Walden Media

Walden Media, LLC or Walden Media is an American film investor, distributor, and publishing company best known as the producers of The Chronicles of Narnia series. Its films are based on notable classic or award-winning children's literature, compelling biographies or historical events, as well as documentaries and some original screenplays.

The corporate headquarters of Walden Media are located in Los Angeles, California.

Company history
Walden Media was founded in 2001 by Micheal Flaherty and Cary Granat. Granat was president of Miramax's Dimension Films division, and Flaherty came from the world of education. The two were housemates at Tufts University before following different paths and then reuniting to form Walden Media as a movie, television, publishing and Internet enterprise whose goal is to teach and entertain kids.

The company's notable releases include Holes in 2003, Because of Winn-Dixie in 2005, Charlotte's Web in 2006, Bridge to Terabithia, in 2007, three adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia in 2005, 2008 and 2010, Ramona and Beezus in 2010, and both A Dog's Purpose and Wonder in 2017. All of these films are adaptations of popular children's books.

Walden Media's publishing enterprise, Walden Pond Press, publishes the next generation of middle grade books—fast paced, funny, engaging, compulsively readable stories by well-established authors and new talent. The two marked characteristics of the imprint are its high quality titles and its embrace of a multi-platform approach to storytelling. From 2004-2008, Walden Media published books in partnership with Penguin Books for Young Readers.

The company is owned by the Christian conservative Philip Anschutz, who has said he expects their movies "to be entertaining, but also to be life affirming and to carry a moral message."

Education program
Walden Media is unique among film production and distribution companies in that it works with teachers, museums, and national organizations to develop supplemental educational programs and materials associated with its films and the original events and/or novels that inspire the films.

Walden Media offers in-class teaching tools like educational guides and teacher kits and sponsors seminars and forums for teachers to discuss their craft and to trade ideas on using media in the classroom. Directors, writers, and stars of the productions participate in these events.

In 2006, Walden Media sponsored the "Break the World Reading Record with Charlotte's Web". At noon on Wednesday, December 13, 547,826 readers in 2,451 locations, 50 states and 28 countries read an excerpt from Charlotte's Web, breaking the world record of 155,528 students from 737 schools in the United Kingdom who read William Wordsworth's poem, "Daffodils" in 2004.

Etymology and logo
The company is named after Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Its logo is a rock skipping across a pond.

Published books
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PENGUIN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
 * The White Giraffe by Lauren St John
 * Paddywhack Lane by Bob Fuller
 * Jim Thorpe: Original All American by Joseph Bruchac
 * Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman
 * Simon Bloom: The Octopus Effect by Michael Reisman
 * Savvy by Ingrid Law
 * Scumble by Ingrid Law
 * Dolphin Song by Lauren St. John
 * Mike Lupica's Comeback Kid Book Series: Two-Minute Drill by Mike Lupica
 * Mike Lupica's Comeback Kid Book Series: Safe at Home by Mike Lupica
 * Mike Lupica's Comeback Kid Book Series: Hot Hand by Mike Lupica
 * Mike Lupica's Comeback Kid Book Series: Shoot Out by Mike Lupica
 * Dolphin Song Lauren St. John
 * The Last Leopard by Lauren St. John
 * The Elephant's Tale by Lauren St. John
 * Raspberries by Jay O'Callahan
 * Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
 * Max Cassidy: Escape from Shadow Island by Paul Adam