RAR #183: Should We Avoid Abridged or Adapted Versions of the Classics?

Julianne (00:00): Hi, Sarah. Holly (00:01): Hi Sarah. My name is Holly. April (00:03): Hi Sarah. My name is April. Holly (00:04): I'm in Melbourne, Australia. Speaker 4 (00:07): I have a question about. Julianne (00:09): My name's Julianne, and we live in India. Speaker 4 (00:11): I am wondering- Crystal (00:12): Hi Sarah. This is Crystal from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Speaker 4 (00:15): Can you give me a suggestion for an especially fabulous book? Sarah Mackenzie (00:23): Hey, there I'm Sarah Mackenzie. This is the Read Aloud Revival. And in this short episode, I'm answering one of your questions. Lindsay (00:31): Hi Sarah. My name is Lindsay. I'm curious about your opinion on abridged or adapted books. I know sometimes the richness of the language and vocabulary is lost, but sometimes maybe for younger readers, it's a good option. Is there ever a time that is good for adapted books? I'd love to know your thoughts. Sarah Mackenzie (00:51): Lindsay, this is such a good question. And I think it's especially relevant because a lot of us may come up against this more or be considering this more abridged and adapted versions as the school year approaches. Because for a lot of kids who are reading classics for school and abridged and adapted versions can be an easier way into a classic. I really like abridged and adapted versions. And here is why. (01:19): In my experience, every time I have shared an abridged or an adapted version of a classic with my kids, it has helped them want to read the full unabridged book. I know some of the people who say no abridging, no adaptations, they need to get the original language and the original text just as the author, put them down, their concern is that your child will read the abridged version and then we'll feel like let's say they've read the abridged version of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and they will never actually read the full version of Oliver Twist and the abridged version takes out all of that rich language that is in the original Dickens. Very wordy language I might add, because this is from a different time. And Charles Dickens was paid to be wordy. (02:04): Here's the thing. In my personal experience, that's never been the case. It's always been the opposite. So if that's what we're worried about, I don't think we need to worry about it. This happened with my now 17 year old daughter, Alison, when she was a lot younger, she read an illustrated classic version of Heidi and it was heavily, heavily adapted. I mean, the language was not beautiful at all. And she adored it. She adored it so much in fact, that after she finished that abridged version, she asked me for the full version of Heidi and then she devoured that. And I am 100% sure she would not have been able to read that full unabridged version of Heidi if she hadn't already fallen in love with the story. If she hadn't already gotten familiar with the characters and know what's going to happen. (02:47): We've talked about this before on episode 141, when I was talking about rereading the importance and benefits of rereading. But the first time we read a story, our brain is always reading for plot. We want to know what happened. And quite often, the richness of the language in this story is lost on us until our brains have been satisfied with the answer to that question. What happens next? What happens? So letting your child get the plot from an abridged or adapted version, whether that's just an abridged version, like I mentioned with Heidi, or it's a graphic novel, or it's a movie so that they fall in love with the story and the characters, that can help them enjoy the full unabridged version so much more and help them get the nuances of the language and the little witty turns of phrase and things that would be lost on them if their brain was burning so much steam, just trying to figure out what's happening. Because that's really what your brain is doing, working so hard the first time you read a story. To find out what happened. (03:48): And let's talk about movies, since I brought them up just now, because this will seem scandalous to some I'm sure. But a lot of times it can be helpful to let your kids watch the movie first. Especially if we're talking about a classic. Horrors, right? I know every time I say this, somebody looks at me, a lot of people go really, I can do that? And other people look at me like, are you kidding me? But here, every time I've done this, my kids have enjoyed the story more and they've been able to get more out of the nuances of the text and that rich literary language than they would have if we hadn't watched the movie first. (04:23): Again, we're just trying to help our kids' brains answer the question that wants first, which is what happens next? So if they're watching a version of Pride and Prejudice, they now have the mental images for the characters and the plot is answered. They kind of understand it. So then if you're reading aloud, Pride and Prejudice, or you're listening to an audio book of Pride and Prejudice, or they're reading it on their own, now they can delight in the witty use of language and a lot of the deeper story elements that would really be lost on them the first time through. (04:55): And we've mentioned graphic novels before. There are some great graphic novels coming out about classics right now. This is another great way to introduce classics to your kids, is to let them read the graphic novel first and then listen to the audio book or read it aloud or read it on their own afterward. And Courtney, who's our community director here at Read Aloud Revival, she calls this scaffolding. When you're letting your child read an abridged version, or when you're letting your child read a graphic novel or watch a movie first before they get the full unabridged version, it's like we're giving them scaffolding. Something to hang onto. Right? (05:33): And