Thomas R. Perrotta is an American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels Election (1998) and Little Children (2004), both of which were made into critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated films. Perrotta co-wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film version of Little Children with Todd Field, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also known for his novel The Leftovers (2011), which has been adapted into a TV series on HBO.

Little Children is a 2006 American romantic psychological drama film directed by Todd Field. It is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta, who co-wrote the screenplay with Field. It follows Sarah Pierce, an unhappy housewife who has an affair with a married neighbor. Also starring are Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Noah Emmerich, Gregg Edelman, Phyllis Somerville and Will Lyman.