Picture That Book! Trivia Quiz

The photo of a beautiful flower garden hints at Frances Hodgson Burnett's best-known novel, "The Secret Garden". In the heartwarming tale of Mary Lennox, a sad and neglected 10-year-old orphan, and her friendship with young gardener Dickon, the titular garden becomes the catalyst for the dramatic changes in the lives of Mary herself, her uncle Archibald, and her young cousin Colin. Many modern readers have mentioned the book as one of their childhood favourites, expressing appreciation for its realistic description of "difficult" children.

Frances Hodgson Burnett was a British-American novelist and playwright, also known as the author of two other children's classics, "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1885-1886) and "A Little Princess" (1905). "The Secret Garden" was first published in serial form in "The American Magazine" in 1910-1911, and as a book later in 1911. It has been been adapted numerous times for various media.

The three adorable Dalmatian puppies in the photo could well be part of the large canine family at the heart of Dodie Smith's "The Hundred and One Dalmatians". The story details the adventures of a couple of Dalmatians, Pongo and Missis, whose 15 puppies have been kidnapped by the evil Cruella De Vil, the wealthy owner of a fur farm. During their mission to rescue their brood, Pongo and Missis - helped by the dogs of the Barking Network - manage to free all the puppies waiting to be turned into spotted fur coats in Cruella's sinister mansion.


English novelist and playwright Dorothy "Dodie" Smith is also known for her coming-of-age novel "I Capture the Castle" (1949). "The Hundred and One Dalmatians" was published a few years later, in 1956; Smith also wrote a sequel, "The Starlight Barking" (1967), with more of a fantasy/sci-fi slant. The most famous of the novel's adaptations is, of course, the 1961 animated film "One Hundred and One Dalmatians", one of Walt Disney's most successful and iconic productions.

The wooden raft in the foreground of the photo hints at Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", a book that since its publication in 1884 has become both an undisputed children's classic and one of the quintessential "Great American Novels". The novel was written as a direct sequel to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876), where the colourful character of Huckleberry Finn, a free-spirited, homeless boy, is introduced. Set in the American South before the Civil War, the book - narrated in the first person by Huck himself - is noted for its use of the vernacular, including language that is not exactly politically correct.

Twain wrote two sequels to "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn": "Tom Sawyer Abroad" (1894) and "Tom Sawyer, Detective" 1896). Neither of them, however, are as popular as the first two novels. "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is widely taught in US public schools, in spite of the still ongoing controversy about its vulgarity and the use of racial slurs. The book has been adapted multiple times, in particular for the big screen.

Of all the books featured in this quiz, Carlo Collodi's "The Adventures of Pinocchio" is the only one written in a language other than English. Its original Italian title is "Le avventure di Pinocchio. Storia di un burattino". Although "burattino" is the Italian word for puppet, Pinocchio is a marionette (like those shown in the photo), carved from an animated log by elderly woodcarver Geppetto. The story of the puppet that eventually becomes a real boy after having learned wisdom the hard way combines fairy tale and fantasy elements with those more typical of morality tales - such as the well-known detail of Pinocchio's nose growing longer every time he tells a lie.

Born in Florence, Carlo Lorenzini (Collodi was the name of his mother's home town) was a journalist as well as a writer of fiction. He wrote other children's books that became popular in post-unification Italy, but that are now almost forgotten. "Pinocchio", on the other hand, since its publication as a book in 1883 has become a classic of children's literature, and has been translated into over 250 languages. "Pinocchio" has also been adapted for a wide range of media: English speakers will be familiar with the Disney animated film released in 1940, widely regarded as a masterpiece of its genre.

This stunning photo of a tiger in a jungle-like environment should point directly to Rudyard Kipling and his enduringly popular "The Jungle Book". A collection of short stories rather than a novel, its main focus is the story of Mowgli, the "man-cub" raised in the jungle by a pack of wolves, and his interaction with the other animals of the jungle. Some of them - like the black panther Bagheera and the sloth bear Baloo - are friends and mentors to the young boy, while the scarred tiger Shere Khan is his nemesis. The book also contains other unrelated short stories with animals as their main characters.

Published in 1894, the original "Jungle Book" was followed by a sequel, "The Second Jungle Book" (1895), in which the story of Mowgli was continued and brought to conclusion. Rudyard Kipling, the first English-language winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1907), was born in India, and much of his work was inspired by that country's culture and environment. Some of his other works are also considered children's classics: among them, the novel "Kim" (1901) and the collection "Just So Stories for Little Children" (1902). "The Jungle Book" has also had many adaptations, the best-known of which is the animated film produced by Disney in 1967.

