Classic Starts -- what a great start

I like the idea of my children reading classics -- great books that are too easy to ignore in the modern world.

But my enthusiasm for the exercise is often dampened by the uncomfortable truth that old-fashioned books often have old-fashioned sensibilities. The brother in "Charlotte's Web" heads off to school with a knife in his pocket. I turned at random to a page of "Around the World in 80 Days" and was treated to an account of an opium den. Yes, these could be launching pads for great conversations -- for older kids. But my children are very young and I just want a good story.

So what a treat it was to find the Classic Starts version of Robinson Crusoe. My 5-year-old and I lolled about one recent hot summer day, reading the abridged form of the novel out loud, clinging to each other in the scary parts, marveling together at the amazing moments. What a fun book! And my son didn't even question a few references that I am virtually certain were altered from the original account. Did Robinson really survive a scary moment at sea only to drown his sorrows in a glass of punch? Was the original version as vague about the barrels of "liquid" that the ship contained?

I don't want to protect my children too much from the real world. But on the other hand, I've worked hard to make sure my kids have long attention spans and bright minds -- and a modicum of innocence. It's nice to find a book that can accommodate all three traits. The Classic Starts series abridges many different classic books. We'll start on "Around the World" soon, I wonder how it will handle that opium den!