I absolutely love this book. I love that there are young adults introduction to classics. It is my most favorite. I will read the original classic after reading this one.
#kidsTolstoy #NetGalley

4.5/5

What a sweet and helpful little book.

For someone like me who’s not ready to jump into a Tolstoy and would like to know the basis of the story before watching the film, this was perfect.

The illustrations were beautiful and cute. The detail in the story was just enough to let me know what happened while also keeping me interested to learn more in depth details if I wish.

I really like that this book is accessible to any reader, young and old.
I hope it sparks an interest in Anna Karenina and other Tolstoy books for other readers as it did me. I’m also interested to read more Easy-Read titles as they’re nice and short, but also endearing and informative.

Anna Karenina (Easy Classics) is an adapted and illustrated edition of the Russian classic written by Leo Tolstoy. This book is part of the Easy Classics Epic Collection.

Set in 1874, the story revolves around the Kareninas, Vronskys and Oblonskys – three important and respectable families of Russia.

Anna seems to be living a happy life with her much older husband and son in St. Petersburg. But deep inside, she is terribly unhappy. She misses the lively city of Moscow, in which she grew up. The story is about how a chance encounter with a young officer Count Vronsky changes her life.

Since it’s a retelling of a classic, we should not be judging the theme, premise and the character portrayal.

The illustrations by Helen Panayi are bright and cheery. Also, the font size makes it an easy read.

Though this picture book is meant for all ages, I feel it’s not appropriate for younger readers. Adultery and suicide, being few of the key themes, do not make this a child-friendly book. Also, the way relationships are handled in this classic do not send out a positive message about family and love.

Matured readers may appreciate the adaptation, for it’s an easier way of reading the classic (the original is about 900 pages long!) Readers who are interested in reading classics, but are unnerved by their large number of pages might find this a good way to start. In that sense, the adaptation serves its purpose.

Tolstoy’s original is considered as the greatest work of literature ever written. If you are wondering whether the adaptation, bring the original to life? Well, it’s a big no – for it lacks the essence and the magic.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Anna Karenina lives a comfortable life with her husband Alexis Karenina and their son. But her older husband bores her, and she doesn't feel much attracted to him. She misses her life in the city and her friends, while she is stuck here with Alexis and entertaining 'his dusty old friends and their boring wives'. And when this very hot young man starts pursuing her, she can't help but get carried away.

This book Anna Karenina is the one originally written by Leo Tolstoy and adapted by Gemma Barder and Illustrated by Helen Panayi. It is a short, easy to read story adapted from the original book for young audience.

The language is, as stated, easy to read and understand. It is perfect for the non-native English speakers like me who want to read classics but the language is hard to understand.

Given this, this book's blurb states that is 'easy-to-read level for all ages' but I don't think I am going to introduce this book to young kids. However easy-to-read this is, this book deals with themes like adultery and suicide. It doesn't matter how much this book has tried to tone this down for it to be suitable to kids, it can't be appropriate for them to read for kids unless the original story is substantially altered.

However, I liked this book. I don't like the characters in it, but I like the book. I would recommend it to people who want to read classics but find the language hard.

Thank you Netgalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for providing the ARC of this book .

Rating; 4/5 stars.

“Anna Karenina” adapted by Gemma Barder, with illustrations by Helen Panayi, is an adaptation of the classic tale by Leo Tolstoy for young readers, as part of the Easy Classics series. This is a faithful yet simple adaptation and is very well suited for children in the middle grades and up to enjoy. The cast of characters is narrowed down a bit to focus on the main personages, so that the story is not too overwhelming or hard to understand. In this way, the plot narrows in on the main relationships. I just wish that the climax had not been glossed over so quickly. I understand that it is tough to find a way to treat such sensitive subject matter, especially in an adaptation suited for children, but the climax of the novel is pretty much obliterated and ignored, and jumps to an epilogue to try to wrap the story up. With that in mind, this adaptation is still very well done, and I highly recommend it to young readers so that they are able to experience the story of “Anna Karenina” in a more easy-to-read format.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book on NetGalley and have provided an honest review.*

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Russian classics because they are pure literature. I've loved Anna Karenina the original book and finding this version I was interested and curious to see how the author was going to adapt it for KIDS because if you've read the real version by Tolstoy, you know that the themes in the book are not for very young readers whatever the number of illustrations you might put in it such as adultery, an ugly divorce, suicide and some other difficult subjects.

After reading this book, I would say it was really nice and well adapted but I still think that this story is not the right one to give to a child in order to read. Sorry but for me it's not suitable.

