Alessandro Baricco, the Italian novelist, wanted to keep his favorite classic children’s stories alive. In 1993 he co-founded a creative writing school that develops new and innovative ways of storytelling. Working closely with the school, he developed the idea of creating a children’s library of favorite stories retold by contemporary authors. He enlisted Britain’s Pushkin Press and ten well-known authors including Dave Eggers, Jonathan Coe and Ali Smith to retell these stories each in their own way. The new illustrations are wonderful.
The stories are from around the world, spanning time and genres, and have enthralled children for generations. This mission has saved the stories from oblivion and younger generations to come will appreciate the retellings.
Last October 2013 Pushkin Press released the following stories in Save the Story: The Series:
The Story of Antigone by Ali Smith
The Story of Gulliver by Jonathan Coe
The Story of Don Juan by Alessandro Baricco
The Story of Captain Nemo by Dave Eggers
In 2014 the following will be released:
The Story of the Betrothed by Umberto Eco
The Story of Gilgamesh by Yiyun Li
The Story of King Lear by Melania G. Mazzucco
The Story of Crime and Punishment by A. B. Yehoshua
The Story of Cyrano de Bergerac by Stefano Benni
The Story of the Nose by Andrea Camilleri
For more information or to order the books go to http://pushkinchildrens.com/ and scroll down to Save The Story Series.
Some of the titles are available from www.amazon.com
