Stevenson's tale of sixteen-year-old David Balfour's kidnapping at the hands of his malevolent uncle has been pared down a good two or three hundred pages to fit the confines of this simplified "storybook" edition. Fans of Wyeth's oil paintings will appreciate the fourteen reproductions included in this volume; all others will want to seek out an unabridged edition of this swashbuckling classic.

Gr 3-7-The language in this adaptation is truer to the original, and thus, more sophisticated than that of Deborah Kestel's "Great Illustrated Classics" version (Playmore, 1992). After his father's death, David Balfour leaves his simple life in the Scottish Lowlands and sets out to find an uncle whom he has never met. Unaware of the bad blood between his father and uncle, he arrives at Ebeneezer's home, only to find that the cruel man has no intention of granting the lad his rightful inheritance. In fact, he has the boy kidnapped aboard a ship to be sold as a slave in North Carolina. David's tenacious spirit and his friendship with the rebellious Jacobite Alan Breck eventually bring him to safety. Told in 11 brief chapters, this abridgement introduces the basics of the story while maintaining a feel for the Scottish dialect. Some of the old-fashioned words and phrases may be a bit of a stretch for readers, but can be understood in context. Though obviously lacking in some of the details of the original, the narrative is easy to follow. Readers are able to gain insight into the hearts of David and Alan, although Ebeneezer and Captain Hoseason remain rather flat. Wyeth's oils (which appeared in the full-length version) add a sense of realism and capture interesting historical details. Meis's retelling retains the flavor of Stevenson's rollicking tale and might inspire readers to search out the full-length epic.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.