Easy and fast to read, and I really applaud the attempt at getting Russian literature, and classics in general, into children's hands. However, I just wonder about how children will handle such an intense story with very mature topics, even watered down into this easy classics fashion.

Thank you Netgalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I give it in exchange for an honest review.

Question: Who is the target audience for this book? Somewhere, in the universe, is there a mother who is thinking, "Man. I loved Anna Karenina. You know who I want to share this with? My second grader." I highly doubt it.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story of Anna Karenina, there are so many layers of conflict and inner turmoil that the title character deals with, and all of that is lost in this version. And aren't her emotions one of the main reasons for reading it? Also, the content of the story itself isn't something I would feel would be something worth broaching in a classroom. There's an affair, a marriage dissolving into bitterness and anger, and suicide. The target audience for this series is maybe age 10? I don't think infidelity and suicide are topics that kids are really searching for in their next read.

As a teacher, I wouldn't reach for this to become part of my curriculum. The pairing of such an intense story and the childish language is just so bizarre to me.

I had zero intentions to read the original Anna karenina. After dealing with 1000 pages of war and peace, I could not go through with it. But then I stumbled upon this and was super excited to be able to read it.

This was honestly really nice. It was dumbed down enough for me to understand and had illustrations which is always nice. I did not expect much, since it was almost written in a middle grade style, but no middle grade child should read this. It deals with some heavy topics I dont think they should meet this early, but its perfect for people who suck at understanding classics or just dont have the attention span for it (120 pages? This is basically a spark notes book with only the important stuff). While it claims to be suitable for all ages, I defitnely would not give this to 7 year olds.

But now I feel inclined to read the original, so maybe ill go do that now….

Anna Karenina is very unhappy in her life. She is married to someone who is much older than her and doesn't share the same interests. She feels very alone except for her son. When she meets the handsome Vronsky she begins an affair that will change the course of her whole life.

I will probably never attempt to read the actual novel so this was the perfect way to enjoy a classic. I can't say I love everything about the plot...Anna seems kind of dopey to me, but this retelling was very easy to read and the illustrations were cute.

I was provided this book to read in exchange for an honest opinion. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

#kidsTolstoy #net galley #sweet cherry publishing

Liked it. It was super easy to read and fast too. The grammar is very suitable for kids and the story was fascinating. I didn't know what to think of it in regards to children though.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve always wanted to read Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and I was extremely excited to find an easy-to-read and illustrated version. Some classics are really hard to read for me and seeing the length of the original version has always scared me off.

While I enjoyed the story and I found the adaptation well done, I have to say that this, in no way, is suitable for children. I feel like the target audience should be people that would like to read classics but have a hard time to do so, like me. It’s also suitable for people who are learning English.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for this accessible version of a much loved classic. I've promised myself time and time again that I will read Anna Karenina but have been put off by its length. Although this version is intended for children, I have to say that as an adult I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely look out for other Sweet Cherry Classics.

I have one word for this story: SCANDALOUS.

Everyone thinks that Anna Karenina has the perfect life. She was beautiful, young, rich, and belongs to a known family. In reality, Anna finds her life dull and boring even having a beautiful child and a respected husband. She is missing her younger days when she lived in the city. Anna went to Moscow, in an attempt to help her brother and her sister-in-law repair their relationship. There, she meets Count Vronsky, and her life turned upside down.

Okay, who is reading a classic and actually enjoying it? ME. ME. ME. Who’s getting the time of her life breezing through this classic while still understanding the basic essence of the story in a short amount of time? Can I get a woot woot? ME: WOOT-WOOT!

I have always meant to read this classic, however, whenever I saw the book’s thickness and small fonts, I find myself looking at another book. But here I am! I did not want to read a shortened version of this classic in some summary I found on the web. It was such a joy when I found this easy-to-read version that had pictures on it! I never clicked faster in my life.

I wish more books like this would come out, I'd definitely check out the other ones that were already published.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The things that I like:

☽ The story in itself feels real. This kind of situation that Anna is in still happens to this day. Nobody can tell me that this does not happen in real life and present time. It deserves to be a classic as it is truly timeless. What happened to this characters in the end were justifiable and fitting to close the story.

☽ The characters were fully-realized. They were very conscious of every move they made. They had emotions. They felt real.


Comments about the adaptation:

☽ It served its purpose. It relayed the story in a shorter and more concise way. I got the whole story, not just simply the gist of it which I could easily get in Wikipedia. It is accurate as well.

