Press

What the critics say

Six generations of readers have found in the story of the March family universal truths about girls, families and growing up
- Guardian

Deals with life's big questions - love and death, war and peace, and ambition versus family responsibility - in a way that is inspiring and realistic. Use a hankie as a bookmark - tears are guaranteed
- Marie Claire

Good Wives is a glorious weep-a-minute...a more complex narrative that follows each of the girls' journeys, real or metaphorical, away from the parental home
- Independent

So what makes these different to any other set of classics? In a moment of inspiration Random House had the bright idea of actually asking Key stage 2 children what extra ingredients they could add to make children want to read. And does it work? Well, put it this way...my 13-year-old daughter announced that she had to read a book over the summer holiday and, without any prompting, spotted The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas...and proceeded to read it! Now, if you knew my 13-year-old daughter, you would realise that this is quite remarkable. She reads texts, blogs and tags by the thousand - but this is the first book she has read since going to high school, so all hail Vintage Classics!
- National Association for the Teaching of English