Cozy Classics "Emma"
My heart melted when I saw these amazing board books for toddlers. The brainchild of two brothers from Vancouver who were tired of reading boring books to their little ones, Cozy Classics distill classic novels down to 12 words and illustrates them with needle felted characters in realistic settings.
Cozy Classics- "It was badly done indeed, Emma!"
How a classic novel can be distilled down into 12 toddler friendly words is beyond me but these creative twin brothers have done it.
Cozy Classics Emma reads as...lady, man, goodbye, hello, why? surprise! carry, thanks, laugh, angry, sorry, happy.
I think the facial expressions and the body language are what bring these tales to life for little ones.
Cozy Classics- Emma and Mr. Knightley
I mean, not only does Emma look very sorry for her treatment of Miss Bates, but Mr. Knightley is looking pretty darned sexy. In felt!
Cozy Classics "Pride and Prejudice"
Here is our beloved Lizzy with her muddy hem and her eyes "brightened by the exercise". You can even see the wind blowing her shawl and her bonnet ribbons. Brilliant!
Mr. Bingley is so happy and Mr. Darcy is...well...Mr. Darcy!
Cozy Classics Pride and Prejudice distills down to...friends, sisters, dance, mean, sick, muddy, yes? no! write, read, walk, marry.
Yup that's it. P&P in 12 well chosen words. But look at those little faces!
"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you"
So if you have little ones to buy for this Christmas (well, any occasion would do to justify these books!) you are all sorted! And don't think they are just for girls. There is a Cozy Classics version of War and Peace, Les Miserables, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist and Moby Dick. And Great Expectations is coming out soon. There is a photo of Miss Havisham looking a little burnt on the Wang brothers' twitter feed. They realistically use real fire to the occasional detriment of the felt figures!
And if there is a Star Wars geek in your family, the Wang brothers are doing a "Star Wars: Epic Yarns" book to be released next year. Stay tuned for that and hopefully the rest of the Jane Austen novels. Please?
