"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is a classic work of adventure and early science fiction that plunges readers into the mysterious depths of the world's oceans. The story follows Professor Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and the harpooner Ned Land after they are captured by the enigmatic Captain Nemo aboard his technologically advanced submarine, the Nautilus. As they travel across the glo…
"Deep Trouble" is an action-packed suspense story designed for early-stage English language learners. The plot follows Amy, a teenager who is on a diving holiday with her family when she accidentally discovers a secret that she was never meant to see. Suddenly, a relaxing vacation turns into a dangerous race for survival as Amy finds herself pursued by people who will do anything to keep their …
"Peter Pan" is a classic tale of adventure and imagination that follows the journey of the Darling children—Wendy, John, and Michael—to the magical world of Neverland. Led by Peter Pan, the boy who refuses to grow up, they encounter a land filled with Lost Boys, glittering fairies, and dangerous pirates. The story centers on the legendary rivalry between Peter and the villainous Captain Hoo…
Stories of Haunted Houses is a collection of short fiction stories centered around the general theme of haunted houses and ghost sightings. Since it is targeted at young readers (Young Reading), the stories tend to be light mystery and adventure rather than terrifying or explicit horror. Each story likely presents a different plot where characters (often children or families) find themselves…
Siblings Jack and Annie are whisked away by the Magic Tree House, along with their enchanted dog, Teddy, to a forest in India. Their mission is to find the third of four gifts required to break the spell on Teddy. In the jungle, they encounter various animals, including two helpful monkeys, and face dangers like a python and a wild tiger. Their main challenge is discovering that rare tigers are…
Dinosaurs Before Dark is a work of fantasy and adventure fiction that introduces the two main characters, Jack and Annie, siblings who discover a mysterious, magical tree house in the woods. The tree house turns out to be a time machine. When Annie and Jack make a wish, they are unexpectedly transported back to the Cretaceous Period (the age of dinosaurs). There, they must evade large dinosaurs…
Cliffhanger follows the unwilling hero, Tim, a boy who despises sports, heights, and physical adventure. Against his will, his sports-obsessed father sends him to a terrifying action-packed adventure camp where activities include rock climbing, canoeing, and caving. Tim struggles miserably with every challenge and is intimidated by the other athletic children. Driven by the desire to escape, Ti…
This simplified retelling of Mark Twain's novel is set in 16th-century London. The story centers on Edward Tudor, the young Prince of Wales, and Tom Canty, a poor, identically-looking boy from the wretched slums. Following a chance encounter, the two boys impulsively exchange clothes and identities. The novel then tracks their vastly different and often terrifying adventures. The Prince, dis…
This is a simplified retelling of the Disney/Pixar film Brave. The story is set in the Scottish Highlands and follows Princess Merida, a skilled archer who passionately defies the ancient customs of her kingdom, particularly the tradition that requires her to marry one of the three clan princes. After a fierce argument with her mother, Queen Elinor, Merida seeks out a witch and makes a rash wis…
This is a simplified retelling of the Disney/Pixar film Toy Story 3. The story centers on the toys' major life transition when their owner, Andy, prepares to leave for college, forcing him to decide the fate of his childhood belongings. Due to a misunderstanding, Woody, Buzz, and the gang are accidentally donated to Sunnyside Daycare. Initially excited, the toys quickly discover that Sunnyside …
This is a simplified retelling of the Disney film Frozen II. The story begins three years after the first movie, with Queen Elsa suddenly hearing a mysterious siren-like voice calling her north. Along with her sister Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven, Elsa follows the voice, leading them deep into the mythical Enchanted Forest. The group discovers that the forest has been sealed off by a mysteriou…
This is a simplified retelling of the Disney film Tangled, an adaptation of the Rapunzel fairy tale. The story focuses on Rapunzel, a princess who was kidnapped as a baby by the evil Mother Gothel for her magical, long, golden hair that possesses healing and age-reversing powers. Rapunzel is locked away in a hidden tower for eighteen years, unaware of her true identity. On the eve of her 18th b…
Eagle Strike is the fourth installment in the Alex Rider series. After successfully completing three dangerous secret missions, teenage spy Alex Rider finally believes he can enjoy a quiet holiday in the South of France. However, his break is shattered when he accidentally witnesses a secret meeting between a popular film star and philanthropist, Damian Cray, and a major American drug cartel le…
This book is a simplified story adaptation of the animated Disney/Pixar film, Inside Out. The narrative is primarily set inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl named Riley, who has just moved with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco. Riley is guided by her five core emotions—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust—who live and work at Headquarters inside her brain. When Riley struggle…
Soul Mountain adalah novel semi-otobiografi yang menggugah dan eksperimental karya penulis Tiongkok peraih Nobel, Gao Xingjian. Mengisahkan perjalanan seorang pria yang mengembara ke pedalaman Tiongkok setelah mendapat diagnosis medis keliru, novel ini merupakan eksplorasi mendalam akan identitas, kebebasan pribadi, dan pencarian makna hidup. Melalui perpaduan narasi orang pertama ("aku") dan k…
This illustrated book is a highly simplified visual and textual summary of the animated film Incredibles 2. The story focuses on the superhero Parr Family—specifically the mother, Elastigirl (Helen), who is called away for a secret mission to help re-legalize superheroes. Helen’s husband, Mr. Incredible (Bob), is left at home to manage the children, Violet, Dash, and the infant Jack-Jack…
Jack and Annie are magically transported to the frozen Arctic in the middle of winter. This is their final mission to solve the fourth riddle set by Morgan le Fay, which asks for something that "covers what's real, hides the truth, and promotes courage." The siblings are immediately freezing until they are found and given warm clothing by a friendly Inuit seal hunter and his husky sled dogs. Th…
