Editor’s note: The following article is a synopsis written by staff members and volunteers of the Cary Public Library highlighting one of the suggested reading books, as determined by their staff.
Ever surprise yourself by taking a short-cut, then finding the longer, harder way was probably the best?
Happened to me last week! A new series of easy readers for the Children’s Library features re-tellings of the old school classics. Called “Real Reads,” various authors condense classical literature into today’s easier language. I thought it would be neat to read these highly-acclaimed works and know what they were all about in a lazy way.
Books by Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, R.L.Stevenson, H.G. Wells, Emily Bronte, Conan Doyle and more could in many ways be called “teasers” with just enough information to entice the readers to want “more of the story.”
It happened to me last week.
Plots are shortened and so the essence of a paragraph might be distorted because the details were omitted. One obvious lack is the character development which tends to confuse the reader as the story unfolds. However, if the effect on young readers is to interest them to read the original story by the actual author, then all is well.
Additional pages of these books give further information, critical thinking questions, web sites to explore, writing styles and dominant themes of the work. All in all, a nice addition to children’s fiction collection.
The Cary Public Library is open Monday-Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 532-1302.
