One of my favorite books from 8th grade was a paperback copy of the original 1956 The 101 Dalmations book by Dodie Smith. I liked it even better than the 1961 Disney movie
Just how much better I didn't realize till I watched the movie while reading the original book to the boys at night.
We had just been to seen the musical in Dallas a few months back, so I started reading them the book at night, which got me interested in watching the movie. I actually was really disappointed in the movie - it was a lot cruder (the animation) and truncated compared to the book, and was missing an entire section that included a little Scottie dog (which means that that was from a different Disney movie and I now have no clue at all which one that is). Anyway, the boys liked the musical, and enjoyed having the book read - even if their dad did have a little case of the sniffles when Pongo and Perdita are at the Twilight Barking hearing news of their stolen puppies. One day they'll understand.