Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



Active Topics || Favorites || Member List || Search || About Us || Help || Register || Login
Language Arts Come Alive (Forum Locked Forum Locked)
 4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Subject Topic: Great Illustrated Classics? Post ReplyPost New Topic
Author
Message << Prev Topic | Next Topic >>
seeker
Forum Pro
Forum Pro


Joined: July 19 2010
Location: Tennessee
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 186
Posted: Feb 27 2012 at 1:30pm | IP Logged Quote seeker
A friend has been sending these to Bindi to read; she's 8. So far she's read Peter Pan and Pollyanna. I picked up Pollyanna the other day and noticed that they are abridged. The back of Pollyanna says, "In a specially adapted version by Marian Leighton."

Have you had any experience with these? I've never been particularly fond of abridged books. Are these "dumbed down" versions?

__________________
Gaudete in the Everyday
li'l macabbey lane: handpainted inspirational art
Back to Top View seeker's Profile Search for other posts by seeker
 
CatholicMommy
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star
Avatar

Joined: Feb 07 2007
Location: Indiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1254
Posted: Feb 27 2012 at 6:16pm | IP Logged Quote CatholicMommy
My not so humble opinion: they're dumbed down beyond dumbed down.

When I first saw them I was 11 or so and somehow got a collection of them: they were small squarish but thick. It got me reading books I hadn't read yet; but by then, I'd already read the full versions of many of them. So those ones were totally a let down.

I've seen other versions over the years, that almost make them look interesting. Blech. It's the same thing, just in a larger format, with larger pictures. The words don't change. I've even seen hardcover ones!

As a parent, I don't mind if my son reads them at others' homes, but I don't allow them here at our home. I tell him that if a book is worth reading, it's worth reading what the author *actually* said. We don't do abridged anything, except Homer (even I need the dumbie version there sometimes!) - and then, not so much abridged as "accessible" and "appropriate" (when it comes to more adult topics for example).

I recently accidentally purchased one of these books from a lady online - I got a list of other books from her and just didn't pay attention to the details. I was so disappointed, but it was my own fault! I hate to do it, but it's in the garbage pile. I might consider removing the pages and using the hardcover binding for something, just so it's not a total waste, but I WON'T offer it to anyone else.

Stepping down off the soapbox now ;)

__________________
Garden of Francis
HS Elementary Montessori Training
Montessori Nuggets
Back to Top View CatholicMommy's Profile Search for other posts by CatholicMommy Visit CatholicMommy's Homepage
 

Sorry, you cannot post a reply to this topic.
This forum has been locked by a forum administrator.

  [Add this topic to My Favorites] Post ReplyPost New Topic
Printable version Printable version

Forum Jump
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Hosting and Support provided by theNetSmith.com