Stories for Young People: O. Henry - Hardcover

Grade 7-9 Each volume includes five to seven stories with original texts and full-color illustrations, a general introduction, a biography of the writer, and, for each story, a brief discussion of its theme, style, and/or characterization. In O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi leads into six other lesser-known stories such as The Last Leaf (a metaphorical story) and The Pimienta Pancakes (a story-within-a-story). Tolstoy presents the original translations by Louise and Aylmer Maude, colleagues of the writer, slightly modified to bring them up to date and change them from English to American spelling. Selections vary in their range of difficulty and length and offer opportunity for discussion and discourse. In O. Henry the page numbers in the table of contents do not match the book's pagination and a few typos were noticed in Tolstoy. However, the layout and overall design of both books are pleasing, with lots of white space balanced by both full-page and smaller paintings surrounding the text. A glossary is provided on the page when warranted. For larger collections. Rita Soltan, Youth Services Consultant, West Bloomfield, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gr. 5-8. The latest volume in the Stories for Young People series serves up seven short stories by the celebrated American master of the form. Edited by a distinguished academic, the collection includes such well-known tales as "The Gift of the Magi," "The Last Leaf," and "Mammon and the Archer." The remaining four are lesser known, but all feature -O. -Henry's signature surprise endings. Illustrated in a style a bit reminiscent of Tomie dePaola's work, each story includes a slightly didactic introduction and definitions of potentially problematic words and phrases ("Mazuma," "Turkey Trust," "imputation of parsimony," etc.). O. Henry's comically inflated language and patronizing treatment of women are both very dated, but the stories--and their twisted endings--will still hold reader interest. The nicely designed volume will be especially useful in classroom collections. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved