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Exactly. This article repeats many of the exact same complaints that my parents and my friends' parents had about the Wishbone[0] books (not the TV series). Fo

Exactly. This article repeats many of the exact same complaints that my parents and my friends' parents had about the Wishbone[0] books (not the TV series). Fortunately, reading kid-friendly adaptations of classics neither rotted my brain nor destroyed my interest in the subject matter, and I remain an avid reader today. My first exposure to Greek mythology came from (I kid you not) a reader in school[1]. It was probably intended for a 4th grade reading level. If anything, this only enhanced my interest in the matter - I read the entire D’Aulaires collection shortly afterward, studied Latin in high school, and still know many of the stories by heart. I actually read the entire Percy Jackson series recently. It's a quick read for any adult, and like many kids' cartoons from the 70s, it's filled with jokes and references that only an adult can appreciate[2]. The writing quality is a little lower than Harry Potter, but if I may, I never thought Rowling was a stellar writer anyway (her talent is in plot development). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishbone_%28TV_series%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishbone_%28TV_series%29 [1] Do they still even have these anymore? They were basically consumable workbooks that had stories that you were reading as you practice spelling, grammar, etc. [2] I actually am surprised in some sense that children enjoy the books, because to me, it seems like much of the humor would fall completely flat without a solid understanding of the stories that Riordan is adapting. Apparently he manages to make it work, but I would say that his writing is about as adult-friendly/adult-oriented as the first few books in the Harry Potter series. (As opposed to the last couple of books, which are definitely intended for a slightly older audience, and contain much darker elements).

gknoy 12y ago
Agreed. In middle school, my English teacher had a box of compic book (!!) adaptations of classic literature -- Murders in the Rue Morgue, etc. I had already read or heard of many of the authors, but this was a quick introduction / plot-overview of many of the rest of them. It was like finding a secret stash of new jelly bean flavors: Not the best thing, but damn if they weren't enjoyable to devour. Best of all, they gave me enough plot-summary of some of them (Fall of the House of Usher) that one can recognize references to them in OTHER works (such as Bradbury's works) which I might not previously have understood. I've re-read several of those classics later, but I still have fond memories of that box of comic books.

gknoy 12y ago

Agreed. In middle school, my English teacher had a box of compic book (!!) adaptations of classic literature -- Murders in the Rue Morgue, etc. I had already read or heard of many of the authors, but this was a quick introduction / plot-overview of many of the rest of them. It was like finding a secret stash of new jelly bean flavors: Not the best thing, but damn if they weren't enjoyable to devour. Best of all, they gave me enough plot-summary of some of them (Fall of the House of Usher) that one can recognize references to them in OTHER works (such as Bradbury's works) which I might not previously have understood. I've re-read several of those classics later, but I still have fond memories of that box of comic books.