Sherlock Holmes can be compelling reading but the original text can be difficult to follow. For kids who are still working on reading comprehension the old fashioned highly descriptive language of Doyle's original work is too much and adaptations are often necessary. Woolf's version is quite simplified. The writing is stripped down to really only the basics needed to follow the mystery. There is little in the way of description or reflection. We get facts and some basic dialogue, no character development or exploration of motivation. For quite young readers this adaptation series is probably sufficient. For slightly older kids who are trying to puzzle through Doyle's original works, this series could work as a supportive text, helping them to understand the heart of what they have read.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

I'm addicted to these retellings of Sherlock Holmes adventures with a youthful bend. In this story, we get to see Sherlock solve a cipher and deduce how to read a message that no one else even knows is a message. I think younger readers will love the puzzle and perhaps write messages to each other in code! This would make a great addition to any children's library!

You know, the more of these I read the more books spring to mine as having taking inspiration from them!

This one was fiendishly genius with the dancing men and it took me a while to figure it out to be honest! I absolutely LOVE that this had illustrations to accompany it as it could be rather tricky to picture in your head or confusing if you’re just reading it but this was depicted wonderfully!

Genuinely loving this series, it’s absolutely brilliant and for all ages!

This was a short and simple adaptation of the Holmes story for young readers.
A good Introduction into the world of Holmes and Watson without being overwhelming.
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book for review.

** “Every problem becomes absurdly simple once you have to explain it.” **

Alex Woolf retells one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes short stories, “The Dancing Men,” illustrated by Eve O’Brien.

When Hilton Cubitt finds a series of drawings featuring dancing stick men — drawings that seem to cause great fear to his wife Elsie — Cubitt seeks out Sherlock Holmes to decipher the meaning and their connection to his wife’s past. Can Holmes reveal the messages and whatever dastardly plan they reveal?

Filled with delightful illustrations, “The Dancing Men,” which is due out July 1, is told in a fun and easy way kids of all ages will understand. This series is a great way to introduce young readers to Doyle and the great Sherlock Holmes, but adults will also enjoy these short stories. The story slowly lays out the clues, allowing the reader to solve the mystery alongside Sherlock.

Five stars out of five.

Arcturus Publishing provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I didn't dislike this book, but I didn't think it was a particularly interesting or child-friendly retelling of Sherlock Holmes. It leaves quite a bit out, while also resisting simplifying the language enough to make it actually accessible to children. I like the cover art much better than the illustrations in the book; I surely hope those illustrations aren't final, as it was nearly impossible to tell some of the characters apart, and they seemed childish and not in a good way. Overall, this wasn't bad, but I don't see anything to love here either.

Honestly, this feels like a clumsy abridgement, and it led me to want to verify with the actual text as to whether or not wording was changed vs mere abridgement. It didn't save the tone of a Holmes story, which even when I was a child was what drew them to me.

The art made me expect to see a New Yorker cartoon caption underneath each panel. It's nowhere near what I expected from the cover art. I was disappointed.

I have very high standards, admittedly, but I would not want this to be my child's introduction to the canon.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love the original ACD Homes tales and am so excited for this remake! Holmes is 16 but just as smart. The story has been simplified for the intended audience but it is an enjoyable read, especially if you've read the original telling.

An excellent abridged version of the classic Sherlock Holmes short story The Dancing Men, that captures the narrative and spirit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work brilliantly. The Dancing Men is perhaps the most iconic cipher mystery in English literature: When strange drawings start appearing around Hilton Cubitt's home and causing his wife much consternation, Mr Cubitt turns to Sherlock Holmes for help in uncovering the mystery of the apparent doodles, and the investigation soon unearths dark secrets from Mrs Elsie Cubitt's American past...secrets that threaten the well-being of the Cubitts in the present. This book includes cartoonish illustrations that capture the plot nicely and will be sure to an extra layer of entertainment for young readers as they follow Sherlock Holmes in unravelling the dark secrets behind the odd dancing men figures. This will be an excellent introduction for kids to Conan Doyle's classic stories, and will hopefully inspire them to read the originals as well! I will certainly be recommending this series to my younger mystery-loving students as the natural next step from the Famous Five and Secret Seven books!

"𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕."

This series of classic Sherlock Holmes stories, adapted by Alex Woolf, serve as a wonderful introduction for younger readers of many ages to Holmes, Watson, and the adventures they have together.

