The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Gr 6 Up—The graphic novel format has been applied to these literature classics, with a result that sacrifices much of the literary integrity of the original works, while at the same time relying heavily on descriptive text in order to move the plot forward. Each book in this series begins with an introduction to the characters, and concludes with information about the source author, notable historical events from around the time of the classic's first publication, and a bibliography of the source author's works. The story is depicted through a series of paneled illustrations with accompanying text summarizing the plot. Each spread has been given a heading that relates to the main plot point therein. The images are realistic, and focus primarily on the protagonists' faces. Opportunities to depict the lush settings, such as Paris in Hunchback, or the unknown landscapes in Journey, are given over to close-ups on the characters mentioned in the accompanying text. An uninviting use of the format with limited appeal.—Matthew C. Winner, Ducketts Lane Elementary School, Elkridge, MD