Another well-done Step into Reading biography by Random House! You get a lot of information ...................! Great addition to any classroom library!

This book is a very well-written and illustrated introduction to the epic story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance in their struggle to survive the loss of their ship in the ice. If you know a child who feels put-upon because they don't have the latest model gaming system or the right type of monsters in their card decks, get them to read this, and perhaps it will prove a useful antidote to the ennervating softness of "modern" civilization.

Les Miserables will be a tough read for some. Victor Hugo, in typical Nineteenth Century prose, is exceedingly verbose. His character introductions go on literally page after page, covering minute details that some modern readers will find tedious. Not only are they long, but they break the modern writing rule of "show rather than tell." When he presents new characters, we don't hear them converse or see their actions to form our own opinions. Hugo simply regurgitates a ten or twenty-page biography on them.

But this was how books were written then, and he did it as well as it could be done. The language is marvelous and rich, the characters interesting and complete, and the story sweeping and classic.

Jean Valjean, freshly released from a French prison, is caught stealing silver from an extraordinarily pious Bishop. Amazingly, this Bishop denies the silver is stolen, allowing Valjean to go free. Valjean, brutalized by nineteen years of life in "the galleys" and suffering poverty and maltreatment as an ex-convict, is so affected by this merciful act that he vows to reform. Seven years later he has changed his name and transformed himself into a righteous and contributing member of society, now a prominent factory owner and town Mayor. Life is good as he shares his profits and kind heart with the poor and unfortunate--until his past catches up with him. Valjean is then faced with an incredible predicament whose genius and complexity can be appreciated only by plowing through the full text.

Historically, this is an important literary work. Much of its political and religious sub-text may be lost, however, on those unfamiliar with the basics of the French Revolution. Like Valjean, readers will be better people for making the journey through this book. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

Hugo is brilliant. I've read this book countless times, and find new insight in it every time. I continue to be incredibly impressed with his chapter about Cosette and her discovery of her own beauty- how real and (especially for a man) insightful it is. Two of the truest lines I've ever heard: (upon the discovery of her beauty) "...she perceived, however indistinctly, that she was armed." "Women play with their beauty like children with a knife, and sometimes cut themselves."
There is a chapter in which Cosette reads a letter that Marius has deposited in her garden, and it is full of beautiful, (I know I'm overusing this word, but there isn't a thesaurus handy and it's the perfect word for this book) insightful prose about love, the discovery of it, the joy of it, and the pain that comes when it is threatened.
Gavroche, the endearing gamin, is extremely funny in the quaint, charming way that is very classic, very Parisian, very Hugo.
The tragic deaths of almost all of the main characters are beautiful and poignant, and the descriptions of the ABC society (the young student revolutionaries) are wonderful.
The only qualm I have about this book is Hugo's slightly overdrawn descriptions, but they are hardly sufficient reason to overlook this treasure.
Please read this book, you'll be overjoyed that you did.

Les Miserables introduces Jean Valjean a famous character in literature. This story takes you into Paris after the French Revolution and Lafayette's death, to the barricades of the uprising of 1832. It is the story of Jean Valjean who stole a loaf of bread which made him a convict. He escapes from prison to start a new life. Javert, the police inspector, who will never let Valjean go free. Fantine the prostitute who touched Valjean's heart and defined the word desperation. The Thenadiers, the amoral villians who with the other characters bring this book to its excellency. This story brings out the desire to escape the prisons of our own minds. This novel is best summed up in its title, Les Miserables, translated is "The Miserables".

Victor Hugo takes us into the Parisian underworld. He shows us the battle between good and evil. Hugo uses Les Miserables as a platform to criticize the French political and judicial systems. He probably did not expect this story to become an epic that has touched the heart for more than a hundred years.

Reading this novel gives a clearer picture of how the French government reacted to the common people. It inspires the hope of an age of rebirth and revolution. There are also many themes played out in this novel that capture your thoughts and emotions. The story battles between good and evil. Morality is also a theme that is used many times in this novel. This book is definitely an extravagant spectacle that dazzles the senses and touches the heart. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone with an interest in the French Revolutionary times or someone who just wants a story that displays human emotions like you have never read before.

While reading this book aloud to a six-year-old, who had picked it out, I learned a lot about this man, Houdini, who has become a legend. In a classic biography format, this book takes us through Houdini's childhood as a son of poor immigrants who admires acrobats in the cirus and makes up his own act. As a young man, he gets work as a locksmith and learns how to pick any lock... a talent that would come in very handy! Throughout his adulthood, Houdini worked incredibly hard to make a name for himself; sadly, his hard-earned fame indirectly led to his untimely death. Houdini's story is one of perseverence rather than glamour and stardom. The book has a serious tone for a childrens' book; even the illustrations are somber, but it is interesting and well worth a read.

I think Harry Houdini is one of the best books I have ever read. I think it is good because it's about a true story and they write it in a very good way.

The advetures of tom sawyer was on of the greatest books I've ever read. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a mischevios adventurerous kids. This book is good for adults because it could most likely to take you back to your own childhood. For kids it could give some ideas to enjoy your childhood.

Tom sawyer is a mischevios boy who always gets into trouble. tom tricks his friends into doing his chores. He falls in love. He wittnesses a murder scene. he runs away to be a pirate. He attends his own funeral. he finds buried treasure. feeds his cat pain killer. gets lost in a cave with the person he loves. Also gets 6,000 dollars.

I've learned from this book the importance of being young. It also taught me don't rush to grow up because you're only young once. IT also taught me what it was like to be a kid 150 years ago.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of the best books I have ever read. The language,the thinking,the adventures-all of it was just incredible and enjoyable. The only thing this book needs is more pages! Mark Twain's skill in writing has created a book that all ages should read (or have it read to).Mark Twain reactivates the life and actions of a boy in the mid-1800's,and showed me that kids should be who they are- not what they will be. This is a classic for every generation to read and enjoy.

Mark Twain's,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, tells about a boy loving and living his life to the fullest. Tom Sawyer is the kid that the world has seemed to forgotten. He is the kid who always get in trouble but continues to have fun with life. In this book, Tom does everything from being engaged, to watching his own funeral, to witnessing a [death] and finding treasure. Twain's creative character finds fun everywhere in his little town in Missouri, as do his friends. The storyline is basic, but it is a piece of the past that everyone should hold on to.

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I learned mainly two things. The first thing I learned was that you can make life fun with just about anything if you use your imagination. Life is too short and precious to be wasted. I also learned that where you least expect it [help or protection], you might just get it. This book was just amazing-filled with unique characters, exciting events, and how a town can pull together to help those in need.

Tom Sawyer is one of the most endearing characters in American fiction. This wonderful book deals with all the challenges that any young person faces, and resolves them in exciting and unusual ways.

Like many young people, Tom would rather be having fun than going to school and church. This is always getting him into trouble, from which he finds unusual solutions. One of the great scenes in this book has Tom persuading his friends to help him whitewash a fence by making them think that nothing could be finer than doing his punishment for playing hooky from school. When I first read this story, it opened up my mind to the potential power of persuasion.

Tom also is given up for dead and has the unusual experience of watching his own funeral and hearing what people really thought of him. That's something we all should be able to do. By imagining what people will say at our funeral, we can help establish the purpose of our own lives. Mark Twain has given us a powerful tool for self-examination in this wonderful sequence.

Tom and Huck Finn also witness a murder, and have to decide how to handle the fact that they were not supposed to be there and their fear of retribution from the murderer, Injun Joe.

Girls are a part of Tom's life, and Becky Thatcher and he have a remarkable adventure in a cave with Injun Joe. Any young person will remember the excitement of being near someone they cared about alone in this vignette.

Tom stands for the freedom that the American frontier offered to everyone. His aunt Polly represents the civilizing influence of adults and towns. Twain sets up a rewarding novel that makes us rethink the advantages of both freedom and civilization. In this day of the Internet frontier, this story can still provide valuable lessons about listening to our inner selves and acting on what they have to say. Enjoy!

We are four girls in second grade who read this book. It is a really good book. It has excitement, and we learned a lot about Harriet Tubman. She was born in 1820 and died in 1913. She was 93 when she died. Here are some comments: "I liked the part when Harriet was going to escape and she followed Daddy Ben's instructions." "She was so happy when she saw Old Rit and Daddy Ben again."

I tried to read this book a few years ago, and then, in ninth grade (two years ago), I was forced to for English Lit.
I read, for want of a better word, ravenously. At any given time I am reading three or four books simultaneously. Traditional classics, modern classics, modern novels, it doesn't matter. So I am not, by any standards, illiterate, something that, going on the review I am about to give, one might assume.
Dickens is so incredibly overrated. His books are, in the words of a friend of mine, books that "everybody wants to have read buy nobody wants to read". I am of the opinion that few people like Dickens because they like his books, they just say they like him because he's Dickens and let's face it- would you admit to someone that you didn't like Great Expectations? A Tale of Two Cities? He is one of those authors that are generally accepted as being good, and my opinion is that his popularity has been riding on that reputation. This book makes for an interesting book summary, but that's the extent of its charm. The descriptions are without imagination and almost made me fall asleep. Dickens wrote this book as a serial in a newspaper, making it up as he went along, and it really shows.

This is the most acclaimed works of Dickens. 'Great Expectations' is the biography of Philip Pirrip or Pip whose dream is to be a gentleman.Pip, the main character of the novel is an apprentice to Joe, his uncle and best friend. He is well contented till the time he gets the desire to be a gentleman. His chance comes when he is named as the beneficiary to some amount of fortune.

Dickens, in this book of his examines the human nature, how vulnerable we are to the call of money. The great author brings out how Pip makes fair-weather friends when he comes to fortune, how he forgets his roots and his good old true friend Joe. Besides that 'Great Expectations' depicts also the love of Pip for a certain girl named Estella, for whose sake he wanted to be a gentleman.

If you've been asking yourself what is the meaning of true love, then read this fabulous book, it will help you to find the meaning of it to some extent. 'Great Expectations' is one of those books that after reading you will feel the self-satisfaction still lingering in your heart for quite a long while.

Great plot. Very intruging. I would recommend this book to anyone who is over nine and loves classics.

I like this story becaus it was true, and I liked the idea on how they made a book and a movie about it.

Though the story itself is juvenile, it proves to be very interesting to children of a young age. This book was especially useful to coerce my niece into reading, and she found the book very interesting.