The reason why fantasy remains popular across pop culture is pretty obvious. The genre offers escapism from school or work into a totally different world. Your imagination can be unleashed and your worries surrounding your everyday life can be forgotten. No matter what age you are, fantasy is something that can be discovered and rediscovered over generations. As the readers and the genre grow, new niches are being created; from hobbits and elves, witches and wizards.  Related: How fantasy stopped me from going insane!  There are a number of reasons why children’s fantasy is so appealing to filmmakers. The depth that children’s authors explore within their stories and characters gives any screenwriter and director a rich plethora of material to elaborate on. The recent success of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy is just one example. Adapted from Tolkien’s standalone novel, Jackson’s three part series demonstrates how much a filmmaker can extract from a single book, turning a three hundred page book into nearly eight hours of screen time.  Of course Rowling’s wizarding world of Harry Potter acts as a model example of how filmmakers continue to expand an author’s vision. With the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, directed by David Yates, being released in November 2016, it shows there are endless stories yet to be uncovered from Rowling’s world.  Related: Which children's books need to adapted by Studio Ghibli?  Another reason why children’s fantasy remains popular is related to a visual element. Imagination is the most important feature in children’s fantasy books, meaning there is an abundance of aesthetic springboards for cinematographers, animators and visual departments to work from.  Studio Ghibli have built their acclaimed filmmaking legacy on children’s books. From the wonderfully British Diana Wynne Jones’ novel Howl’s Moving Castle, to Japanese author Eiko Kadono’s picture-book Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ghibli have adapted a variety of children’s stories into academy award winning visual masterpieces.  Related: The best fantasy quotes in children's and teen books  Looking into 2016, more children’s fantasy stories are set to flourish in cinema. Steven Spielberg is tackling Roald Dahl’s beloved story The BFG. First published in 1982 and illustrated by Quentin Blake, The BFG has already had an animated adaptation released in 1989. However, Spielberg’s version is set to be a CGI adventure, totally transforming Blake’s previous illustrations.  Even more recent children’s fantasy books from the decade are being created into films. With Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls, starring Felicity Jones and Liam Neeson, looking to be released this year. It seems these adaptations aren’t going to slow down anytime soon. And for this we rejoice (but do read the book first).  Are there any children’s fantasy books you want to see as a film? Share your ideas with us on Twitter @GdnChildrensBks or by email childrens.books@theguardian.com and we’ll add them here.  The Guardian children’s books site is celebrating fantasy books all this weekend so keep a look out, and join us for a live Twitter chat on Sunday 28 Feb 5-6pm using #gdnteenfantasy when we’ll be discussing all things fantasy with Samantha Shannon @say_shannon, Alwyn Hamilton @AlwynFJH, Zoe Marriott @ZMarriott, Lucy Saxon @Lucy_Saxon, Sally Green @Sa11eGreen, Taran Matharu@TaranMatharu1 and Victoria Aveyard @VictoriaAveyard.
Fantasy is a genre that has dominated children’s literature over the years, with JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling and Suzanne Collins spearheading the way in the crossover realm of book to film adaptation. So why is cinema recreating their fantastical lands? And what does the future hold?