Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth

We finished! It has taken us a couple of months and lots of detour reading along the way, but it has been a fun adventure. This book surely has a high lexile rating, but I never mind reading books whose vocabulary exceeds the "just right" levels of the listeners (such as 4 and 6 year olds!) because they get a taste of prose and style and enjoy the adventure without understanding everything. The bonus is that they can enjoy re-reading it in the future and feel less daunted by "a classic."

In some ways, Kidnapped is a coming-of-age story about a young man whose parents die, and being poor, leave him no temporal means to survive. He seeks his fortune, not knowing the adventures that lie ahead: nearly escaping murder; being kidnapped; getting tossed into the ocean during a storm; witnessing a murder...oh, the tale is full of twists and turns to please many a listener!

Kidnapped is also a tale about friendship, forgiveness, and loyalty. Good things here. I especially enjoyed reading it in my infamous Scottish accent!

Now Peter and I will rent the Disney version of the story and watch it together this weekend!