Full catalogue

Buck, a pet dog used to a peaceful life, is stolen and sold as a sledge dog in the Far North, in the middle of the gold rush. Under the whip and in the cold, he learns the law of the strongest, and the wild instinct of his ancestors slowly awakens in him. A powerful adventure about survival and freedom, in which the wild takes back its own. Jack London's direct, vivid style makes it an ideal first classic to read in the language you are learning.

Alice, a curious little girl, follows a white rabbit in a great hurry and falls down a rabbit hole that leads her to a strange land. There she grows, shrinks, and meets the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and a queen who wants to cut off everyone's head. Between dream and nonsense, this tale plays endlessly with words and logic, and is just as enjoyable at any age. Its simple sentences and lively dialogue make it an ideal first classic to read in the language you are learning.

Carried off by a tornado with her little dog Toto, Dorothy, a girl from Kansas, lands in a marvellous country. To get home, she must go and see the great Wizard of Oz, and she travels with a scarecrow who would like a brain, a Tin Woodman who would like a heart and a lion who would like some courage. This tale full of fantasy is about friendship, courage and self-confidence. Simply written, in short sentences, it is an ideal first classic to read in the language you are learning.

In an old sailor's sea chest, young Jim Hawkins finds the map of an island where a pirate has hidden his treasure. He sails as cabin boy aboard the Hispaniola, but part of the crew, led by the one-legged cook Long John Silver, has plans of its own. Treasure maps, mutinies, a parrot on the shoulder: this is the novel that fixed for ever the image of the pirate in our imagination. Full of action and twists, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

On Prince Edward Island, a brother and sister were expecting a boy from the orphanage to help them on the farm. Instead, a little red-haired girl arrives: Anne, talkative, dreamy and full of imagination. She shakes up the quiet life of Green Gables, and slowly wins everyone's heart. A radiant novel full of humour about childhood, friendship and the need to be loved, which has enchanted generations of readers. Its lively dialogue makes it an enjoyable read in the language you are learning.

On the banks of the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer, a mischievous boy brought up by his Aunt Polly, prefers adventure to school. As a punishment, he has to whitewash a long fence, and he manages to get his friends to hand over their treasures for the right to paint it for him. One night, with his friend Huckleberry Finn, he secretly witnesses a murder in the graveyard. Running away to an island, a treasure hunt, a cave where you get lost: this is the great novel of a free childhood, funny and a little frightening, and you never forget it. Full of humour and lively dialogue, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

White Fang, a young wolf with a trace of dog in his blood, is born in the frozen wastes of the Far North, where he learns the law of survival very early. Taken in by humans, he discovers their world, often hard and violent, and becomes a feared fighter. Until the day he meets a man who offers him something other than blows. A great adventure about loyalty and trust, in which a wild animal slowly learns to love. Jack London's direct, vivid style makes it an ideal classic to read in the language you are learning.

After her parents die in India, Mary, a lonely and spoilt little girl, is sent to live with an uncle in a large, isolated manor house in Yorkshire. There she hears of a garden that has been locked for ten years, and at last she finds its door, hidden under the ivy. At night, crying echoes through the corridors of the house. A radiant story, in which a garden coming back to life in spring helps children heal from loneliness. Tender and absorbing, the story is a pleasure to read in the language you are learning.

Black Beauty, a handsome black horse, tells his own life story: his peaceful early days in a meadow, then his years of work for very different masters. Some care for him with affection, others treat him harshly, and each new home brings him a different life. This moving novel, which changed the way a whole era saw animals, is about kindness, respect and dignity. Written in simple words, it is an ideal classic to read in the language you are learning.

In this collection of twelve stories, Rudyard Kipling explains to a child he calls “Best Beloved” how the whale got his throat, the camel his hump, the leopard his spots and the elephant his trunk. We also learn how the first letter and the alphabet were invented. Full of sound games, refrains and made-up words, these funny, mischievous tales are made to be read aloud, to children and grown-ups alike. Short and rhythmic, these stories can be read one by one in the language you are learning.

In Budapest, a gang of schoolboys defends its playground, a patch of waste ground squeezed between a timber yard and blocks of flats. The Red Shirts, a rival gang, want to take it over, and war is organised, with ranks, a flag and battle plans. Little Nemecsek, the only one in the gang with no rank at all, will show more courage than all the officers. A great novel about friendship, loyalty and courage, which you can read at any age and never forget. Simply written, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

One evening, two gentlemen come to see Father, who leaves with them and does not come back. His three children, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis, leave London with their mother for a little house in the country, near a railway line. Every morning they wave at the passing train, and an old gentleman at the window ends up waving back. The mystery of the missing father hangs over this tender story full of adventures, in which the children even stop a train by waving red petticoats. Simply written, with plenty of dialogue, the novel is easy to read in the language you are learning.

A man-cub, lost in the Indian jungle, is adopted by a family of wolves who call him Mowgli. Baloo, the old bear, teaches him the Law of the Jungle, and Bagheera, the black panther, watches over him. But the tiger Shere Khan claims the child, and he is biding his time. The book also includes other famous stories, such as that of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the little mongoose who fights two cobras to protect a family. Kipling gives each animal its own character, voice and wisdom. Full of action, these stories can be read one by one in the language you are learning.

