A Study in Scarlet (The Sherlock Holmes Children's Collection)

A Study in Scarlet is the first novel in the series starring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. A classic well known to which in this new edition has been added the illustrations created by Arianna Bellucci, that give the book a more modern and contemporary carácter.

And though I don’t usually re-read books, this beautiful new cover caught my attention. In addition, the fact that it had new illustrations convinced me.

Sherlock Holmes and his inseparable Watson are two characters worthy of admiration. So different, but at the same time they complement each other so well. Holmes so stoic always, investigating things that at first sight are not very useful. Thorough in his work and with a very large deduction capacity.

On the contrary Watson, is a man who cares nothing. Physician, retired earlier battered from the war. He’s a man of few words, observant and very quiet. He likes his space and planned things, He’s not improvising on the fly as Holmes. 

Both make the perfect pair of amateur researchers, which are ultimately more useful than qualified researchers. They complement each other very well despite their differences. 

It’s been so long since I first read A Study in Scarlet, that I barely remembered a few details so I’ve enjoyed it much more. I think it’s a story that holds up very well and can continue to be enjoyed by all types of audience, although it’s specially created for children. It’s very worthwhile.

A terrific way to introduce young children to one of the most famous detectives ever – Sherlock Holmes.

Thoughts:
To be perfectly honest I have read several or many Sherlock Holmes books, but I don’t generally remember all the titles. There are some titles that get stuck in my memory perhaps due to a show or movie where they are referenced, or if it was required reading in high school, such as The Hound of the Baskervilles was. So, when I selected A Study in Scarlet from Netgalley it wasn’t until I started reading the first chapter that I realized I have read this before – more than once. That’s when I truly looked at what I had selected. I initially had thought it was a new detective story aimed for kids with Sherlock Holmes featured. However, what I found was that it is the actual story, adapted for a younger audience and with lots of illustrations that provided additional information along with humor. 

To help bring Sherlock Holmes to life, this book is filled with illustrations. In fact, almost every page has something on it – some are small pictures of a pocket watch or revolver. Some illustrations show what the character is doing. For example, there is an illustration of Sherlock lounging very melodramatically on a sofa in his bathrobe after Watson describes how Holmes spends his time some days.

In addition, sometimes there are notes provided to help with difficult words or ideas, such as when Holmes reads a telegraph message that had been sent. There is an illustration of the telegraph and what it includes, but it also goes a little further and provides in a type of call-out box what telegraphy is, since most kids probably aren’t yet familiar with it.

A Study in Scarlet is one of 10 books in the Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection box set. In addition, the box set also includes a read-along audio book for each story. On Sweet Cherry Publishing’s Instagram account (@sweetcherrypublishing) they have a post with an audio example from The Reigate Squires book. I had a chance to listen to a little of it on Instagram and enjoyed the voice actor’s version very much.

Some of the stories included in the box set are The Sign of the Four, The Red-Headed League, The Blue Carbuncle, The Speckled Band, The Sussex Vampire and others. 

I recommend this to all young budding sleuths and detectives as a way to learn about an important literary character along with some historical information. 

Rating: 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the reader’s copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.