Each book is written in an easy to read and understand format, dividing each story into six chapters. The illustrations add a touch of whimsy and help support the text. Woolf retains essential clues, dialogue and plot, while highlighting the ordinary in the extraordinary. I was unfamiliar with all three stories that I read, allowing me to experience the tales with fresh eyes and an excitement to see how the clues were going to piece together. The Dancing Men is a mysterious tale that involves death and secret messages! Holmes is asked by Hilton Cubitt to solve why child's drawings of stick figure men keep appearing at his home, in letters and drawn underneath windowsills. His wife becomes scared, due to her secret past. The dancing men clearly mean something but what? Holmes and Watson experience quite the adventure solving this question and racing to prevent further harm!

The Dancing Men is a cryptic tale; this adaptation serves as a great introduction, for those who have discovered Enola Holmes on Netflix, to her famous brother. I will definitely be adding this series to my classroom library. Thank you to Arcturus Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

Really good adaptation for children. Easier to read without spoiling the original story. The children are really enjoying this range of books.

Really good way of retelling the Sherlock Holmes stories, and to introduce them to children. Even as an adult I highly enjoyed these versions

Bravo for capturing the spirit of Sherlock Holmes and turning the story into a child friendly one. We loved reading of Sherlocks adventures and the illustrations were nice too. I wasn't familiar with the story of The Dancing Men and enjoyed trying to solve the mystery. Will definitely read more stories like this one!

This charming little book is such an obvious idea, it’s surprising that nobody has thought of it before.
The Sherlock Holmes stories (16 in the series) have been adapted for children, complete with Eve O'Brien's delightful illustrations, by Alex Woolf. Here, the famous story “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” is retold in a much simplified version, but this doesn’t harm the tale: it still manages to be a complete story with a beginning, middle and end.
Narrated, as usual, by Doctor Watson, the story is engaging and should keep the little ones guessing until the end. Holmes’ explanation of the true meaning of the dancing men is so clear that it puts Conan Doyle to shame! The chapters are short allowing the book to be read and enjoyed by parents and children in one go. It is slightly violent but not in a gratuitous way. Alex Woolf has a good command of the story and it doesn’t have any obvious triggers.
Overall, “The Dancing Men” is a triumph and it is a book every child over seven will enjoy. I’m so interested to see how the other stories such as “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and “The Final Problem” are handled that I may end up reading them all myself!

Thank you so much to Arcturus and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

This was such an interesting case, I loved the use of coding and having the dancing men, it made it very unique. I had deduced right away that they were a code and was so glad I was right, but it may be a shock to others that read it. I loved solving this whole story and learning what Mrs. Cubitts secret was, why and what she was hiding from her husband.

This one had a little bit of a darker story too in the events that followed within the story but the transcriber wrote it in a really clever way that it would still be suitable for children. But it certainly shocked me when I reached that part as I never saw it coming at all.

I really enjoyed all the illustrations throughout the pages, I really do love how they are blended between the story, you get to see the evidence unfold whilst reading about them it’s really clever.

This is such an amazing Sherlock Holmes series and a great way of getting your kids interested in this classic mystery series.

I’m a huge fan of the original Sherlock Holmes mysteries and I really love to see the adaptations made to these classics to make them more accessible. This one was perfect for a young audience and works great as children’s fiction. Even for adults who just love the stories!

Sherlock Holmes and his trusty Watson make for great reading, and this particular story, The Dancing Men, was a great show of this famous detectives ability to crack a complicated case!

When a man enlists the help of Holmes after receiving what looks like strange children’s drawings, a race against time ensues, but will he crack the case in time…?

It never fails to amaze me how Holmes draws his conclusions from the clues that he observes and his abilities in deduction. Another story I was mind blown by and the writing on this adapted version was great, along with the accompanying drawings. A great quick read for all who like a mystery!

I very much enjoy this series of Sherlock Holmes titles for young readers. Each is a short chapter book with cartoonish illustrations. The stories are well and simply told while keeping that sense of wonder about the ways in Holmes is able to find clues and draw conclusions.

This book begins with a perfect example. Holmes explains how he knew that Watson was not going to make a particular investment. Young, future, detectives will surely be inspired.

The actual case begins with a drawing that looks like one made by a child. The figures in this drawing are the dancing men of the story’s title. The note is brought to Holmes by a gentleman who married a woman with a mysterious past. More and more drawings are found. What is going on? What is the reason for an escalation that ends with a death? Young readers will, I think, be eager to find out.

I confess that I have not read all of the Holmes stories so this was new to me. I enjoyed trying (unsuccessfully) to solve the case.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Arcturus publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.