Classic Starts®

April 1, 2006
Gr 3-7 -Large print, short chapters, and an abundance of white space provide an attractive, more-accessible option for readers who are not ready to handle the originals. At best, this approach works as a vehicle to deliver the basic elements of the stories while providing an entertaining, simplified version of the classic at a lower reading level. After all, many of our cultural references would be lost on readers who don't know what Jekyll and Hyde represent, or what consequences the creator of Frankenstein faced. At worst, the sometimes-stilted language reads like awkward translations. What is missing, of course, is the very language that makes these classics so evocative of their time. Victorian London, for example, is captured so much more readily with the elegant and dramatic prose of Robert Louis Stevenson. If presenting -Classic Starts, - do so with a recommendation: when you are ready, read the originals. There can be no substitute." -Elizabeth Fernandez, Brunswick Middle School, Greenwich, CT"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2006
These inexpensive condensed versions of classic novels are quickly paced and competently told, with occasional black-and-white illustrations adding spice. Still, one wonders why the adaptations were created in the first place. Some tales (e.g., [cf2]Gulliver's Travels[cf1]) are already suited for children; others gain their depth from complexities of material and language, which is excised here for age-appropriateness.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2012
These classic stories are presented in unabridged formats with attached ribbon bookmarks. Accompanying the texts are a handful of effectively atmospheric (Crusoe) or creepy (Jekyll) drawings that illustrate key details (e.g., Dr. Jekyll's transformation back from Mr. Hyde). The books conclude with some generic open-ended questions.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)