This is the book series I never wanted to end! I have read through each book in the series, and after finishing each I feel a bittersweet happiness. Woolf has done an excellent job of making Sherlock and his adventures accessible to younger readers while maintaining the integrity and depth of each of his exploits. I can't say enough positive things about this series! Classroom libraries need these, school libraries need these, and home libraries need these for bedtime reading. These books would make a wonderful literacy station for solving mysteries and listening for clues! I love these books!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC! Great series for younger readers and the illustration are wonderful. A great series to introduce children to Sherlock Holmes for them to understand.

I really enjoyed the books in this series and this is no exception!

I always loved The Six Napoleons and this was a great adaptation. Wonderful for younger readers and the illustrations are brilliant.

An easy and comforting read for days when you just want to chill.

Really good way to get reading a Sherlock Holmes mystery that’s easier to understand and great for kids too.

I have really enjoyed the books in this series and I delight in picking up a new book when it is released.

I thought that this was a great retelling of The Six Napoleons and a great introduction to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson for younger readers too.

The book was easy to follow and I really liked the illustrations that were added to the book to bring the story to life too. The book was well written and really enjoyable for me as an adult too, a great overview.

It is 5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended and a fun read too!

Another brilliantly retold Holmes tale complete with wonderful illustrations! The more of these I read the more I see where certain modern works have been influenced!

Arcturus has published a series of Sherlock Holmes stories that have been revised and illustrated. Their target audience is beginning chapter book readers. Each tale remains an exciting (if simplified) read. This time kids will join Holmes and Watson as they determine why a series of Napoleon figurines are being smashed. Of course, they are equal to the case. Will smart young reader/sleuths make some deductions?

This title provides a good introduction to the Conan Doyle canon. Young readers may just feel encouraged to tackle the originals as well.

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

I still absolutely adore this series, the illustrations worked really well with this title and it is perfect for a younger reader

A great children’s book for Sherlock Holmes fan! The author has done a great job in staying true to form on the original work by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These books are a fast read and the mystery is sure to keep their attention! A great series of books to read for all ages.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc of this title in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was excited to see a new adaptation of Doyle's work aimed at younger readers, but this middling adaptation stumbles more often than it succeeds. The illustrations are the best part of this title, lifting an other ways confused attempt at adaptation with their wit and charm. The authors removed great sections from the original story but left most of the difficult vocabulary and sentence construction intact in the form of seemingly endless conversations. Readers interested in Sherlock Holmes will find it difficult to follow the story with its high-level of vocabulary and complex sentence structure.

Children could absolutely enjoy Doyle's work in adaptation form, and do, in the form of the many detective stories that Doyle continues to inspire, but unfortunately this work is unlikely to draw and maintain their interest.

Who is sneaking around London and smashing busts of Napoleon Bonaparte? And how did a murdered Italian man end up in front of the house where one such bust-smashing intruder broke in? Lestrade thinks it's all down to Italian Mafia business, and believes the murder is the main issue to be investigated, not the bust-smashing, which is probably the work of a lunatic. But Sherlock Holmes has other ideas, and sets off with Dr Watson to trace the origins of the smashed busts, and slowly things fall into place. Kids will love the intriguing chain of events and Holmes' ingenious deductions as the real reason behind the bust-smashing and the murder is finally revealed!

With thanks to the author, publishers Arcturus Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I have been a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series since I was young, and this series of abridged versions aimed at young readers is a welcome addition to the multitude of other editions of the stories already out there, with these books being written in language specifically aimed at readers aged 7-11.

This is only the second in the series that I have read but, as with the first one, despite the relatively short length of the book, the author of this particular edition has done a great job in capturing the nuances of the plot and staying true to the original work, while the cartoonish illustrations enhance the reading experience even more.

I hope and fully expect that this book and others in the series will inspire younger readers to seek out the original versions by Arthur Conan Doyle. Recommended.

