Classic Literature Designed Specifically for Kids

Remember back in school when you were first introduced to the classic and you thought that the book looked and felt huge and that the writing inside was tiny? It's a pretty daunting feeling for a kid to get one of those books and feel as though they are never going to be able to get through it. Sure the stories and themes are timeless but if it's a hard slog to read and understand it, then you begin to wonder what the point really is.

Fast forward a few years, and I now have kids of my own and my daughter is a voracious reader and started expressing an interest in some of the older classics. I took a trip to Barnes & Noble hoping to find one that may not be too heady for a nine year old girl and to my very pleasant surprise discovered that there is a new line of books out called "Classic Starts" that have taken a whole slew (I'll list them all later) of old classics and abridged, and re-written them so that they are more suitable for kids. I was a bit concerned that the stories would lose a lot of their appeal and that certain something that made them great in the first place once they were re-written but that is simply not the case.

My daughter has read "White Fang" and is currently in the process of reading "Frankenstein". She has a real feeling of accomplishment upon finishing them as she feels that she has read a real "grown-up" book and can't wait to get on to the next one. What's great for parents too is that we can read them very quickly, sort of as a refresher, and then be able to discuss the events of each of the books with our kids. Also great for parents is the price. The books are published by Sterling Publishing out of New York and go for a very respectable $4.95 each. They are all a very sturdy hardcover that is very hard for even the roughest of kids to destroy.

If you are looking to get your kids started on the classics or simply want to catch up on them yourself, then this collection of books is a great place to start. The full list of titles available is as follows.