War and Peace and Sherlock Holmes: The Lion's Mane are two lovely new additions to Sweet Cherry Publishing's range of adapted classics.
Stylistically, this range is perfect - bright covers, engaging artwork and a fresh, approachable feel. There's nothing stuffy or intimidating about these editions.
The language is accessible and enjoyable to read - they're neither as complicated as the originals or so simplified that they read like summaries.
One of these stories I have read the original of, the other I hadn't, so I was able to judge these both on how well they work as adaptations, and how they feel if you're new to the story.
War and Peace captures all the drama of the changing, turbulent relationships of the original in a way that's easy to follow and appropriate for the target audience. It provides a good overview of the main events and characters, while still managing to read like a story rather than a summary. It brought back fond memories of reading the original (without taking anywhere near as much time to enjoy!)
The Lion's Mane is a rare Sherlock Holmes story narrated by Sherlock rather than Watson. This retelling sets up the mystery well and introduces lots of key suspects. It's easy to follow and will keep young readers engaged. I also liked that definitions of tricky terminology are given on the page, rather than in a glossary at the back, making them more accessible.
I really enjoyed reading both of these adaptations. They're great introductions to the longer texts and I would definitely buy more books in this range.
コメント