I can’t say I was ever desperate to know what became of Lady Catherine de Bourgh . . . But, now that I have read Joan Aiken’s sequel, Lady Catherine’s Necklace, I am much more interested in what happened . . . There is a hilarious adventure awaiting Lady Catherine . . . To me, Joan Aiken seems to have captured just the right style, making this book feel almost like the real thing.

Joan Aiken takes a couple of minor characters from that book, Maria and Anne, and brings them to life in a distinct, fully-imagined world. She gives both girls a depth of character and real emotional problems to solve, and we love them for themselves.

Hilarious

Clear as crystal and genuinely funny, this story is enriched by Wilson's perceptive description of the adults in the background, battling through their holiday

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!

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!

Many years down the line, memories of those happy shared times in which lessons are disguised as pure enjoyment for both reader and listener will be recalled as golden days.