In this installment of the Magic Tree House series, siblings Jack and Annie travel through time to the Wild West of the 1870s/1880s in a mysterious ghost town called Rattlesnake Flats. Their mission is to find the answer to the second of four riddles set by Morgan le Fay. During their adventure, they encounter historical elements like cowboys and rattlesnakes, help a friendly cowboy named Slim …
Who Was Lewis Carroll? by Pam Pollack tells the fascinating story of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll. Born in 1832 in England, Carroll was a mathematician, photographer, and Anglican deacon, but he is best remembered as the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The book explores Carroll’s early life, his love for puzz…
Sunset of the Sabertooth by Mary Pope Osborne is the seventh installment in the popular Magic Tree House series, blending adventure, fantasy, and history for young readers. In this story, Jack and Annie travel back in time to the Ice Age, where they must search for the fourth special object needed to help free Morgan le Fay from a spell. The siblings encounter saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammo…
Pirates Past Noon by Mary Pope Osborne is the fourth installment in the beloved Magic Tree House series. The story follows Jack and Annie, siblings who discover a magical tree house that can transport them through time and space. In this adventure, the tree house takes them to the high seas during the Golden Age of Piracy. Jack and Annie find themselves on a deserted island where they encounter…
Day of the Dragon King is the fourteenth book in Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House series. This adventure transports siblings Jack and Annie to ancient China during the rule of the Dragon King. The children’s mission is to find an important book before it is destroyed, as the emperor has ordered the burning of books to control knowledge. Amid the danger of soldiers, fire, and strict impe…
Vacation Under the Volcano is the thirteenth installment in Mary Pope Osborne’s beloved Magic Tree House series. In this adventure, Jack and Annie travel back in time to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Their mission is to find a hidden scroll that contains an important piece of knowledge before the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. As they explore the bustling streets of Pompeii, th…
Sport Sprite by Tracey West (ISBN: 0-439-17982-3) is part of the Pixie Tricks series, a children’s fantasy adventure that blends magic with everyday life. The story follows Violet Briggs, a young girl who has discovered that mischievous pixies from another world have escaped into the human realm. With the help of Sprite, her tiny magical friend, Violet must track them down and send them back …
This simplified text follows the extraordinary adventures of ship surgeon Lemuel Gulliver after he is shipwrecked. The primary focus is his journey to Lilliput, an island inhabited entirely by tiny people who are only six inches tall. Gulliver is initially captured and tied down, becoming a giant prisoner in their miniature society. The plot humorously highlights the absurdity and pettiness of …
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the foundational first volume in the globally successful fantasy series, introducing Harry Potter, an orphaned boy who has endured a miserable life with his abusive Muggle (non-magical) relatives, the Dursleys. Everything changes on his eleventh birthday when he discovers he is a wizard famous throughout the hidden magical world for surviving the atta…
This is a simplified, accessible retelling of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. The story follows the Greek hero Odysseus, King of Ithaca, after the end of the Trojan War. His journey home, which should only take a few weeks, is cursed by the gods and turns into a perilous ten-year voyage. Odysseus and his men must face numerous mythical challenges and threats, including the enchanting, man-ea…
"The Night I Flunked My Field Trip" follows the chaotic adventures of fourth-grader Hank Zipzer, who is known for his creative mind but constant struggles with reading, writing, and schoolwork due to his undiagnosed dyslexia. Hank is thrilled about his class field trip: a sleepover aboard an old-fashioned, three-mast sailing ship called The Pilgrim Spirit in New York Harbor. His excitement g…
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne (ISBN: 978-8-178-62183-5) is a classic science fiction adventure novel that follows the daring expedition of Professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their Icelandic guide Hans. After discovering an ancient manuscript that reveals a secret path to the Earth’s core, they embark on a perilous journey through a dormant volcano. Along the w…
Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright is a classic children’s novel that blends adventure, discovery, and the charm of summer exploration. The story follows cousins Portia and Julian, who stumble upon an abandoned Victorian resort community near a swampy lake. There, they meet two elderly siblings, Minnehaha Cheever and Pindar Payton, who have chosen to live in the deserted houses of the once-b…
The Famous Five by Enid Blyton is one of the most popular children’s adventure series of all time. The story follows five main characters—Julian, Dick, Anne, George (Georgina), and their loyal dog, Timmy—who spend their holidays exploring remote islands, old castles, and hidden caves. Along the way, they become involved in thrilling mysteries and uncover secrets that test their courage an…
Gulliver's Travels, written by Jonathan Swift, is a timeless satirical novel that follows the extraordinary voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a ship's surgeon, to fantastical lands inhabited by miniature people, giants, intellectual horses, and other peculiar societies. Through Gulliver’s journeys to Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the land of the Houyhnhnms, Swift critiques human nature, social…
In Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls, the sequel to Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, Emmy Addison strives for a normal life after her previous adventures. However, her former nanny, Miss Barmy—now transformed into a rat—has sinister plans involving five missing girls and the Addison family jewels. Emmy, along with her friend Joe and a group of talking rodents, must confront Miss Ba…