Classics

Invitation to the Classics: A Guide to Books You've Always Wanted to Read (Masterworks Series)
$24.99
While there are many "guides" to the Classics out there, this one is one of my husband and my favorites; I am a graduate of St. John's College (MA in Great Books) and my husband had one of the authors (Louise Cowan) for undergrad...

We like the book for the philosopy it espouses...Christian humanistic but much smarter than your average "Christian" book. It is a great resource for overviews on the great thinkers and provides questions and good resources for more info. on each of the "great" writers." I find the questions to be more substantive and the resources to be more carefully researched than in other "guides" that I have read.

The Count of Monte Cristo (Signet Classics)
$6.95
This is the quintessential book about revenge!

Edmond Dantes has everything going for him - a promising career and the hand of the girl he loves. Yet things go disastrously wrong when he is set up - accused of being a Bonapartist he is sent to Chateau D'If...a prison on an island with no chance of release, and not even being told of what he is being charged.

At first first it seems he will go mad, yet he is befriended by the Abbe Faria, who is thought to be mad. The Abbe teaches Edmond about a myriad of subjects, and informing him of a secret treasure. When the Abbe dies (14 years after Edmond's arrival at the prison), Edmond siezes the opportunity to escape and, after locating the treasure, sets out on a patient, complex, course for revenge against those who had ruined his life.

Ever since I first read The Three Musketeers, I have been a fan of Alexandre Dumas, but never had a chance to read this book. I'm glad I finally had this opportunity as it's well worth the time, and I highly recommend reading The Count Of Monte Cristo.

Classic Starts: Treasure Island (Classic Starts Series)
$5.95
My son was 6 when we picked this book up. We read together as a family in the evening. I like to introduce him to the classics when I can. Some of them, like Treasure Island or the Three Muskateers are either too long for him to sit through or too graphic.

This is probably for the 9 to 12 year old reading ability.
This is an abridged version of Treasure Island, the main part of the story is still there. Now to someone who may have already read Treasure Island, you may feel the book is missing its heart.

To my 6 year old this book was enthralling. He found the original on my book shelf and moved it into his room for when he gets older.

We have a number of the Classic Starts books, I prefer them to some of the other children aimed classics. There are simple illustrations throughout the book.

Classic Starts: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Classic Starts Series)
$5.95
This book was just as advertised. It allowed for easy readability and understanding of an American classic.