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Around The World In Eighty Days
Around the World in Eighty Days has been a bestseller for over a century, but it has never before appeared in a critical edition. While most translations misread or even abridge the original, this stylish version is completely true to Verne's classic, moving as fast and as brilliantly as Phineas Fogg's own race against time. Around the World in Eighty Days offers a strong dose of post-romantic reality but not a shred of science fiction: its modernism lies instead in the experimental technique and Verne's unique twisting of space and time.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1872
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About the author
Jane Bingham
322 books17 followersJane M. Bingham spent most of her adult life teaching college students about children's literature at Oakland University, collecting and studying children's books from across history and around the world, and campaigning for better materials for children to read. After she retired from that career, she began writing children's books of her own. Bingham has since authored several nonfiction books that seek to explain contemporary issues to children, including divorce, the dangers of drug abuse, and the art and culture of civilizations around the world.
In Why Do Families Break Up? Bingham attempts to demystify the process of divorce for middle-school students. The book begins by examining some of the reasons a couple might decide to divorce, then moves on to explain the process of coping and moving on after a family separates. School Library Journal contributor Sharon A. Neal described the book as "supportive [and] unbiased" and noted, "Despite the nature of the topic, the book is hopeful."
Tiananmen Square: June 4, 1989 examines the studentled protest against China's Communist rulers that occurred there, in the middle of Beijing, in the spring of 1989. On June 4 the government mobilized the army, including tanks, to disperse the demonstrators, killing several of them in the process. "The excellent illustrations and clear narrative," Elizabeth Talbot wrote in School Library Journal, make Tiananmen Square a "good introduction" to the protest and its aftermath.
Bingham is the author of three installments in the "World Art and Culture" series, examining India, Africa, and Aboriginal Australia. Each book is brief, only fifty-six pages long, and "the texts are straightforward and concise," Gillian Engberg noted in a review of AfricanArt and Culture for Booklist. Despite this brevity, much information is packed into each volume. Bingham opens each book with a chapter about the history of the region, from thousands of years ago to the present day, and follows with chapters about the art forms practiced in that area. These include architecture, basket-weaving, creating musical instruments, dance, and body modification (tattoos, piercings, and the like), among others. Indian Art and Culture also includes a chapter on one of that country's modern art forms, the "Bollywood" movie industry. As Donna Cardon noted in School Library Journal, "The texts not only describe the art forms and how they are created, but also explain the role that art plays in the cultures."
Bingham once wrote: "In 1981 I completed a trip which took me to American Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, South Africa, and Swaziland. I collected examples of children's books along the way and became acutely aware of the need for books and other teaching resources in many developing countries. I was especially impressed with the variety of India's and Bangladesh's children's books—in spite of the difficulties their creators often encounter in publishing and promoting them. I also found that becoming aware of and enjoying the literature from other countries enriched my appreciation of American children's books. I found myself asking over and over why we, with the plethora we have to choose from, too often opt for the mediocre rather than the 'rarest kind of best.' As educators, creators, and consumers, we all too often forget to think of children's books as real literature because we fail to apply critical literary standards. It is my hope that my teaching and writing will draw attention to the continuing need for quality books in our own country and will also encourage American students and teachers to adopt a wider, world view of children's literature."
In Why Do Families Break Up? Bingham attempts to demystify the process of divorce for middle-school students. The book begins by examining some of the reasons a couple might decide to divorce, then moves on to explain the process of coping and moving on after a family separates. School Library Journal contributor Sharon A. Neal described the book as "supportive [and] unbiased" and noted, "Despite the nature of the topic, the book is hopeful."
Tiananmen Square: June 4, 1989 examines the studentled protest against China's Communist rulers that occurred there, in the middle of Beijing, in the spring of 1989. On June 4 the government mobilized the army, including tanks, to disperse the demonstrators, killing several of them in the process. "The excellent illustrations and clear narrative," Elizabeth Talbot wrote in School Library Journal, make Tiananmen Square a "good introduction" to the protest and its aftermath.