so this is how we can understand the classic because we, especially with a really good book, we never want to just read it once. That's not really reading it. C.S. Lewis has some great quote about that, that I can't think of off the top of my head. About how you don't really read if you're just reading it once. So if we really want to really go into the richness of, let's go back to Oliver Twist and we decide to read an abridged version or watch the movie or see the play of Oliver Twist, and then we get to come back and read the full unabridged version. It's going to be a better richer reading. I can almost guarantee it. (06:09): So before I wrap this up, I wanted to read something posted on the RAR premium forum this last month. I'm not going to name who wrote this because I didn't get a chance to ask her permission first to show this story. But she wrote in to tell us about her twin 12 year olds. Something very similar to this question. So here's what she wrote. "We have twin 12 year olds and at Christmas, we gave them an illustrated version of The Hobbit per our recommendation list on Read Aloud Revival. At first, they didn't want to read it, but then they were bored and one of them picked it up and started reading. He couldn't put it down and then his brother read it. And then we got the audio book version as well. They couldn't get enough. (06:46): They wanted to dig deeper and read the Lord of the Rings full series, along with the audio books. And then they started reading other books by Tolkien. Not only have they fallen in love with this story, they have drawn and created multiple shirts that they wear everywhere. They've made a start stop motion movie about the fellowship. They've drawn out all the characters in their art books. They love the soundtrack even though they have not yet watched the movies. And one of my favorites is that they dress up in homemade costumes and wear them when we go for walks around the neighborhood. A few neighbors have even stopped what they were doing and asked if they were dressed as Lord of the Rings characters. Thank you Read Aloud Revival for helping make reading and the gift of story a part of our lives." (07:29): Now an illustrated version of a book is similar to an adaptation, right? Because you're offering a modern author or artist, artist in this case, their interpretation of the text. But what's happened to this family is that by introducing the book in an easier, more palatable way, it then invited them into a deeper, richer experience with the book. So this is a very long response Lindsay to say, I really support adapted and abridged versions. I also support watching movies first, helping your kids get into the story easily and then they're going to want to stay there. A really good book, they're going to want to stay there. So, yes, I think abridged and adaptations and graphic novels and movie versions are all excellent if they're helping our kids fall in love with those classics, that we really want to be a part of their childhood. (08:20): Okay. That's it for this episode, but let's hear a few recommendations from the kids about what they're loving lately. Audrey (08:36): Hi, my name is Audrey. I am eight years old and I am from North Carolina. My favorite book right now is called Zeda the Space Girl. I like it because it's very adventurous and it's funny. Vivi (08:51): Hi, my name is Vivi. I am seven years old. I live in Bellingham, Washington and my favorite book is Only one Wolf by James Harriet. I like it because a farmer has a dog who has never barked and then they go to our competition and the dog sees his friends weep and barks for the first time. Amelia (09:16): Hi, my name is Amelia and my book is Emmy and the Rats in the Bell Fry. What I like about this book is because it has an ordinary girl named Emmy, which is not that ordinary because she can talk to her rat friends and shrink and unshrink. Sarah Mackenzie (09:38): Thanks for listening. If you've got a question for an upcoming episode, leave me a [email protected]/message. Until next time, go make meaningful and lasting connections with your kids through books. (09:59): So many of us feel overwhelmed in our homeschool. There's a lot to do, and it feels like every child needs something a little different. The good news is, you are the best person on the planet to help your kids learn and grow and home is the best place to fall in love with books. I'm Sarah Mackenzie, I'm a homeschooling mother of six, the author of Teaching from Rest and The Read Aloud Family. And I'm the host here on the Read Aloud Revival podcast. (10:37): This podcast has been downloaded over 8 million times. And I think it's because so many of us want the same things. We want our kids to be readers, to love reading. We want our homes to be warm and happy havens of learning and connection. We know that raising our kids is the most important work of our lives. That's kind of overwhelming, right? You are not alone. In Read Aloud Revival premium, we offer family book clubs, a vibrant community and circle with Sarah, coaching for you, the homeschooling mom. So you can teach from rest, homeschool with confidence and raise kids who love to read. (11:27): Our family book clubs are a game changer for your kids' relationship with books. We provide you with a family book club guide and an opportunity for your kids to meet the author or illustrator live on screen. So all you have to do is get the book, read it with your kids and make those meaningful and lasting connections. They work for all ages, from your youngest kids to your teens. Every month our community also gathers online for a circle with Sarah to get ideas and encouragement around creating the homeschooling life you crave. They're the most effective way I know to teach from rest and build a homeschool life you love. (12:18): We want to help your kids fall in love with books, and we want to help you fall in love with homeschooling. Join us today at rarpremium.com.