Easy Classics: Pride and Prejudice

I am an avid Jane Austen fan and feel that she tackles moral issues in a very tasteful way. Does that mean that I think an elementary child would benefit from the story? The story revolves around the pursuit of finding a mate--some characters having better luck than others. Should a person who would read a less than 100 page book be focusing on those things? Not in my opinion. And I fear that reading this extremely condensed version at a young age, may unfortunately innoculate the reader from finding pleasure in teh complete original work when older.

Given the brevity of the book and the quite captivating cover with bright and elegant illustration, I was surprised to find interior illustrations being black and white. And while the illustrations could perhaps be treated as a coloring book, I'm not sure the child of the targeted reading level, would do so carefully. (And once one begins, younger siblings may think it's ok to color in any book).

The style of illustrations were cartoonish and felt a little too modern for the time period. I am usually a very big fan of introducing children to classics but I do not think Jane Austen books are the right choice.  I would not recommend this for young readers but I could see it being a very good choice for a teen who struggles to read and would like to have access to the flow of the story prior to enjoying the movie.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Easy Classics: Pride and Prejudice from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.