Classic Starts(r) Journey to the Center of the Earth

By: Verne, Jules

Book Overview

"Go down the crater of the volcano Snaefells. Follow the shadow just before the month of July. You will find your way to the center of the Earth. I did it." That mysterious message, found in a long-lost letter, propels a young man and his uncle on the adventure of a lifetime: to a prehistoric world below the earth where dinosaurs and other strange creatures still roam. Jules Vernes classic fantasy will enchant a new generation of readers.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402773137
• ISBN13: 9781402773136
• Release Date: June 2011
• Publisher: Union Square Kids
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 7 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 4

Customer Reviews

Retold by Kathleen Olmstead, with an afterword by Arthur Pober and illustrations by Eric Freeberg.

I grew up on the James Mason movie, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959), so it was quite a shocker to read the book. You can imagine, to my dismay, the absence of quite a few characters, and the center of the story is Germany, not Scotland. Now, for avid readers, you couldn't care less about old movies, I can truthfully say that this is one of Jules Verne's best stories and is well told. What you will find more interesting and fun about this tale is the characters and their interaction. One of my favorite parts is when Harry, who did not want to go to the center of the earth with his uncle, Professor Hardwigg, turned to his affianced, Gretchen, and was planning on her to stop him. Her answer is shockingly disappointing to him. "While there is life, there is hope. I beg to assert, Henry, that as long as man's heartbeats, as long as man's flesh quivers, I do not allow that being gifted with thought and will allow himself to despair." Be prepared, as the bulk of the book is a geological journey back through time and forward again, painfully spelled out by Harry, who is the first-person narrator. The Kindle version does not have an actual picture of the runes in Chapter 1. Moreover, a tad off in pronunciation. Other than that, it is more than worth obtaining along with a hard copy for your library.