* I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. *

There are retellings written for children that in their overall appearance and style preserve the essence of the original story: even though the narration is less complex and certain elements have to be omitted, the general atmosphere remains the same. Sadly, this Pride and Prejudice adaptation for children does not radiate the typical Jane Austen charm.

What I find unpleasant in the style is the lack of consistency: the language of course has to be somewhat simplified to be understandable for children but into that simplified context the author randomly inserts here and there a well-known phrase from the original work. Although it may be nice for the young Janeites to encounter these sentences again when they are older, this jigsaw puzzle of simplified and original text breaks the flow of the reading. As due to the limited length of children’s books, the plot already had to be shortened and scenes had to be cut, having even more breaks in the story because of the changes in tone is not a very good idea.

The other issue with adapting Jane Austen stories is the fact that the abridged and rewritten versions often only focus on the romantic aspect of the novel, and they totally miss the subtle wit and social criticism that makes Austen’s works so great.

I am also not particularly fond of the illustrations but that is perhaps logical as I am not a fan of the 2005 film adaptation and the illustrator clearly used that film as a starting point and inspiration for the appearance of the characters.

I am not a fan of classics. I tried to read the original but didn't feel like reading after 3 chapter. I managed to read this book but I am disappointed.

1. I don't know how this story, that's just about getting married/eloping to get married/giving money so that one agrees to marry a girl is suitable for children?

2. There's no storytelling that might grab a child's interest, if he/she happen to read it.

3. Also, for a childrens' book, the illustrations are so boring.

Thanks NetGally for the opportunity to review this book.

This is a shortened version of Pride And Prejudice, appropriate for children who enjoy early chapter books.

Stars: I liked the illustrations, which would appeal to younger readers, and it was written in simple language.

Wishes: I would have liked a glossary or some historical information provided to give context to this book. I am not sure who the intended audience is for this book.

This was an interesting take on the classic story by Jane Austen. I believe it was simplified for the sake of children readers but I still think it might be a little difficult for children under about 10 years or so to understand. I found I had to re-read a number of pages in order to fully understand the different characters. I liked the pacing and I think it would have been a hard task to shorten such a novel into only 35 pages. I feel like a slightly negative consequence of this is the fact that things seem to happen very quickly and it gives the book a feeling of abruptness or jolting because feelings between characters chop and change quite suddenly. Overall, I think it was quite well done and I think it would definitely help children and also high school students studying the novels to better understand them, and much faster also. The illustrations are also quite fun too.

This book was quite a treat that took me over from the beginning, from the very first drawing, where Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were speaking about the impending arrival of Mr. Bingley.
It was a very good adaptation: Gemma Barder succeeded in not leaving out not even one of the principal events of P&P, and the drawings are delightful.
Oh, how I wish they translated it into Italian for our children!

My review on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3332044260

A review in Italian on my blog:
https://ildiariodellelizzies.blogspot.com/2020/05/pride-and-prejudice-jane-austen.html

This is the second Jane Austen book published by Sweet Cherry I am reading and reviewing however the previous was the completed version of Norhanger Abbey whereas this is an abridged, summarized and simplified version of Pride and Prejudice for children, my favorite Austen novel.
I deeply appreciate the idea behind this book: Getting your children acquainted with one of the most brilliant authors of all times and create appreciation for classics without scaring them off with heavy-duty linguistic work and this publishing house creates wonders with this purpose.
I cannot imagine a child reading the beautiful story of Jane Austen at a young age and would not fall in love with literature. This is a great start for kids, an elegantly simplified and trimmed classic literature decorated with beautiful illustrations.
A great must-have on your child’s library and an amazing gift for young readers.

I loved this gorgeous children’s version of Pride and Prejudice. As one of my personal favourite books, I was excited to see this version and quickly decided I had to read it! Looking back to when I read the original for the first time I think I was probably a little bit too young to really understand and appreciate it and I wish I had had this book then as it would have been absolutely perfect. This book summarises the originally story so it’s not too long for children, as well as using easy to understand language and beautiful illustrations. I would definitely recommend this book for children in the ‘middle grade’ age range. I would enjoy reading other classics turned children’s books in this style.

As a huge fan of Pride And Prejudice, i found this book faithful to the original story and a delightful read.
In my opinion this can be such a precious adaptation to introduce Jane Austen and her universally acknowledged book to children.
The illustration was good, but i would've liked to see more elaborate and maybe colored pictures. I suppose kids would like them better too.
Overall it was a nice adaptation and i still enjoyed it, even tho i knew the story by heart ; )

I think this was such a great middle grade/children's adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I love how it was shorten for young readers to get an idea of what the story of Pride and Prejudice is about. I also love the little illustrations to the story. I think this is a great idea to do Jane Austen Children's Stories and can not wait to read more adaptations in the future..

