Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Leslie Baxter, Michael Mapurgo, Christian Birmingham - Child Book, Kids Book, English Literature

Beautifully illustrated adaptation of Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist by Leslie Baxter introduces a literary classic to younger readers while maintaining the story's integrity. Includes Forward by Michael Morpurgo and additional information about Charles Dickens and his contribution to English literature.

Written by Charles Dickens. Adapted by Leslie Baxter. Illustrated by Christian Birmingham. 1996 first edition thus. Dial Books, a division of Penguin USA.

"Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse for the poor and homeless. He lay on a little mattress, and neither the surgeon nor the nurse wh looked after him expected him to survive. Then, after a few struggles, he breathed, sneezed, and started to cry. As he did so, his young mother raised her pale face from the pillow. "Let me see the child," she said faintly. The surgeon placed Oliver in his mother's arms. She held her son and tenderly kissed his forehead... Then she law back and died.

"It's all over, Mrs. Thingummy," said the surgeon to the nurse, and he got ready to leave. "The child is weak and will very likely be troublesome. Give it a little gruel if it is." He put on his hat and pausing the bedside, added, "She was a good-looking girl. Where did she come from?"

"She was brought here last night," replied the old nurse. "She was found lying in the street. Where she came from or where she was going to nobody knows."

The surgeon left and the nurse sat down by the fire and wrapped Oliver in a blanket. To look at he could have been the child of a nobleman or a beggar, but it no longer mattered. Now he was the orphan of a workhouse."

Oliver begins his journey through poverty, the loss of innocense, the dangers of the London streets, and society's indifference, and is saved by one good man who restores his faith in humanity and provides him a home.

Dickens is a challenge for young readers but Leslie Baxter does a masterful job of adapting Oliver Twist for the younger, more modern reader.

Christian Birmingham is an acclaimed British artist and illustrator. His work on children's books includes The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, The Wreck of The Zanzibar, The Thief Lord, and many others.

Condition*: Fine/Near Fine. The dust jacket shows minor shelf wear, including a small bump at the tail of the spine.

*Based on guidelines of the Independent Online Booksellers' Association.

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