As a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, and a fan of retellings of these stories, I was excited to get to grips with this book aimed at children. I enjoyed the way the story was told and the way that the complex plot had been simplified to be accessible to the younger audience.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for a free copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. I was intrigued by this title because I have always enjoyed Sherlock Holmes stories, and wondered how this would be presented for a Middle Grades reader. I was most pleasantly surprised. The editing required to make this a Children's Collection was well done with all the major points of Sherlock and Watson and their first adventure all being very well presented to readers who are not aware of these stories. I found the book easy to read, and proper for the age level that it was intended and on the whole I am hoping in the future that there will be more of these books because they are great reads for middle school children who can develop a lifetime of love for Sherlock Holmes and his successors! Two drawbacks. First, it would have been better to have had a few chapter divisions in the book as there are none and it would help a reader to have chapters. Second, while the drawings are good and do help visualize things, they are rather flat. But other than that this was a really Top Notch effort!!

My Thoughts
This book is described as part of a “fun series” that “adapts the classic mysteries of Holmes & Watson for young readers, and makes the perfect introduction to whodunit fun for ages 7 and up.” Here are my pros and cons for A Study in Scarlet:

Pros
1. This is a definitely a sanitized, PC adaption of the original book. It focuses almost entirely on Sherlock’s problem-solving and observational skills. This book is a great introduction to the genius of Holmes and any kid that likes detective stories or whodunits will probably enjoy it.
2. There are illustrations throughout the book (by Arianna Bellucci) that are creative and appropriate for the targeted age group.
3. There are definitions/descriptions throughout the book that are provided for words that may not be familiar to younger readers (e.g., hansom cab, telegraphy).

Cons
1. If you are familiar with the Jefferson Hope story in the original version, you will find that it is almost completely removed from this children’s version. There is no mention of the Mormons (only mentioned as a “religious group”), no mention of Native Americans (referenced as Indians in the original story), and no mention of polygamy. To me, these omissions made the motive for the murder in the kid’s version appear a bit weak… but kids won’t even notice it.
2. Maybe it is just me, and granted it has been a long time since I was this age, but doesn’t 7 seem a bit young for a book about revenge murders? Especially when, due to the circumstances and the motive, the reader somewhat sides with the murderer?

Summary
I love the Holmes books and stories. I have read every single one of them. Some of the stories are phenomenal and others are just okay. I definitely think everyone should read the Holmes stories at some point in their lives.

While this children’s version does appear to remove some of the more controversial parts of the story, it still leaves Holmes’ genius and Watson’s wonder and appreciation of Holmes’ talent. Middle grade readers likely won’t know what parts of the stories are missing, and I think they will enjoy the investigation aspect of the stories very much.

Thank you NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is great for children and middle grade readers. Get your child hooked on reading with one of the classics and one of the best Sherlock Holmes stories. This book is a great way to introduce this mystery wonder to children 7 and older. It is the story for Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes of the case of a death they must solve in an empty house. It is a story of revenge, but there is more to it. This is the one that started it all and this edition provides nice illustrations. Even if you have read this story many, many times or watched the movies or TV shows reading this would be a treat. It may not be non stop action, but it is a true delight to read and classic Sherlock. Some younger readers might struggle, but overall it is a great read for children as an introduction to this detective.

Absolutely loved everything about this book. I hope this book allows young readers to love mysteries!! I wish this was around when I was young!

An excellent adaptation for younger readers, the writing honors the original style and includes pop-out definitions of a few words kids may not understand. The sketches throughout also add a bit of whimsy. I enjoyed reading the story again in this version.

Sherlock Holmes has survived tides of time and technology.
With very simple logic and without any fancy gadgets he deciphers difficult crime cases.
Story is told from kids perspective and told by a retired army personnel point of view.
A man is killed with no wound and a message written on wall with blood.
Police is perturbed.
They summon Holmes who with his observation, wit and logic connect the links to reach the killer.
And when killer is found he has a peculiar story to tell which explores morality of his act to kill two demons.
Story is simple and engaging.
Artwork is in form of black and white illustrations.
Holmes is showed as a slim Young man.
A very good book for a kid to explore use of logic to solve problems.
I could not find any reason to not recommend it to every reader young or old.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.

I read this book in one day. I found the similarity between the original and this children's collection to be wonderful! I loved how when something came up there was an explanation and how they went about was lovely as well. I enjoyed the illustrations. The humor was enough to keep my attention and I think it will be a wonderful addition to any children's collection, young or old.

I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes and have read this story before, I think around seven years ago. It was fun to return to again!

In this story, you get a glimpse of Sherlock through the eyes of Watson. This first mystery in all of Sherlock’s world isn’t action packed, but it captures the detective we know and love, and leaves you wanting the next mystery in the series.

While not as lively as other Sherlock stories, it’s a good way to jump into the series without something long and harder to follow.

I’d recommend new Sherlock fans start here but stay open minded and make sure to read others that are more fun as well. And to not judge The Great Detective solely on this story, because he and Watson go on loads of fun adventures!

