The Last of the Mohicans

Gr 4-6 Two more entries in Barron's series, not to be confused with Eureka's series of the same name. The stories are encapsulated in two-page units of plot and circumstance for easy consumption. Captions explain the events, pictures help to differentiate among the characters, and the volumes are rife with footnotes and explication at the bottom of every page. Breaking the story down into bite-size chunks helps with vocabulary and comprehension, but can wreak havoc with the pacing. Readers are apt to find "Merchant"overlong, with the narrowly focused chapters giving some of Shakespeare's short, establishing scenes an accidental or unfortunate weight. However, Macdonald strives to maintain as much of the Bard's original language as possible. This effort to represent the original material may be hard going for readers, but it provides an authentic experience that the much looser adaptation of "Mohicans"can't match. "Merchant's"artwork focuses on heads and faces, giving each character an opportunity to act out the dialogue, and works quite well, both narratively and educationally.-"Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.