☽ It made me excited to read other classics. If you are like me who is trying to check out all the to-read classics but is having a hard time with the ones with longer volumes, then I suggest that you pick up this book and the other ones in this collection. I think it's a great way to summarize without being too textbook like and still have that essence of having a story in your hands. With the use of this, I gained another level of adoration for classics.

The things that I DID NOT like

☾ The missing emphasis. What I think was missing that the others were looking for was the emphasis for the message of the book. Anna struggled and Kitty got her happy ending. All of that complex emotion and thought process. But I would not blame the book because in the first place this was meant to be for all ages, which include children.

☾ Appropriation. It has pictures. It has a good story. But I do not think that the story is really applicable for children because of the sensitive topics about relationship and family. I think adults would better appreciate this piece of work. It would be great for this story to not be advertised for all ages.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

In sum: I think the original story and this adaptation is great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I could not stop reading it. I gained a new perspective of Classic works. Now I know where to go if I'm struggling to get through a Classic. I could definitely say that I know what happened in Anna Karenina without having to read almost a thousand pages.

I recommend this to people who are trying to get into Classics, to people who have tried Classics but haven’t found joy and fun in it, and to people who would like to know Classics story but gets daunted by the length and the language. This is great stepping stone and a summary guide.

DO NOT READ THIS IF you are going to complain about the certain missing themes and highlights on the story. This is an EASY-TO-READ level of the original.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Anna Karenina is a Leo Tolstoy classic that probably everybody has heard of, but a few like me, know that they wouldn't pick up the book. So, when I saw the illustrated adaptation, I had to go for it. I enjoyed the illustrations, thanks to Helen Panayi. It's an easy and quick read. I finished it in less than an hour. Like other reviewers have mentioned, the story deals with some heavy themes such as adultery and divorce. In today's age when kids are too involved in gadgets, I applaud Gemma Barder for introducing classics to them. However, keeping in mind of the themes, I personally feel that it's inappropriate and would certainly feel uncomfortable to let my children read it. As for the adults who haven't got the chance to read the original, go for this adaptation. You won't be disappointed!

I am not intending to read the actual work by Leo Tolstoy. This is why I decided to read this abridged novel.
Over all, I enjoyed this adaptation as a quick easy read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the copy.

Anna Karenina is young and beautiful. She is married to Alexis Karenina who is a lot older than her. She has always felt unhappy and miserable in her marriage, until the reason to assure that feeling was standing before her in the train station named Count Vronsky. A handsome young officer who also felt the same "lust at first sight" if you may.. Forgetting that she is married with a child, Anna decides to fall in love with the Count and meet him secretly; thinking that no one knows. But everybody knows...
Alexis gives her two choices, either she cut ties with Count Vronsky, or she is to never see her son ever again.

The story makes you think about things like:
What is wrong with settling in?
What is wrong with actually going through a divorce despite what society thinks of you?
Why is it not ok to have a simple life?
Do we really have to fulfill all of our desires?

and much more....

it feels weird to have this story targeted for younger generation. I mean topics like (Adultery, divorce, lust, cheating..... and much more) In my opinion aren't suitable to children or the younger generations.

I loved this adaptation and illustration. Maybe it was set for small kids, but I really enjoyed it as an adult. I have always wanted to read Anna Karenina but was so afraid to commit to it due to its length. I am so happy I read this adaptation.

Thanks to Net-Galley for providing me with an e-arc in exchangeto an honest review.
Anna Karenina appears to have the perfect life. Young and beautiful, she lives in a fashionable house in Moscow with her respected husband and their young son. But Anna is deeply unhappy. Her older husband bores her, and she misses the lively city she grew up in. Then Count Vronsky, a dashing young officer, invites her to dance at a ball.

Will Anna protect the comfortable life she has, or risk it all for forbidden love?
I liked this illustrated version of Anna Karenina, and I think it's a great alternative to bring the little ones closer to literature.
Personally it made me want to read the original, although after my reading of war and peace last year I had decided not to try my hand at other Tolstoy readings for a while.
#kidsTolstoy #NetGalley

I think the idea of turning classics into kid's books is an interesting concept and can work really well, but I don't think this one was for me. The drawings are very cute and I'm sure others will love this, but I think in this instance I find it's a tale with so much detail that it didn't work for me without that detail.

3/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for providing this e-arc!

I'm somewhat older in terms of the marketed audience this book is meant for but nonetheless i enjoyed this and can recommend tho but upon reflection this wan't the best summary and perhaps not the best if the child intends to reread the unabridged chunk of a novel