Books in Essential Classics series

The classic story of a brave and noble working horse in Victorian England, retold for younger readersAnna Sewell's classic novel follows the story of Black Beauty, a horse that overcomes danger and cruelty to eventually find a loving home. He has a series of masters who are often cruel and thoughtless. He survives flood, fire, and fever until he feels ready to die, but then he is taken to yet another master. This retelling has been shortened and illustrated for younger readers.

Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes tale investigates a fearsome animal and a family curse, retold for younger readersWritten by in 1902, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of his most frightening books. It tells the story of the curse of the Baskerville family—a family haunted by a terrifying hound on Dartmoor. The beast is thought to be responsible for killing many members of the Baskerville family. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson arrive to investigate. This retelling has been shortened and illustrated for younger readers.

When Buck is stolen from his home on a California ranch, his once carefree life is suddenly transformed. Treated cruelly and then sold as an Alaska sled dog, Buck's journey takes him to the harsh new world of the Yukon wilderness, where he must rediscover his long forgotten primal instincts in order to survive. An epic tale of endurance and loyalty, this thrilling adventure will stay with you long after the final page is turned.

Retold for younger readers, Daniel Defoe's classic adventure novel is based on the true story of a Scotsman who was left on a desert island after a quarrel with the captain of his shipShipwrecked and all alone, Robinson Crusoe survives on the island for nearly 30 years—often visited by cannibals—before he is finally offered a chance to escape. This retelling has been shortened and illustrated for younger readers.

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story of adventure and danger on the high seas, retold for younger readersTreasure Island is an exciting adventure story in which a young boy, Jim Hawkins, recounts his hunt for buried treasure and his fight with pirates led by the one-legged Long John Silver and his famous parrot, Captain Flint. This retelling has been shortened and illustrated for younger readers.

Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale, first published in 1843, has become one of his best-known stories, and is here retold for younger readers. Ebenezer Scrooge is an old miser who lives alone in his cold house by night and torments his assistant at work by day. One evening, just before Christmas, he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Marley—a ghost with a very important warning. Is it enough to persuade Scrooge to change his ways?

Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel of an orphan who discovers a magical garden through a hidden door, retold for younger readersThe Secret Garden tells the story of a orphan, Mary Lennox, who is brought from India to live at her uncle's great lonely house on the moors after the death of her parents. She is miserable and disagreeable, until the day she discovers the key to a hidden door. Through the door, she is led into the magical work of the secret garden. This retelling has been shortened and illustrated for younger readers.