Around the World in 80 Days

by Jules Verne

A Book Review

 The moment children learn how to read, there is no better opportunity to provide them with sufficient material to enhance their skills. Usually, at this point, they have already gone past the realm of fairy tales and are progressing into comic books and thicker children’s books. Whereas some parents assume that their kid has remained frozen in the age of activity books and page by page illustrations of their favourite cartoon characters, the best way to turn a child into a reader (and a good one, at that) is to introduce him or her to more popular, renowned works. In other words, it is never too early to start reading the classics.

             One such example is Around The World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. By now, everyone is familiar with this thrilling adventure tale of a man on a race around the world. The iconic hot air balloon is now making its way into the imaginations of kids, thanks to the Great Illustrated Classics version, which has been adapted by Marian Leighton into a simpler, more readable format. This in no way compromises the story’s content, message or sense of adventure that is found in the original story. Instead, kids as young as eight will be pleased to find that some words have been simplified, and some phrases slightly modified in order for to become easily understandable and perhaps even more enjoyable. However, the characters’ personalities, histories and motives are all retained, and the only new shapes they have been given are some very stylized graphics (putting the ‘Illustrated’ in Great Illustrated Classics) which will hold reader’s attentions by presenting very vivid portrayals of scenes.

              The book is hardbound and consists of more than two hundred pages – just enough for a child not to get bored with it easily. It is the size of a pocketbook so that it may be carried around anywhere, and the font has even been made much larger so as to not damage any untrained reading eyes. Every few pages, there is a handy illustration that helps readers visualize the characters. Included is a chapter list, a map, and even an introduction on the author, narrating his life and other famous works.

  But what makes Around The World in 80 Days so worthy of being read, especially as a possible first ever novel for a child? Simple: it is filled to the brim with action and several suspenseful twists that will have anyone rooting for Mr. Phileas Fogg. Each chapter is practically a whole new adventure, and no single event is ever rehashed like a typical, serialized story. Some may turn out to be extremely wacky, horrifying or reminiscent of everyone’s favourite detective stories, but the voyage itself is ambitious enough to rival the search for Moby Dick. By showing that the world is a bigger, more amazing place that anyone could ever imagine, any child may hold this story true to their heart for the rest of their life.

  Around The World in 80 Days can be bought in conjunction with seven other Great Illustrated Classics in a very handy box set designed to contain all of them.

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