The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

Defoe, Daniel. Adapted by Malvina G. Vogel. The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. New York: Baronet Books, 1996.

I enjoyed reading The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a classic novel adapted by Malvina G. Vogel. It was a short novel with large print, so it was easy to read. The story was about Robinson Crusoe, born in 1632 in England, a European country. Crusoe boarded his first ship in 1651. He first sailed to Brazil, where he developed a successful tobacco planting business. Crusoe set sail again, this time for Guinea in 1659, to buy slaves. Crusoe’s ship met with two major storms, the second of which was so bad that his ship broke and he fainted. Fortunately, the waves washed him to shore. The next morning, he woke up and looked around. He saw the half-submerged ship and swam back to get supplies: food, water, and clothes. Crusoe built a shelter for himself in a cave and survived all alone for 24 long years. Anyone who likes action-packed novels should give this book a try.  – Gurvir, grade 6 

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Emil and the Detectives

Kastner, Erich. Emil and the Detectives. New York: Overlook Press, 2014, 2007.

What a rollicking adventure! This classic novel from Germany – first published in 1929 and now translated into over 50 languages  – tells the story of Emil’s adventures while travelling to Berlin to visit his grandmother. Emil falls asleep on the train and when he wakes up, he discovers all his money has been stolen. Emil is not one to give up. He enlists the help of other boys and catches the thief, much to everyone’s delight. This new translation by W. Martin uses colloquialisms familiar to modern readers and includes an introduction by Maurice Sendak as well as the original line drawings by Walter Trier.

More stories set in Europe

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The Rescuers

Dear Reader,

Do you have time to enjoy a classic novel of courage and adventure? Do you have the imagination to enjoy a tale of brave and noble mice? This 149-page story will capture your heart with its quietly lovely sentences. And the endearing characters will remind you that at any moment you, too, could be called on a mission to selflessly help others. 

Sharp, Margery. The Rescuers. New York: New York Review Books, [2012], c1987.

“Miss Bianca, a white mouse of great beauty and self-confidence, travels with the ambassador’s son to Norway on behalf of the Prisoner’s Aid Society in a perilous mission to rescue a poet imprisoned in the dreadful Black Castle.” – CIP This edition is exquisitely illustrated by Garth Williams, the famed illustrator of countless classic stories. 

More great novels for readers 8 years old and up.

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Happy reading! 

Ms. R. 

Frankenstein

Dear Reader,

You’ve no doubt heard of Frankenstein, the horrible monster created by a mad scientist. The real story is far more interesting. Fourteen-year-old Mary and her stepmother did not get along together, so her father sent her to live in Scotland. When Mary returned to London, two years later, circumstances had not improved. So Mary and her stepsister and a poet, Percy Shelley, ran away to Switzerland where they lived in a big house on Lake Geneva. One night, eighteen-year-old Mary came up with the idea of a monster brought to life by a Dr. Frankenstein. When her novel was first published in 1818, no one could believe that it had been written by a girl. But it really was her story. And 200 years later, her horror story is still famous! 

Bailey, Linda. Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein. New York: Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, 2018.

This dramatic picture book, suspensefully illustrated by Julia Sarda, tells Mary’s whole story. Read it the first chance you get! 

Ms. R. 

P.S. If you’re interested in finding out more about classic stories, check out this list. 

 

“Thar she blows!”

DaCosta, Barbara. Mighty Moby. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2017.
Beautifully designed. Powerfully illustrated. Wondrously retold with a new ending. A perfect bedtime story for listeners 6 to 10 years old. 

Every word – except one – in this picture book is taken from the original version of ‘Moby Dick’, written by Herman Melville and first published in 1851.  Learn how to write your own ‘found’ poetry

Learn more about this amazing picture book

More picture books created with mixed-media collages

More books illustrated by the award-winning Ed Young:
The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
Nighttime Ninja
Tsunami!
Twenty Heartbeats
The Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella Story
Wabi Sabi 

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