Great Illustrated Classics or Classic Starts?

[MommaOfalotta]

Which version of the classics do you prefer and why?

 

This would be for SOTW3 for my 3rd grader. I know WTM lists Great Illustrated Classics but Classic Starts look great too. Unfortunately, we have only read one from each series so far so we don't have much to compare.

 

First impression was that the GIC versions are older, with some typos, and appear outdated (pictures, etc.) Classic Starts are nicer to look at. I haven't read either recent enough to remember much more about them.

[LilBearsMama]

We have several of the Classic Starts books. My son loves them. And I feel they do a fairly good job covering the story. While i felt some majorly important things were left out of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (mainly because I had to fill in the missing bits) we actually like them more then Great Illustrated Classics. We have a couple of those too, but he prefers Classic Starts and seems to understand them better. (And I know he got the gist of the story. For example, we read The Time Machine - he acted it out at the playground using various equipment then combined somehow War of the Worlds in there, with his Daddy standing in as Martians or Morlocks as needed. So he certainly understood it!) 

I have also noticed that it does make him want the more grown-up versions, because he knows something has been left out. There is no Prince John or Maid Marian in Classic Starts version of Robin Hood - we now have Pyle's version, which he loves, and he was already familiar with most of the stories so it's not as hard. So, IME, it does seem to make them more interested. (I did not see that interest with the other Classics series, but he didn't like them as much, so it might just be that.) HTH!

[Insertcreativenamehere]

We really like the Classic Starts. My boys read them quite willingly!

[SnMomof7]

We have a Classics Starts. I quite like it. I like a lot of what Sterling produces.

[busymotherof4]

I like the Illustraited Classics. I have fond memories of reading those growing up. We own a bunch of them from childhood( mine and my husbands)

I do know that I thought that the youngest child from Swiss Family Robbinson was a girl (oops!)

I did go on and choose to read some of the classics after these and it helped to know the gist of the story.

[vickjul]

We have several of both. I feel like the Great Illustrated Classics tend to convey stories more thoroughly, although I prefer the look of the Classic Starts books. My 7-year-old, on the other hand, loves the Great Illustrated Classics and has read all of the 20 or so we own multiple times, but won't attempt to read the Classic Starts titles alone. The larger print and increase white space in the Great Illustrated Classics titles make her think they're easier. 

[SarahW]

I really liked the Classic Start Iliad.