I enjoyed this book and thought it was a very well done children's version of Pride and Prejudice. I liked that the book included illustrations but wished they were a little more realistic and less comic-like. Overall I thought this was great and I would love to share it with my daughter.

This book was well adapted for younger children. It touched on the basics of the book without making it complicated. I would definitely share this book with my students as it would give them an introduction to a very good classic book.

First sentence: Mrs Bennet was in a very good mood. She had just discovered that a rich man called Mr Bingley had rented the largest house in her neighbourhood. ‘Why should that be such good news for us?’ asked Mr Bennet. He was trying to read his newspaper and growing tired of his wife’s excitement.

Premise/plot: Who needs a plot summary of Pride and Prejudice?! No one really. For those that have seen the movie or read the book, it would be irrelevant. For those who haven't--why give any of the good bits away?! But I will say a few words about this SPECIAL adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Gemma Barder has written a chapter book adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice. This chapter book even features illustrations. There are about fifteen chapters or so. This chapter book is no more condensed than most screen adaptations--in terms of plot. I would say it's more faithful than some adaptations. (I'm thinking in particular of the black and white adaptation which is a MESS if strictly considered in terms of faithfulness to the actual book.)

My thoughts: I definitely enjoyed this delightful book. It is an adaptation. Not all the words are Austen's original text. But some of the best bits--the most quotable bits--are very much present in this one. (For example, " ‘It is no good,’ Mr Darcy said at last. ‘My feelings cannot be denied. You must allow me to tell you how deeply I admire and love you.’ " and "My feelings and wishes are unchanged. However one word from you will silence me forever.’ ‘Oh, my feelings are very much changed,’ said Lizzy, laughing. ‘I believe they are the exact opposite to what they were.’ "

I loved it. I did. I think it's probably written for Austen devotees to share with their young daughters, nieces, granddaughters, etc. I'm not sure if children would choose to read this one on their own if Austen wasn't present in their homes in some way. Then again, maybe they would. Every child is different. And this sweet romance might prove satisfying for any age.

I've never read Pride and Prejudice, so I find it pretty interesting that I've read this version first. I think that this is a book that I could suggest to students without overwhelming them. This book has a reputation and is known for being a classic, so I went into reading it with some skepticism. To my delight, I enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading the (non-adapted/shortened) version.

Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors of all times, but as a lover of anything historical and Victorian, you cannot miss Pride and Prejudice. "Oh Mr Darcy!"

It’s fantastic to find such a simplified (in a good way) version of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Gemma Barder has taken all the key points in the story and made it suitable to a younger audience.

You still feel the pride and conceit from the two main characters but it doesn’t bog down the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sweet Cherry publishing for allowing me access to an ARC of this story for me to review if I pleased.

Jane Austen is one of my favorite writers of all time. I liked how the author condensed the book into easy to understand words. There were a number of key lines from the original book that were used in this adaptation that I enjoyed reading. I was not a fan of the story progression. It felt a little rushed especially the part when Lizzy goes to visit Charlotte and when she travels with her aunt in uncle. Those two parts do not explain in enough detail how she got from point a to point b. But overall I think it’s a good introduction to the story and the main characters. . I did enjoy the pictures, there could have been more to help the story become more accessible to struggling readers.

A wonderful story of love and being true to who you are. This is great for young reader starting the classics. It's easy to read and understand!

I could see this book used as an introduction to teach Pride and Prejudice in a classroom. It would make it more accessible and helpful to struggling readers. It could also be used to bring Pride and Prejudice to a new generation, since it is the precursor to many of today’s romance novels and modernized versions.

I realize this is a galley proof, but there were many errors in this ARC. Aer (after?, le (left?) and oen (often?) that I am sure will be corrected.

From my 9 year old daughter: I liked the sisters and I liked how the sisters really cared for each other. I also liked the scene with the ball.

Thank you NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the ARC.

3.5 stars but I'll round up to 4 because I love Pride and Prejudice.
This is a decent shortening of the original story into a children's book form! I think at some points it was very much "this happened, then this happened, then this happened" instead of describing more details. That's most likely due to the constraints of putting such a detailed book into a format for children. My one major complaint is that I think a younger audience would get very confused at all of the names in the book, I'm not sure how that could be worked around but there are way too many characters for such a short story it's easy to get lost on who's who.

Pride and Prejudice is the only Jane Austen book I've actually read, and I really enjoy the original. When I saw this would be adapted for Children I was excited to see how it would be done. I liked the pictures very much, and the chapter length was good. I only wish that more was added or adjusted to be more suitable for children.