In sixteenth-century London, Tom Canty, a poor boy whose father beats him, dreams of seeing a real prince. One day, at the palace gates, he is noticed by Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII. The two boys look as alike as twins. For fun, they swap clothes, and the guards throw the real prince out into the street. Tom has to play the prince without knowing anything about the court, while Edward discovers hunger, thieves and the injustice of his own kingdom. An adventure full of humour, in which each boy learns about the other's life. Full of twists and turns, this classic is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In a quiet little town in the American West at the start of the twentieth century, two childhood friends have an idea: to make everyone believe that the town is going to become a big city. As long as people believe it, land prices rise. They buy land, lay out a new district and bring in the railway. A humorous satire about easy money, friendship and the fever of speculation. Its lively tone and plentiful dialogue make it an enjoyable read in the language you are learning.

To escape his father, a violent drunkard, and the widow who wants to turn him into a well-behaved boy, Huckleberry Finn fakes his own death. He travels down the Mississippi on a raft with Jim, a runaway slave. Along the river they meet swindlers, feuding families and towns full of danger. In his own boyish words, Huck tells the story of a friendship that overturns everything he has been taught. Hemingway said that all modern American literature comes from this book. With the translation always in front of you, Huck's colourful way of talking and his adventures are a pleasure to read in the language you are learning.

One winter evening, Alice climbs through the drawing-room mirror and finds a house where everything is reversed. Outside, the countryside forms a huge chessboard, which Alice must cross square by square to become a queen. On the way she meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Humpty Dumpty sitting on his wall, and a Red Queen who keeps running just to stay in the same place. In this sequel to “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”, the games with words and logic are even more plentiful. It is here that the famous poem “Jabberwocky” appears. Its simple sentences and lively dialogue make it an ideal classic to read in the language you are learning.

Two days before Christmas, Katherine arrives in Oakwood to spend the holidays with her friends at Carver House, the old mansion where their Guardian, Nyoda, lives. Lost on the way, she goes into an abandoned house and finds Sylvia, an eighteen-year-old girl who has not been able to walk since a fall, alone there with no fire and no food. At Carver House, a boarded-up window, footprints and a secret passage soon pose a puzzle. Taken from a series about the Camp Fire Girls, an American movement for girls, this children's novel is a warm-hearted story in which the mystery goes hand in hand with friendship and helping others. Simply written, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

This collection brings together nine fairy tales by Oscar Wilde. A golden statue and a swallow help the poor of the town, a nightingale wants to give a red rose to a student in love, and a selfish giant sees his garden stay locked in winter. We also meet a young king, an Infanta and a fisherman ready to give up his soul. Written for children as much as for adults, these poetic and ironic tales still move readers more than a century later. You can read each tale in one sitting in the language you are learning.

In the forest along the Paraná River, the animals talk, work and quarrel. In these eight tales, a giant turtle carries the man who had once nursed it all the way to the city, flamingos go to a ball in snakeskin stockings, and the crocodiles go to war against a ship. Horacio Quiroga wrote these stories for his children, in the forest where he lived. They are funny, sometimes cruel, and one of them explains why flamingos have red legs. Short and written in simple sentences, these tales can be read one by one in the language you are learning.

This collection brings together forty tales gathered by the Brothers Grimm: Snow White and the queen's magic mirror, Hansel and Gretel lost in the forest, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and lesser-known ones such as “The Blue Light”. Here we meet witches, talking animals and clever young heroes. These are the tales children have been told for two centuries, here in the text of the Grimms' last edition, from 1857, which is often darker than the versions we know. Short and simply written, they can be read one by one in the language you are learning.

Born in a workhouse, Oliver Twist grows up hungry, and one day dares to ask for a little more gruel, which causes an outrage. He runs away to London, where he falls into the hands of Fagin, an old man who trains a gang of children to pick people's pockets. Dickens shows the misery of London's poor children, and his characters, like the cunning Fagin, have remained famous. A moving story about innocence in the face of a merciless world. With chapters full of twists, this novel is a gripping read in the language you are learning.

In 1930, Jacques Bainville tells children the history of France in forty short chapters, from Vercingetorix to the Great War. We see Clovis and the Vase of Soissons, Joan of Arc before Orléans, Henri IV and his chicken in every pot, Napoleon at Austerlitz. The book tells stories rather than dates, with sixty-nine illustrations by Job, the great illustrator of his day. It is a simple and lively way into the history of France. Written for young readers, in simple sentences, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

This collection retells six great tragedies by Shakespeare in prose. Here are Prince Hamlet, who wants to avenge his father, Macbeth, driven to crime by his wife, Othello, the jealous Moor, and old King Lear, betrayed by his daughters. Romeo and Juliet, the lovers of Verona, are here too, with the fabulously rich Timon of Athens. Written in 1807 for young readers, these tales keep Shakespeare's own words in the most famous passages. It is the simplest way into his work. Simply told, these stories are easy to read in the language you are learning.