Classics-Inspired Stories

No, they are free retellings. The main storyline stays, but characters often get new names and harsher scenes are softened; the Pinocchio puppet is called Bora, and the Snow White heroine is Elif.

There are no books for ages 0-3 here. The golden fish and Snow White retellings suit ages 4-6, the Oz, Robinson and Alice stories suit 7-9, and the Treasure Island and Gulliver retellings are aimed at 10-12.

It cannot, but it makes a good bridge. A child who already knows the characters and the order of events is far less put off by a long novel later, and spotting the differences between the retelling and the original becomes its own reading game.

Among them are retellings inspired by Pinocchio, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, Snow White, The Little Match Girl, The Frog Prince and The Fisherman and the Golden Fish. Titles differ from the originals, so the summary on each book page is the quickest way to tell which classic it follows.

Yes. In Winter Night and Warm Light, the match girl's dreams come true when a boy offers his mitten and his family takes her in. That keeps the story about kindness without leaving a young reader upset.

Play the narration for the class, then ask students to name the famous book it comes from, or to rewrite the ending. You can also download the illustrations as a coloring PDF and turn the scenes into story-sequencing cards.