A bland, uninspired graphic adaptation of the Bard's renowned love story. Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar's at-times oddly psychedelic-tinged backgrounds of cool blues and purples, the mood is strange, and the overall ambiance of the story markedly absent. Appealing to what could only be a high-interest/low–reading level audience, McDonald falls short of the mark. He explains a scene in an open-air tavern with a footnote—"a place where people gather to drink"—but he declines to offer definitions for more difficult words, such as "dirges." While the adaptation does follow the foundation of the play, the contemporary language offers nothing; cringeworthy lines include Benvolio saying to Romeo at the party where he first meets Juliet, "Let's go. It's best to leave now, while the party's in full swing." Nagar's faces swirl between dishwater and grotesque, adding another layer of lost passion in a story that should boil with romantic intensity. Each page number is enclosed in a little red heart; while the object of this little nuance is obvious, it's also unpleasantly saccharine. Notes after the story include such edifying tidbits about Taylor Swift and " 'Wow' dialogs from the play" (which culls out the famous quotes). There are certainly better adaptations out there. (Graphic classic. 12 & up)

HAGGARD, H. Rider . King Solomon's Mines . adapt. by C. E. L. Welsh. illus. by Bhupendra Ahluwalia. 68p. ISBN 978-93-80028-53-8 . SHAKESPEARE, William . The Merchant of Venice . adapt. by John F. McDonald. illus. by Vinod Kumar. 80p. ISBN 978-93-80028-59-0 . SHAKESPEARE, William . Romeo &; Juliet . adapt. by John F. McDonald. illus. by Sachin Nagar. 80p. ISBN 978-93-80028-58-3 . STEVENSON, Robert Louis . Kidnapped . adapt. by Mark Jones. illus. by Naresh Kumar. 68p. ISBN 978-93-80028-52-1 . ea vol: (Campfire Classics Series). Campfire . 2011. pap. $9.99. LC number unavailable. Gr 5-7 These comic adaptations of literary classics seek "to entertain and educate young minds" with literature not generally read by today's young people. They are extensively abridged and retold in contemporary language. Each title includes a biographical sketch of the author and introduces approximately five main characters with illustrations. Back matter includes extension activities and historical information. Rendered in a pastel palette, Don Quixote offers more action and dialogue than the other titles and retains some of Cervantes's original humor. The art includes good use of foreshortening and point of view. Angled panels reinforce the windmill duel. King Solomon's Mines uses a vibrant color palette. Images often seem redundantmerely illustrating the textrather than adding new insights. Many of the more violent scenarios are not depicted. For example, readers never see the origin of the knife wound shown later in the story. Kidnapped presents panels heavily outlined in black that appear stiff and formal, often having little connection to the sequential action of the story. The book lacks character animation, story pacing, and depiction of action. Adaptations of The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet rely on abbreviated retellings of the basic plots, eliminating any of the original poetic language. The classic art style features somewhat rigid characters, displaying little emotion.— Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY