charlestonmom03 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Any advice on whether to give my soon-to-be 9 year old abridged or unabridged versions of the "The Three Musketeers" and "The Man in the Iron Mask"? He is a great reader and LOVES to read. For Christmas he has asked me to give him a good book that is at least as long and as good as "The Lord of the Rings". He read that in less than a week, and seemed to get a lot out of it based on our conversations with him after he finished. I tend to hate abridged books, but I personally have not read Dumas and am not sure how readable the translations would be for a child, even one who is a strong reader. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I would be tempted to start with the unabridged as a read aloud and see how it goes over. After a few chapters you can either hand the unabridged over to him, or get him the abridged instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfcartmama Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 We did the abridged at 8 1/2. The unabridged was too much for my ds. He loved both of them though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Well I'll give you a little bump here. My dd, also a LoTR lover, suggests skipping 3 Musketeers, which she didn't like. She said if you get all the sequels in the Guardians of Ga'hoole series, he might enjoy it. (They're thin reads, but there are 13+ in the series to keep him busy a while.) Also, has he read Narnia, the Hobbit, and the rest of the LoTR books? There's lots more fantasy out there. With this bump, someone else can chime in. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Abridged. My son loves to read and devours books but couldn't get through the unabridged version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 My husband could barely get through one of Dumas' books (unabridged). Has he read Eragon? It isn't as good as LoTR by a long shot, but we've enjoyed reading & talking about the first three in the series. (Only I have finished the fourth so far. :sneaky2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlestonmom03 Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 After a bit more research, we are going to skip Dumas entirely. Thank you for the other title suggestions. He has read (and loves) the Chronicles of Narnia as well as The Hobbit. I think I am going to get him the Chronicles of Prydain, which came highly recommended by a good friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I tend to hate abridged books, but I personally have not read Dumas and am not sure how readable the translations would be for a child, even one who is a strong reader. Any thoughts? I recently read aloud the Pevear translation of The Three Musketeers (unabridged) with DD the Elder and we both loved it, though some might object to the sexual innuendo. She is a strong reader, and would have had no trouble with the text on her own. As far as "big" books, Walter Moers' The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear and Rumo might to do the trick, though they aren't similar to LOTR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I actually liked the illustrated and retold classics version at that age for familiarity with the storyline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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