Bingham is the author of three installments in the "World Art and Culture" series, examining India, Africa, and Aboriginal Australia. Each book is brief, only fifty-six pages long, and "the texts are straightforward and concise," Gillian Engberg noted in a review of AfricanArt and Culture for Booklist. Despite this brevity, much information is packed into each volume. Bingham opens each book with a chapter about the history of the region, from thousands of years ago to the present day, and follows with chapters about the art forms practiced in that area. These include architecture, basket-weaving, creating musical instruments, dance, and body modification (tattoos, piercings, and the like), among others. Indian Art and Culture also includes a chapter on one of that country's modern art forms, the "Bollywood" movie industry. As Donna Cardon noted in School Library Journal, "The texts not only describe the art forms and how they are created, but also explain the role that art plays in the cultures."
Bingham once wrote: "In 1981 I completed a trip which took me to American Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, South Africa, and Swaziland. I collected examples of children's books along the way and became acutely aware of the need for books and other teaching resources in many developing countries. I was especially impressed with the variety of India's and Bangladesh's children's books—in spite of the difficulties their creators often encounter in publishing and promoting them. I also found that becoming aware of and enjoying the literature from other countries enriched my appreciation of American children's books. I found myself asking over and over why we, with the plethora we have to choose from, too often opt for the mediocre rather than the 'rarest kind of best.' As educators, creators, and consumers, we all too often forget to think of children's books as real literature because we fail to apply critical literary standards. It is my hope that my teaching and writing will draw attention to the continuing need for quality books in our own country and will also encourage American students and teachers to adopt a wider, world view of children's literature."
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 7, 2021
وای که چه مزه ای داد ژول ورن خوانی با دخترک!
November 5, 2025
This was so much fun, it's easy to ignore the craft that went into it.
Verne's plotting is just superb... tight with prefect balance of problem and payoff. And the way the individual characters of Fogg and Passpartout balance and play off each other is sheer magic. It's clear why this remains such a popular classic even after all this time.
Verne's plotting is just superb... tight with prefect balance of problem and payoff. And the way the individual characters of Fogg and Passpartout balance and play off each other is sheer magic. It's clear why this remains such a popular classic even after all this time.
November 10, 2019
Nicely illustrated brief. The point of the shoe not taken off wasn't clear, but I remembered it from the novel so i could explain to my daughter.
July 12, 2016
I read Around the World in 80 Days at the same time. I saw this title in my library catalog and was curious, but I was disappointed that neither Goodreads or Amazon could give me an idea of what it was about. That's why I'm writing this review. Here's what the dust jacket says: "'It records simply how the world looked to me in 80 days,' says John Burningham of this, his most adventurous and delightful book yet. On October 3, 1970, he set out from London's Reform Club in the footsteps of Jules Verne's Victorian hero Phileas Fogg. When he returned on a sunny December afternoon, just 80 days later, he had traveled 44,000 miles and visited 24 countries."
John Burningham does travel on the same dates as Phileas Fogg. (If it was a couple years later, it could have been exactly 100 years after Mr. Fogg.) He does, however deviate his route a little from that of Mr. Fogg's. Extra places he goes that Mr. Fogg does not are Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Canada. The main difference between Burningham and Fogg is that Burningham actually wanted to see the places he was traveling through! :)
I enjoyed his drawings. My favorite was the series of pictures about young bull elephants pushing over trees -- when they get hot, there's a crowd of elephants under the trees remaining. It made me laugh.
John Burningham does travel on the same dates as Phileas Fogg. (If it was a couple years later, it could have been exactly 100 years after Mr. Fogg.) He does, however deviate his route a little from that of Mr. Fogg's. Extra places he goes that Mr. Fogg does not are Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Canada. The main difference between Burningham and Fogg is that Burningham actually wanted to see the places he was traveling through! :)
I enjoyed his drawings. My favorite was the series of pictures about young bull elephants pushing over trees -- when they get hot, there's a crowd of elephants under the trees remaining. It made me laugh.
August 27, 2013
This is a bit more extensive for young readers; there are chapters and longer passages, so this would be best suits for first to third grade. The adventures depicted in the book are funny and create interest for the student.
January 20, 2019
If you like Jules Verne, this will be among your favorites. If you don't, try it anyway. It's hilarious. It's exciting. It wraps you up in the adventure and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Definitely worth the read.
July 14, 2012
This is a very good book to introduce the kids to the classics. It's fun and full of adventures.
My son enjoyed it so much, he used it for one of his book reports.
My son enjoyed it so much, he used it for one of his book reports.
March 11, 2016
Obviously not as good as the original text, but the adaptation, along with the illustrations, still captures the excitement and the adventure for younger readers.
January 21, 2021
Suits the basic level
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews