O. Henry (Stories for Young People Series) Book

With this handsomely illustrated edition of O. Henry's best, children can now enjoy all the surprising twists and turns of six favorite tales by the master of the short story: "The Gift of the Magi," "Two Thanksgiving-Day Gentlemen," "The Last Leaf," "Mammon and the Archer," "After Twenty Years", and "A Retrieved Reformation." Noted scholar John Hollander provides the thoughtful introduction and insightful annotations, and illustrator Miles Hyman brings the stories to life in nostalgic pictures that evoke an America gone by.

Uma Krishnaswami - Children's Literature

In the literary annals of the past century, so much has already been written about the stories in this collection that in a way, reviewing this book seems a supremely redundant act. Its publication is homage to a classic short story writer of the early 20th century whose work is noted for its quirky turns of plot and its faithful and often touching renditions of the urban America of his time. The book is part of a "Stories for Young People" series in which other classic writers include Leo Tolstoy, Mark Twain, and Oscar Wilde. Handsomely presented here with full color illustrations are seven O. Henry stories, opening with the well-known Christmas tale, "The Gift of the Magi." In "Mammon and the Archer," love triumphs, Cupid makes an appearance (or does he?) and aristocracy is mocked. "After Twenty Years" is about the pitting of honesty against loyalty, and raises ethical issues for discussion. Charity and the motivations behind it are tested in "Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen." Art, life, and death are examined in "The Last Leaf," and a safecracker's heart is examined in "A Retrieved Reformation." The final story in the collection is "The Pimienta Pancakes," a story-within-a-story where the narrative is carried by a comic-ironic voice with self-mocking inflections. An introduction by John Hollander, English literature scholar and Yale University Professor Emeritus, details events in the life of the author, and contextualizes the stories with reference to events of the period. Each story also includes vocabulary side-bars that explain archaic terms ranging from "appertaining thereunto" to "zizzaparoola." A few typographical errors appear to have escaped editing. 2005, Sterling, Ages 12up.