The illustrations are really cute, and I can’t think of a better way to introduce kids to Sherlock Holmes. I enjoyed the heck out of this, and I highly recommend it to teachers, parents, and of course my fellow Sherlockians for whom there can never be too much of a good Holmes thing. I got a review copy from Netgalley, but my review is sincere, and as a teacher who just introduced my students to Sherlock with great success, I highly recommend this version for younger readers!

A nice modern version of a classic. We read this as a read aloud and enjoyed it immensely. I find it hard sometimes to get my children to agree to some of the classics but this one has such a fun new cover and appearance that they didn’t even realize it was one! Win for mom!

A fabulous adaptation of Sherlock Holmes written in language that is accessible to children without over-simplifying. Where alternative words were not appropriate, text boxes have been included inline to provide a definition and background; this does not feel intrusive and the amount of detail goes above and beyond what is necessary to convey meaning which I am sure will appeal to many younger readers.

There are a few illustrations, these help to break up the text as there are no chapter markers but otherwise neither add nor detract.

This is a great book to introduce Holmes and, whilst targeted at children, is almost a great read for adults who want to dip their toe into the lore.

This edition of A Study in Scarlet is a fantastically accessible introduction to one of the UK's greatest classic writers, and one of his best works, for children.

It is packed with fun illustrations, which not only make it beautiful to own but help young readers understand the story. The plot has been slightly abridged, adapting the confusing second part to make it easier for a child to follow the text. It also has wonderful break out boxes with explanations for difficult or dated terms, to help give children explanations and context.

For any child, this would be a wonderful way to get started on classic literature and enter the world of Sherlock Holmes.

Thank you NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the ebook provided.

I like this book, I can have a clear picture on how Sherlock and Watson met for the first time, and how intelligent, smart but also has some kind of unusual habits Sherlock had according to Watson, love when Watson makes notes about Sherlock.

Interesting illustration in each pages, helpful to build the imagination of young readers to understand what are they working in their first case. Like the small note whenever there is a “unfamiliar word” and it need more explanation The language (i.e telegraphy), I trully honored for English-British language, but maybe will be difficult for some readers who rarely using it as daily basis. To me, I loved it very much.
One thing that I don’t like, there is no chapter, so it’s like an endless story, without letting the readers take a break for a moment, only for imagining the story that they’re read.

All in all, this is a good book for young readers, good introduction about Sherlock Holmes and John Watson characters for whose still unfamiliar with.

Holmes and Sherlock help the police in a baffling murder. Adapted and written for the young reader it has a glossary and illustrations. Modified for ages 7 and older it's a great introduction to Doyle and his writings. It still is true to the story and should engage the reader. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I love Sherlock Holmes stories! A Study in Scarlet is the first story about Sherlock Holmes. It is a great introduciton to the character.

This is a simplified version of the story for young readers. There were definitions of some words that kids may not have encountered before, which is a great way to help them understand the story. The story was also shorter than the original, with lots of illustrations for easier understanding.

This is a great Sherlock Holmes story for young readers!

Thank you Sweet Cherry Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this introduction to Sherlock Holmes for children. I found though that I would probably have to read with a child unless they were a fairly advanced reader as I felt that the language might be a bit difficult for children at the lower end of the recommended age range to understand (words like erratic, temperament, sallow, melancholy, etc.). Each page had at least one word that my ten year old students would struggle with, and might cause this book to be too frustrating for them to read. The book does include text boxes giving definitions of some of the most difficult words (hemoglobin, Hansom cab, etc.).

Despite the challenging vocabulary, The Sherlock Holmes Children's Collection offers a great introduction to the beloved characters of Sherlock and Watson and to the thrilling plotlines found in the original stories. Overall, I will recommend these books to advanced readers who are interested in a challenging but exciting mystery.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

#netgalley #astudyinscarlett

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Copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

I need to honest here... I have never read the original 🙈 I have, however seen the BBC version of Sherlock more times than I care to admit. (Johnlock forever!)

This version of the story, which I assume is the original, with pictures and explanations for kids is a quick easy read. I mean what kind of review can you leave about a classic? It's clever and sets up a great series.

The illustrations are really cute and help the story be accessible to young readers. I am proud to say I didn't need the explanations, but they were simply stated with humor.

If you have a little sleuth, this would be a fun series for someone 7-11 or so, depending on maturity.

As a HUGE fan of Sherlock Holmes (I mean I own all of the books about him!) it was so nice to find a this story that was simplified for the little ones! It was easy for her to read and enjoy and I think these books will go perfectly along with Nancy Drew ! ^_^

This book is certain to attract new, young readers to the works of Arthur Conan Doyle. It is a highly engaging, somewhat simplified but not too much so, retelling of this Sherlock Holmes tale. I very much enjoyed reading the story in this version. In addition to the text, there are appealing, cartoon like illustrations, boxes that describe terms that children may not know and fun extras like a list that Dr. Watson wrote or a copy of a telegram. So, get a child you know this book and a magnifying glass. They will soon be trying to solve the case.

Many thanks to to publisher and NetGalley for this title in exchange for an honest review.