It has it all: a spooky ghost story, a heartwarming redemption and a great plot with a satisfyingly ending

A story which, perhaps more than any other, sums up the spirit of the British Christmas

A little masterpiece...irresistible

Marley's ghostly face on the knocker of Scrooge's door still gives me the shivers

So what makes these different to any other set of classics? In a moment of inspiration Random House had the bright idea of actually asking Key stage 2 children what extra ingredients they could add to make children want to read. And does it work? Well, put it this way...my 13-year-old daughter announced that she had to read a book over the summer holiday and, without any prompting, spotted The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas...and proceeded to read it! Now, if you knew my 13-year-old daughter, you would realise that this is quite remarkable. She reads texts, blogs and tags by the thousand - but this is the first book she has read since going to high school, so all hail Vintage Classics!