A fantastic, faithful abridged version of the classic Sherlock Holmes short story The Six Napoleons, capturing the narrative and spirit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work brilliantly. Inspector Lestrade tells Holmes and Watson about the bizarre serial smashing of certain busts of Napoleon across London -- one at a store that sells statues, and two at a private collector's house. Holmes is intrigued and decides to investigate. But before long, another bust is stolen from a journalist's house and smashed...and a dead man is found at the journalist's door! Could this serial smasher/killer be more than just a Napoleon-hating lunatic? Holmes sleuths around and realises that all the smashed busts were made at the same factory in a batch of six! Can he catch the perpetrator, and could there be a secret motive for the culprit's Napoleon-specific vandalism?

This book includes cartoonish illustrations that capture the plot and characters nicely and will be sure to an extra layer of entertainment for young readers as they follow Sherlock Holmes in untangling the mystery of the smashed Napoleon busts. This entire series 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 young mystery-loving students as a next step from the Famous Five and Secret Seven books.

** “As you say, Lestrade, this affair appears trivial, yet many of my greatest cases had inconsequential beginnings, and this one feels it has some promise to it.” **

Alex Woolf retells “The Six Napoleons,” an Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes short story that highlights the power of deduction.

Lestrade of London’s Metropolitan Police asks Sherlock for his help in a rather unique case — a number of identical busts of Napoleon Bonaparte have been stolen and destroyed. As more and more of the busts are smashed, Holmes and Lestrade have to figure out why someone keeps destroying them — and what they have to do with a murder that occurred at one of the crime scenes.

“The Six Napoleons” reminds us to remember and file away clues while using the power of deduction to come to a solution.

Filled with delightful illustrations by Eve O’Brien, “The Six Napoleons” 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 the notorious detective.

Five stars out of five.

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

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I grew up reading mystery hotels for kids and am so excited to add these beautifully redone Sherlock Holmes stories to my collection to share with the kids in my life! They are just like the originals but intended for a juvenile audience.

We love this series of books, they are suitable for all of the family. The books keep all of the important parts of the original story but make it more accessible to the younger members of the family. The illustrations are great too.

Arcturus Publishing has adapted 16 tales from Sherlock Holmes for young readers. The Six Napoleons is a lesser known Holmes story that is action packed - why is someone breaking and entering to steal and subsequently smash 6 statues of Napoleon? It's child's play for Holmes!

Great work! Will recommend for Elementary and Middle School libraries

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

Holmes officer friend is on a rather unusual investigation and feels Holmes and Watson would enjoy it. Busts of Napoleon have been smashed and now a murder outside one of the houses too. As always only Holmes is able to piece everything together and solve the case.

I really thought I’d solved this whilst reading but then it twisted again and what I thought wasn’t really correct. I love that about these Sherlock Holmes books that no matter what the case you can try and solve them but then they always add in a twist and you cannot actually solve them. So much fun.

This one’s case was really random with the busts being smashed and breaking into houses to retrieve them. The officer really had no idea what was going on or why they were all being smashed and it was actually really entreating with how clueless he was and how smart Holmes was as he’d had ideas from the start to what was going on.

I really love this series of Sherlock Holmes stories but adjusted for a young audience and made to be a bit simpler to read and understand, with added illustrations throughout the books. If you are interested in mystery books for your children I do recommend these they are so unique and a really fun read.

the six napoleon's by Alex Woolf and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
sherlock Holmes and Watson have a new case. very mysterious. can they solve it with the help of Lestrade?.
a very enjoyable read. I love sherlock Holmes. the illustrations done by Eve O'brien were very well done. a great read for any child. 5*.

Another wonderful mystery set in London around June 1900. Centre stage is Sherlock Holmes and the adventure is related to us by his companion Dr Watson a case that truly flummoxed, Lestrade of the Yard.
Someone appears to be stealing busts of Napoleon and smashing them into pieces without thought of taking anything else from the homes they has burgled.
Holmes is delighted to lend his expertise and quickly becomes actively involved.
A perfect introduction for young readers, 7-11 year of age to become drawn into the world of crime fiction and meet perhaps the greatest detective of all time. Doyle’s characters and treated within their own timeframe as award winning children’s author Woolf re-tells these classic stories in their original context.
The finished books are beautifully illustrated by Eve O’Brien whose drawing bring wit and clarity to the text.
I am sure this will be another well received title in this tremendous collection of Holmes and Watson stories.
Easy to read without much need for adult explanation; the telling and revealing of mysteries are a literary winner at whatever age.