I love re-tellings of classic tales! I can't get enough of them. It's fun to dip into a different iteration of an old story that lots of people are aware of. A children's book take on one of my favourite literary detectives is just one way to make me smile.

This is a bit of a middle grade read of sorts for eager readers. This classic tale has great pictures and brings The Hound of Baskervilles to life. There are little tabs with definitions and descriptions of words the reader might not be aware of to help them get a splash of the original content. There's also some little illustrations in the book that makes it have a bit of personality.

Overall, this simplified version of the classic tale is a smash! I really thought it was fun and it's a great way to introduce yourself to Sherlock Holmes.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. ( )

I loved the idea of an adaptation of this story for middle graders and was more than curious to see how well it was done. I was not disappointed.

This tale follows the original from Arthur Conan Doyle very tightly, and really does simply try to bring it down to a level which is easier for middle graders to enjoy and understand. I very much appreciated that this didn't mean 'dumbing' it down, either. The writer keeps the same tone of the loftier (historical?) language, makes it understandable, and manages to weave it in a way which won't soar over the audience's head. So, hats off to her for that! That also means that this one is suitable for adults, who enjoy the tales but struggle (or don't have the patience) to deal with the original Sherlock Holmes novels. Also, the style makes it perfect for a classroom situation, since it keeps the atmosphere of the original tale and opens the door to classics, in general.

While sticking to the same atmosphere of the original tale, this book never grows boring thanks to a few extras. Firstly, there are a few (very few) explanations thrown in for those things readers will not recognize or understand. I, personally, would have liked to have seen more of these, but that's my own personal thing. I did enjoy the illustrations quite a bit and found that they helped to lighten things up wonderfully. They are well done, dribbled in at just the right rate, and make it even approachable by slightly more reluctant readers. The illustrations (along with the larger font), also did make this one a very quick read...I was surprised how fast I soared through this one.

I was impressed at how well this adaptation captured the original tale and am looking forward to see what other works are underway.

I received an ARC through Netgalley. ( )