We Sat Down in A World of Stories

We've been inspired by Vintage's Children's Classics range which launches on 2 August. With a little help from their launch list, we're creating our own world of stories this month. So welcome to our family summer holiday of reading children's classics and adventuring.

John Boyne said: "Books become classics when generation after generation can read them and experience the same emotional charge as their first readers." We're going to put this to the test by sharing a selection of titles from the new Vintage range across three generations of readers in our family.

Lucky readers, as well as M and Little M, you'll be meeting Daddy Cool, Nanny Bee and Grandad Africa for the first time! Each week, we’ll be posting reviews and discussions about our family reading adventure.

We're pretty spontaneous so things might change a bit, but here are some clues as to the titles and activities you can expect to see popping up on the blog throughout August: there's a visit to a certain war museum, we may take a continental train ride, put a boat on a lake and run naked in wellies (I bet we don't do that last one!). We might be chased by wolves, disappear down a hole or even read a book.

There's also a book giveaway for one lucky reader.  So read on!

Things we're loving about the new Vintage editions:

• We're all reading some books we never thought we would read
• Some of the covers are really eye-catching
• The font size is much larger than our old classics (this does make some of the books thick - but they're not as long as they look)
• The Backstory sections: these include lots of different extra bits like info on the author, quizzes (and answers) about the book, and themed activities
• The book covers have a suggested age ranging from 8+ to 12+
• The texts are original and unabridged.

The launch list includes 20 titles:
1. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
2. Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
3. The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
4. Five Children and It - E Nesbit
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
6. I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith
7. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
8. The Railway Children - E Nesbit
9. Peter Pan - JM Barrie
10. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
11. Treasure Island - RL Stevenson
12. What Katy Did - Susan Coolidge
13. The Wind In the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
14. The Silver Sword - Ian Serraillier
15. The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
16. Emil and the Detectives - Erich Kastner
17. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
18. Swallowdale - Arthur Ransome
19. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken
20. The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

Heigh-ho and off we go. We hope you’ll join us on the ride.

Children's Classics Book Giveaway!!!
(This competition is closed. The winner is Alice from booky group.)

To help you enjoy the ride, we’re holding a giveaway.  Vintage Children’s Classics are offering one lovely reader a choice of titles from their brand new Children’s Classics range.

All you have to do is leave a comment indicating your choice of title on this post by 12pm on 3rd September 2012. Please indicate how we can contact you if you win. 

The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on Tuesday 4th September 2012.

This giveaway is UK only and is open to readers aged 13 or older.  If you are younger than 13, please get your parent’s permission or ask them to enter for you.

Here is a lovely animation showing you the range: