MANA EDITIONS SERIES / 04
GREAT STORIES, YOUNG MINDS
TIMELESS STORIES FOR A BRIGHTER GENERATION
“Great stories can belong to every generation.”
THE IDEA
“Some stories survive for centuries because they continue to speak to something essential in human experience.
Adventure.
Courage.
Curiosity.
Fear.
Friendship.
Loss.
Ingenuity.
Hope.
Great Stories, Young Minds brings enduring stories to a new generation of readers.
The purpose is not to reduce great literature until only the plot remains.
It is to make the story accessible while preserving the ideas, characters, conflicts and moments that made it worth remembering in the first place.
Young readers are capable of understanding far more than they are sometimes given credit for.
They can encounter difficult choices.
They can recognise courage and foolishness.
They can understand consequences.
They can laugh at cleverness and wonder at impossible journeys.
A retelling should open the door to a great story.
It should not make the room behind that door smaller.”
A STORY TRAVELS
A STORY → ANOTHER TIME → ANOTHER PLACE → A NEW READER → A NEW IMAGINATION
“Great stories travel further than their authors could ever imagine.”
WHAT BELONGS HERE
01 CLASSICS
Stories whose characters and ideas continue to resonate across generations.
02 MYTHS & EPICS
Journeys, heroes, monsters, gods and questions that have travelled through centuries of storytelling.
03 ADVENTURES
Stories built around discovery, danger, courage and the unknown.
04 FABLES & FOLKTALES
Stories through which cultures have passed wisdom, humour and warnings from one generation to another.
05 GREAT CHARACTERS
Figures whose choices, weaknesses and courage make stories memorable.
06 BIG QUESTIONS
Stories that allow young readers to encounter ideas about loyalty, identity, justice, responsibility, fear, home and belonging.
HOW WE RETELL A GREAT STORY
01
KEEP THE HEART OF THE STORY
The central journey, conflict and meaning must remain recognisable.
02
MAKE THE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBLE
Accessibility should help a child enter the story, not flatten the story itself.
03
KEEP THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
The clever trick, the difficult choice or the strange encounter is often exactly what a young reader remembers.
04
EXPLAIN WITHOUT INTERRUPTING
When context is needed, provide it naturally and clearly.
05
RESPECT THE YOUNG READER
Never confuse simplicity of language with simplicity of thought.
BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
“Great stories, thoughtfully retold for young readers.”
MANA EDITIONS / CHILDREN’S BOOKS
PINOCCHIO
A classic story of curiosity, mistakes, consequences, courage and becoming who we choose to be.
“Pinocchio’s journey is funny, strange, dangerous and deeply human. Behind the adventures lies a story about choices and consequences, trust and temptation, responsibility and the difficult process of growing into the person we hope to become.”
MANA EDITIONS / CHILDREN’S BOOKS
THE ODYSSEY
A legendary journey of courage, intelligence, temptation and the long road home.
“Odysseus crosses seas filled with monsters, gods, impossible choices and extraordinary dangers. But beneath the adventure is something every young reader can understand: the desire to find the way home, the importance of thinking before acting and the courage required to continue when the journey becomes difficult.”
MORE GREAT STORIES WILL FOLLOW.
“New generations should never run out of old stories worth discovering.”
READ TOGETHER. DISCOVER TOGETHER.
“These books are designed for young readers, but great stories often become even richer when they are shared.
A parent reading aloud.
A child asking why.
A strange word explained.
A difficult choice discussed.
A favourite scene remembered.
The story becomes more than something read.
It becomes something shared.”
PUBLISHING WORLD
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
“Great Stories, Young Minds belongs to the MANA EDITIONS Children’s Books Publishing World.”
EXPLORE MORE SERIES
GREAT STORIES, YOUNG MINDS
“Old stories. New imaginations.”