25 books that Hollywood should make into movies

"Harold and the Purple Crayon."HarperCollins

• Some of the most successful and beloved movies of all time are based on books, and fortunately, there's never a shortage of quality novels that need to be adapted into films.
• "Esperanza Rising" by Pam Muñoz Ryan is a beloved children's book that needs to be brought to the screen.
• "We Were the Lucky Ones" by Georgia Hunter would make for a powerful film.

Many of Hollywood's richest ideas start out as books. Book-to-movie adaptations are a way for filmmakers to reinterpret another work of art into a different medium and often make for some of the best movies of all time.

And in a time when diversity in front of and behind the camera is sorely needed, they can be a great resource for stories from voices that we need to hear.

Here's a list of books that should be adapted into movies. Some of them are neglected classics, some of them are imperfect but could soar with the right interpretation, and some of them have been noticed by studios but development seems to be stuck. In all these cases, there's a great story waiting to be told on the big screen.

Anjelica Oswald contributed to a prior version of this article.