About the Author

Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in France. Growing up near a river, the constant sight of ships sparked his interest in travel. As a young man, Verne even tried to run away and become a cabin boy. Fortunately, his father caught him, and soon Verne was off to study law in Paris. While there, Verne escaped the boredom of his studies by writing stories. When his father found out about this hobby, he stopped sending money for school. Verne started selling his stories, many of which became popular, including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1870. Before he died in 1905, the author bought a boat and sailed around Europe.

Reviews

This series of graphic novels revisit classic stories in a 72 page colourful graphic style using a variety of authors to retell the stories and a range of different artists for the images. This will inevitably lead to differences in style but the similarities in presentation might encourage readers to explore the works of a range of authors and become familiar with the essence of some well known stories. Journey to the Centre of the Earth is well told, the small number of characters and dramatic settings making it ideal for the graphic format. Tom Sawyer is less successful, the story seems quite disjointed and the characters rather strange. However there is some background information at the end of the story which mentions Mark Twain's character of Injun Joe being a negative stereotype. As well as background to the story and authors, the books also feature a short glossary, discussion questions and writing prompts. Journey to the Centre of the Earth includes two pages of information about the formation of the Earth's centre. There are another 16 titles in the series so most tastes are catered for. They would find a place in any upper primary or middle school library and some could be useful readers for ESL students. http: //www.readplus.co.uk/blog_detail.php?id=1817-- "ReadPlus blog"

This 26-title set features dynamic comic-style art and abridged retellings of both myths and literature classics. Titles include The Jungle Book, The Wizard of Oz, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland (all 2010), among others.-- "Book Links"