The photo of a compass hints at the title of the first novel in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, titled "Northern Lights" in the UK, and "The Golden Compass" in North America. The compass in question is a truth-telling device named an alethiometer, which is entrusted to 12-year-old Lyra Belacqua, the trilogy's protagonist, by her guardian, the Master of Jordan College. Set in an alternate version of our world, the story contains a strong element of criticism of organized religion, in particular Christianity. Among Pullman's most striking creations are the intelligent, armoured polar bears (panserbjørne) who play a major role in the development of the story.

Born in 1946, English writer Philip Pullman wrote "His Dark Materials" when teaching at Oxford. "Northern Lights" was published in 1995, and in the same year was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Writing. However, although the award is given to outstanding children's books, the trilogy is more geared towards a young-adult readership. The two remaining books in the trilogy are "The Subtle Knife" (1997) and "The Amber Spyglass" (2000). "Northern Lights" has been adapted into various media - notably a feature film, "The Golden Compass", released in 2007.

This photo of a yummy chocolate bar will immediately bring to mind Roald Dahl's beloved "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Inspired by the rivalry between Britain's two largest chocolate-making companies, Cadbury and Rowntree's, the book tells the story of young Charlie Bucket's visit to the chocolate factory owned by eccentric Willy Wonka and his surreal adventures there. In 2023, controversy erupted over a number of changes made to the original text by publisher Puffin in order to remove words or phrases now regarded as politically incorrect.

British author Roald Dahl is known for a number of other well-known children's books, such as "Matilda" (1988) and "James and the Giant Peach" (1861). Published in 1964, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is often ranked among the most popular children's books - in spite of some negative criticism received from other authors. Dahl also wrote a sequel, "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" (1972), which is neither as well-known nor as popular as the original. The book has also been adapted multiple times for various media: the 1971 movie starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, though disowned by Dahl because of changes to his screenplay, has since become a cult classic.

This serene photo of a willow tree is meant to suggest Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows", a classic children's novel based on the bedtime stories the author used to tell his son Alastair, who suffered from ill health throughout his life. Grahame wrote the book after retiring from his job at the Bank of England. The story focuses on a trio of animal friends, Ratty, Mole and Badger, and their efforts to help the wealthy country squire Mr Toad to get out of the troubles due to his obsession with motorcars. A number of independent short stories featuring Ratty and Mole are also included in the book.

Scottish-born author Kenneth Grahame wrote four books before "The Wind in the Willows", which was published in 1908, and was his final work. Though poorly received upon publication, the novel was commercially successful, and has now become an undisputed classic of children's literature, with many illustrated editions published over the years. One of the book's earliest fans was US President Teddy Roosevelt. "The Wind in the Willows" has also been adapted numerous times for a wide range of media.

Most people will be familiar with the distinctive architecture of hobbit houses (or, more accurately, hobbit holes) as depicted in Peter Jackson's movie adaptations of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Though Tolkien wrote other books meant for children, "The Hobbit" - subtitled "There and Back Again" - is by far the most popular. Though sometimes criticized for its lack of female characters, the novel manages to strike a perfect balance between humour and drama, sometimes achieving an almost epic tone - not surprisingly, because the tale of the quest pursued by Bilbo Baggins and thirteen Dwarves was at least partly inspired by an episode in the Old English epic poem "Beowulf".

English writer and philologist J.R.R. Tolkien's best-known work is the novel "The Lord of The Rings" (1954-1955), one of the best-selling books of all time, originally meant as a sequel to "The Hobbit" - which was published almost 20 years earlier, in 1937. A critical and commercial success ever since its publication, "The Hobbit" has been adapted for a wide variety of media. The film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson (2012-2014), however, was not as critically well-received as Jackson's adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings".

Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" - whose title is hinted at by the treasure chest in the photo - was written in the summer of 1881, after the author's return from his first trip to America. The story of a secret map leading to a treasure was based on a tale Stevenson had concocted to amuse his 12-year-old stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, during a bout of bad weather that kept the family indoors. Stevenson also wove a number of literary influences (such as Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe") into his tale. The novel is a classic coming-of-age story, whose main character and narrator, Jim Hawkins, is a boy in his early teens, an innkeeper's son who becomes involved in a dangerous quest for a pirate's hidden treasure.

Originally titled "The Sea-Cook: A Story for Boys", "Treasure Island" was published as a book in 1883, establishing itself as one of the most influential adventure stories ever written. Besides spawning a large number of sequels, the novel has been adapted dozens of times for various media - over 50 times just for film and TV. Scottish-born Robert Louis Stevenson wrote other books that are regarded as children's classics - such as the historical novel "Kidnapped" (1886) and various poetry and short story collections.