My Kind of Classic

Here's a post I wrote for Dinner: A Love Story.  Thought you guys would like it, too! -- PW

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Moby Dick (Herman Melville) adapted by Lance Stahlberg, illustrated by Lalit Kumar

Who Would Love It: People who can handle stuff that's a little hard to understand. They basically take the words from the real book, which can be old-fashioned, and they put them in speech bubbles and add drawings around them. If you took away the pictures, it would basically be the grown-up book. But the art is so awesome. It's definitely adventure-y.

The blurb I'd put on the back of the book: "The fascinating story of the search for a famous white whale -- the perfect book for any kid who likes it when climaxes come at the very end of the book. Which, who doesn't?"

Ages: 12+

The Odyssey (Homer), by Tim Mucci

Who Would Love It: People who like Greek mythology and people who like to read simplified versions of big, complicated stories. Here, you'll meet Athena, Hermes, Zeus, Poseidon, all that jazz. It's also really cool-looking, too -- I love the artwork. It helps to understand it.

The blurb I'd put on the back of the book: "A mystical adventure in graphic novel form. That sounds cheesy -- but, you know. It's true!"

Ages: 11+

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A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle), adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson

Who Would Love It: The first time I tried to read the actual, real book, I could barely get past the first chapter. It was so boring and confusing. I was in third grade, so I had trouble understanding any of it. But then, last year, I got the graphic novel version and it was just way more interesting. It all made sense. It seemed like the plot was more interesting, more exciting. This is for people who are science-y and also into fantasy. Those of you who like physics will like this, too.

The blurb I would put on the back of the book: "An interesting book, in the best way. The art makes this an even more bold version of the original - it's, like, BOOM."

Ages: 10+

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Alice in Wonderland by Tommy Kovac & Sonny Liew

Who Would Love It: This is by the guys who did the Wizard of Oz graphic novel series, which I love. To be honest, I'm going to say that the actual story was not as interesting as some other books, but the art is really incredible. It's worth it just for the pictures. Even though it's maybe not my favorite book, reading-wise, it's weird fantasy and that's kind of cool, no matter what, right?

The blurb I would put on the back of the book: "The artwork -- scratchy, strange, and mystical -- makes this an essential book for kids who love good art."

Ages: 10+

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The Olympians Series by George O'Connor

Who Would Love It: Dad, we've already done this series like twenty times.

The blurb I would put on the back of the book: "Just read this series, okay?"

Ages: 9+

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Fairy Tale Comics Edited by Chris Duffy

Who Would Love It: People who are fans of the extremely awesome Little Lit books. It's really clever. It's interpretations of famous fairy tales by well-known artists and writers like Brett Helquist (who did Lemony Snicket), Raina Telgemeier (who did Drama and Smile), and Cherise Harper. If you like silly stuff, clever stuff, this book is for you.

The blurb I would put on the back of the book: "An amazing group of authors re-telling an even better collection of stories. Even if you've read these stories before, and loved them, you're going to love the way they've remade them here."

Ages: 9+

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain) Roland Mann, illustrated by Naresh Kumar

Who Would Love It: Well, technically, I haven't read this one yet. It's on my wish list. I read the real book, but the graphic version looks awesome. The actual book is an extremely good perspective on a boy who runs away with a slave named Jim like a hundred and fifty years ago -- and their adventures, and misadventures. It's hard to explain it all here.

The blurb I would put on the back of the book: "I don't have to read this to know that it's a really really really really good book."

Ages: 10+