a series of books of the same name by Canadian author Mordecai Richler. The first book was adapted as the show's pilot, but otherwise the series uses wholly original stories and also adds several new characters.
- Kulipari: An Army of Frogs is based off the Kulipari trilogy, with most of the season based around the first book.
- The Legend of Tarzan is loosely based on the Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is a sequel series to the 1999 Disney film (which itself is an adaptation of the first book in the series), and uses some of the characters and plot elements from the later books.
- Little Bear was based on a series of books by the same name written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak between 1957 and 1968.
- Little Bill is an adaptation of a book series.
- The Little Witch has been adapted into a Czechoslovak-German animated television series in 1984.
- Madeline has had multiple adaptations, but the 1990s Madeline series is the best known.
- The Magic School Bus is based on a series of educational books. Several of the children were Adapted Out to make the classroom more manageable.
- Maggie and the Ferocious Beast was based on the 1996 book The Ferocious Beast with the Polka-Dot Hide.
- Max and Ruby is a Nick Jr. cartoon based on the books by Rosemary Wells. Ruby is less sarcastic than in the books but the adaptation is overall similar.
- Mona the Vampire was based on the a series of children's books, which started with the 1990 picture book "Mona The Vampire", written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman. It was the later novels written by Hiawyn Oram and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman that served as the basis for the TV series, however.
- Both the Mr. Men and Little Miss and The Mr. Men Show cartoons, which premiered in the 90s and 2008 respectively, are based on the Mr. Men books, with the 2008 cartoon vaguely sharing some similarities from the books.
- My Friend Rabbit is based on Eric Rohmann's 2002 book of the same name about the friendship between a mouse and a rabbit.
- The Octonauts was adapted from a series of children's books by Vicki Wong and Michael C. Murphy of Meomi Design Inc.
- All of the shows that make up the PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch (George Shrinks, Seven Little Monsters, Timothy Goes to School, etc.) were obviously based on kids books as their name suggests.
- Pinkalicious & Peterrific is based off of the Pinkalicious books by Victoria Kann.
- HBO Family had a cartoon named Rainbow Fish based off the books.
- Redwall from the books by Brian Jacques. Season 1 is based on the original novel, Season 2 focuses on Mattimeo, and Season 3 is based on Martin the Warrior.
- Scaredy Squirrel is adapted from a series of simple picture books by Canadian kids' author Melanie Watt, although the series is completely In Name Only.
- Scream Street is adapted from the book series of the same name by Tommy Donbavand.
- The Silver Brumby is a book series that was adapted into a cartoon series of the same name.
- Tales of the Wizard of Oz is a loose 1961 adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- The first four seasons of Thomas & Friends are adaptations of The Railway Series. Everything else is an original story written for the show, with the exception of The Adventure Begins and three season 20 episodes adapted from Small Railway Engines.
- Time Warp Trio began life as a series of books by Jon Scieszka.
- Trollhunters, based off the book of the same name by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus.
- Trucktown was originally a series of books by Jon Scieszka.
- Richard Adams' book Watership Down was adapted into an animated feature film by Nepenthe Productions in 1978. After Nepenthe folded, Funbag Animation secured the rights to an animated television series for The BBC in 1999, partly based upon side stories of lapine mythology mentioned in the book, as well as fresh scenarios for the established characters.
- Wayside from the Wayside School books by Louis Sachar.
- What's with Andy?, adapted from the Just Annoying/Shocking/Etc. books by Australian author Andy Griffiths. While the general premise is similar to those of the books, many of the stories are brand-new and several key changes are made with the characters and setting.
- The Lord of the Rings received a now mostly forgotten animated adaptation in the 1980s. Hardcore fans like it becasue it includes characters not found in the Peter Jackson films. The downside is that it was erroneously aimed at children too young to understand the fairly complex plot (because of being an animation, the audience was assumed to be 5 or under). Thus, it sanitized many of the darker themes and simplified many of the complex characters that had originally attracted the book's teenage and adult readers.