The U.K. and U.S. divisions of Puffin Books have cooperated to publish new editions of unabridged puffin classics specifically for children! While a fancy new cover might not seem like a big deal, in the world of selling books, IT IS!Which version of Treasure Island do you think a 13-year-old would prefer to read?
The Old Version
or The New Version
I'm 32, but I still would much rather read the boxy red book with a skull and crossbones on the cover. It doesn't hurt that Eoin Colfer, of Artemis Fowl fame, has written the introduction. Each classic has an introduction written by a famous children's author of today; I have a habit of skipping introductions, but these might actually be interesting. I also prefer the price of the new book, an astonishing $4.99 compared to the older edition's $7.00. It is rare to see book prices go down these days.
In addition the majority of these classics are recommended as summer reading by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a government agency that promotes research, education, and public programs in the humanities. They sound too good to be true, I bet their funding just got cut. Anyway the NEH has a summer reading list, and the following classics are on it:
by Frank L. Baum
introduction by Cornelia Funke (author of Inkheart)
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
introduction by Sophi Dahl (granddaughter of Roald Dahl)
by Anna Sewell
introduction by Meg Rosoff (author of How I Live Now)
by Kenneth Grahame
introduction by Brian Jacques (author of Redwall)
by Louisa May Alcott
introduction by Luise Rennison (author of Confessions of Georgia Nicolson)
by Jack London
introduction by Melvin Burgess (author of Junk)
by Robert Louis Stevenson
introduction by Eoin Colfer (author of Artemis Fowl)
by Mark Twain
introduction by Richard Peck (author of A Year Down Yonder)
by Mark Twain
introduction by Darren Shan (author of Cirque Du Freak)
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