(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Scott McKowen. These classic stories are presented in unabridged formats with attached ribbon bookmarks. Accompanying the texts are a handful of effectively creepy scratchboard drawings that illustrate choice details (e.g., in Poe's "Berenice," the "instruments of dental surgery" surrounded by extracted teeth). The books conclude with some generic open-ended questions. Review covers these titles: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Dracula.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) YA Illustrated by Gris Grimly. Grimly (Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Madness) abridges and illustrates four more chilling Poe tales in this volume, leading with "The Tell-Tale Heart." Dynamic page design propels each story while contextualizing the sometimes challenging language. By the end, though, it feels like an awful lot of sameness; each tale may have been better served by an individual adaptation.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(4) 4-6 Creative Short Stories series. Each volume begins with an evocative frontispiece (the same as the cover image) by Etienne Delessert or Gary Kelley. The main design element within the texts is occasional, and distracting, use of colored font. An illustration of each author (also by Delessert or Kelley) accompanies a brief appended biography; a short essay about each text is also included. Review covers these Creative Short Stories titles: The Ransom of Red Chief, The Lottery, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Happy Prince.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA Visions in Poetry series. Illustrated by Ryan Price. The tortured mind of the grieving narrator in Poe's hypnotic poem is brought to life with a nearly equal measure of nightmarish and illustrative imagery. Rendered in dry point, the art's varying shades of black underscore the menacing tone of the verse. This sophisticated interpretation will surely attract older readers who are fans of the gothic.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Illustrated by Gris Grimly. "The Black Cat," "The Masque of the Red Death," "Hop-Frog," and "The Fall of the House of Usher" are lavishly illustrated in horror-comics style. There's great stylistic variety in Grimly's macabre work--which includes full-page tableaux, framed panels, and spot art--but Poe purists will not be happy that their boy's stories have all been abridged.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) YA Whole Story series. Illustrated by Jame's Prunier. "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" are among the other six stories in this collection, which is profusely illustrated with atmospheric artwork. Vying for space in the margins are supplemental facts, biographic details, and archival photos. Although this informational approach may enhance the text for students, the intense stories require focus and sustained immersion to be completely effective.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta