The latest title in the Classic Starts series simplifies Defoe's famous survival adventure story, one of the first novels ever written, reworking the tortuous prose into a relaxed, chatty style (I felt awful) with short sentences that will be accessible to a grade-school audience. True to the 1719 original, the first-person narrative relates how Crusoe defies his parents, runs away to sea, has various adventures, and survives alone on a desert island until he finds a native man whom Robinson calls Friday. The big difference here is that the two men become friends, pals, and equals. There is not a racist word, nothing about Defoe's savages. For contrast, to spark classroom discussion, pair this with Timothy Meis' retelling, discussed in Focus: Survivor (BKL Mr 1 03), which stays true to the prejudice in the original.

These inexpensive condensed versions of classic novels are quickly paced and competently told, with occasional black-and-white illustrations adding spice. Still, one wonders why the adaptations were created in the first place. Some tales (e.g., Gulliver’s Travels) are already suited for children; others gain their depth from complexities of material and language, which is excised here for age-appropriateness.