Marcia Williams, a former interior designer, cloth sculpture artist and nursery school teacher knows how to engage both young children and their parents with genuinely interesting text and stimulating illustrations. This book is very unique in style: William's pen and watercolor illustrations are arranged in little comic-book-style strips and boxes, but a narrative also runs through the book, making it perfect for read-aloud time. It's difficult to preserve Cervante's wit when you have to pare down a 900 page novel to 2nd grade level. Williams manages to do this with the speech bubbles she assigns characters, preserving some humor which would have otherwise been lost. Colorful geometric designs fill the page margins, adding to the slapstick nature and fast-moving pace of the original.
Just like adults, kids benefit from reading a wide variety of books. We've recommended many wonderful picture books over the years that have very simple storylines and are not based on the classics, but we think adding a few adaptions to your kid's library is a really good idea. You'll give them a taste for the literature they can enjoy later in high school, and you'll enjoy some added depth to storytime.
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