Oliver and the Grot

For the very young, this book is for reading to kids from age five. For capable youngsters who will be reading it alone, the book is suitable for age six and above. The large illustrations identify the unique and unusual feature. Although intended for a juvenile readership, the characters portrayed are all in their upper teens.

To classify this book as "easy-reading" does point out the general use of short words. Only an occasional difficult word, or a few having three syllables, may call for help from an adult. The story describes ordinary hardships attributable to work and certain unfriendly behavior on the part of the Grot. This is solved by a parody upon a well-known fairy tale, leading to a happy ending.

This book is accompanied by an e-book version. When used under an operating system such as Windows 8, it provides ReadPlay for children. It is well suited to being read at Christmastime.