This beautifully illustrated collection contains all of Jane Austen's novels retold for young readers, including Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park, with notes on the characters and quotations from the original text. With links to websites to find out more about Jane Austen's life and times.
HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.
Five well-known fairy tales retold for young children and presented in a boxed 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'The Elves and the Shoemaker', 'Puss in Boots', 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'Cinderella'. Each book is designed and illustrated in a traditional style, bound as a cloth-covered hardback and finished with a ribbon page marker.
Leo Tolstoy's epic Russian classic, retold in just 64 pages. First published in 1869, this novel is one of the most famous books in the world, and this simple but atmospheric retelling now makes it accessible for young readers. Set in Russia following the French invasion of Russia in 1812, as the Tsarist regime is succeeded by the Napoleonic era. A concise introduction to what is widely regarded as one of the greatest works of literature ever written. The Usborne Reading Programme is a collection of over 300 reading books, graded in seven levels. Developed with reading experts. Series Three books are for fully confident readers who still need to gain the stamina needed for standard length books. They use advanced sentence structure and vocabulary and have more complex plots with subplots than the level below.
'Such a strange book! Imagine a novel with a little swarthy governess for heroine, and a middle-aged ruffian for hero.' Sharpe's London Magazine (June 1855) Jane Eyre is an orphan grown up under the harsh regime first of her aunt and then as a pupil at Lowood Institution. She leaves to become a governess to the daughter of the mysterious Mr Rochester; gradually their relationship deepens, but Jane's passionate nature has yet to endure its deepest blows. In this new edition Sally Shuttleworth explores the power of a narrative that questions the rights of women, the nature of servitude and madness, martyrdom and rebellion in a story whose emotional charge is a strong today as it was more than 150 years ago.
The enchanting classic by Frances Hodgson Burnett retold for children growing in reading confidence and ability. Mary Lennox feels forlorn and lonely in her uncle's gloomy house on the moors. But behind an old ivy-covered wall is a garden, waiting to be discovered...
A new title in Young Reading Series Three, which is aimed at children whose reading ability and confidence allows them to tackle longer and more complex stories. The classic story of misadventure by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra retold for children ready to tackle longer and more complex stories. Don Quixote thinks he's a knight, just like in the days of old - he even has a squire. Of course, these days, there are no dragons to fight, but a thing like that doesn't stop him, as he drags his squire on one madcap adventure after another… Part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton.
A popular new title in the Young Reading series with a hardback cover and an audio CD inserted into a wallet inside the back cover, making the book and CD easy to store together.
'I had sent my heroine straight down a rabbit-hole without the least idea what was to happen afterwards,' wrote Dodgson, describing how Alice was conjured up one 'golden afternoon' in 1862 to entertain his child-friend Alice Liddell. In the nonsensical Wonderland and the back-to-front Looking-Glass kingdom, order is turned upside-down: a baby turns into a pig; time is abandoned at a tea-party; and a chaotic game of chess makes a 7-year-old a Queen.
A king and queen have fallen on hard times - but then their eldest daughter is given a magic wishbone. Can this improve their fortunes? A magical retelling of a Charles Dickens' fairytale, specially written for children who have just started reading alone and developed in conjunction with a reading expert from Roehampton University.
A superb adaptation of Dorothy's adventures for newly independent readers. Frank L. Baum's classic has been specially adapted for this wonderful, fully illustrated edition at the highest level of the Reading Programme. Enjoy Dorothy's journey in Oz, as she travels along the yellow brick road with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion, before coming safely home again.
A horse in nineteenth-century England recounts his experiences with both good and bad masters.
HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. '...when the Green Dragon tore shrieking out of the mouth of its dark lair, which was the tunnel, all three children stood on the railing and waved their pocket-handkerchiefs without stopping to think whether they were clean handkerchiefs or the reverse.' When their father is mysteriously sent away, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis have to leave London with their mother to live in a cottage in the countryside. Finding comfort in the nearby railway station and friendship in Perks the Porter and the Station Master, the children watch every day for the passing London train. Every day they wave at the same old Gentleman on the train, not knowing that he may hold the key to their father's whereabouts.
Jonathan Harker narrowly escapes with his life from the Transylvanian castle of evil vampire Count Dracula. But his nightmare is far from over. Back in England, Jonathan and his friends soon find themselves battling against the vilest vampire in the world. A lively retelling of the classic horror novel by Bram Stoker, made accessible for young readers. Part of the Usborne Reading Programme, Young Reading Series Four, perfect for readers growing in confidence and independence. Other classic fiction in Young Reading Series Four includes Treasure Island, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.
