Don Quixote (Core Classics Series) - Softcover

Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1890517100 ISBN 13: 9781890517106

Publisher: Core Knowledge Foundation, 1999

Synopsis

Core Classics Series Stories loved for generations come to life for today's young readers in the Core ClassicsTM series. Faithful to the style, plot, and themes of the originals, Core Classics are designed for use as classroom editions of the literary works listed in the Core Knowledge Sequence. They include introductions by E. D. Hirsch Jr., editor of the Core Knowledge Series (What Your Kindergartner - Sixth Grader Needs to Know). The Core Classics are generally considered suitable for fourth and fifth grade students. The texts are illustrated, annotated, and include a brief biography of the author. Don Quixote is one of the most famous characters in literature. His name has become a word, "quixotic," that means to do something foolishly impractical for the sake of a high ideal. Equally famous is his companion Sancho Panza. As Don Quixote wanders Spain thinking of himself as a storybook knight-errant, Sancho takes the role of the knight's loyal squire. Don Quixote is idealistic and intelligent, but crazy, because he is living in the everyday world but believing it is the world of romances. He is too old and weak to be a knight-errant, but he doesn't think so. Sancho has solid common sense and sees everyday reality clearly, but he is ignorant and willing to lie. He knows it is useless to try to reason with madmen and so he plays along, hoping to find a profit in it. Cervantes seems to wish we could mix the best qualities of this knight and squire in ourselves; then we would see our everyday selves as we truly are and still strive to be nobler and better.

About this title

About the Author:

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain in 1547. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was one of seven children and grew up in poverty. The course of his adulthood is fascinating, at various stages he was a fugitive, a soldier, a tax collector, held captive by pirates, sold as a slave, and imprisoned by the Spanish government. He finally settled into a more sedate life in Madrid shortly after the publication of the first part of his masterpiece, Don Quixote, in 1605. The second part was published in 1615, and Cervantes’ literary output continued until his death in April 1616.
Ned Halley is an award-winning newspaper columnist.

From AudioFile:

One of fiction's greatest comic heroes and his infamous sidekick are given rare three-dimensionality in this vastly entertaining performance by Andrew Sachs. His impeccable characterizations breathe life into each character; this is a true tour de force brimming with wry, irrepressible humor and grand, elegant speeches. Cervantes's trenchant wit shines through what could have been a rote performance but is indeed audio art. To say Sachs inhabits each role in an understatement; his Quixote could be a standard to be followed and a fine acting lesson for aspiring voice actors. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Core Knowledge Foundation
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1890517100
• ISBN 13: 9781890517106
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 249
• Editor: Michael J. Marshall