Classic Starts: Frankenstein玛丽·雪莱《科学怪人》9781402726668

　　0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">Mary Shelley’s tragic story of a scientist who created a monster is perhaps even more compelling and meaningful today than when it was written nearly two centuries ago. From the bits and pieces of dead bodies, and the power of electricity, the brilliant Victor Frankenstein fashions a new form of life—only to discover, too late, the irreparable damage he has caused.

　　From School Library Journal
　　Grade 3-7-Large print, short chapters, and an abundance of white space provide an attractive, more-accessible option for readers who are not ready to handle the originals. At best, this approach works as a vehicle to deliver the basic elements of the stories while providing an entertaining, simplified version of the classic at a lower reading level. After all, many of our cultural references would be lost on readers who don't know what Jekyll and Hyde represent, or what consequences the creator of Frankenstein faced. At worst, the sometimes-stilted language reads like awkward translations. What is missing, of course, is the very language that makes these classics so evocative of their time. Victorian London, for example, is captured so much more readily with the elegant and dramatic prose of Robert Louis Stevenson. If presenting Classic Starts, do so with a recommendation: when you are ready, read the originals. There can be no substitute.-Elizabeth Fernandez, Brunswick Middle School, Greenwich, CT
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