Journey to the Center of the Earth (Sterling Unabridged Classics Series) »

A legendary French author and pioneer of the science fiction genre, Jules Verne wrote visionary tales of space, air, and underwater adventure in classics like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

What a stunning discovery: an old, coded note that actually contains directions for reaching the Earth’s very core! And once he finds it, renowned geologist Professor Liedenbrock can’t resist setting out with his 16-year-old nephew to go where only one man has gone before. Jules Verne takes young readers on one of the most incredible journeys ever imagined, from Iceland’s frozen tundra far down into fantastic underground prehistoric worlds and back up again through the fires of an erupting volcano.

Children's Literature

Axel is quite at home with rocks. Perhaps this is because he lives with his eccentric but brilliant uncle, the geologist and adventurer Professor Lidenbrock. Usually, his uncle's adventures are odd, but not completely insane. That is until a runic note falls from a text that Professor Lidenbrock is reading. The note becomes the key to a quest that may lead them the very center of the earth. The pair departs immediately for Iceland, hiring Hans Bjelke as a guide. They follow the instructions on the note and do indeed find a passage into the earth. There, they experience a number of wonders and frights far beyond what they have ever imagined. They pass through a chamber with flammable gas and use acoustic phenomenon to talk to each other while they are miles apart. They continue on and find an ocean. They cross the ocean, only to witness two dinosaurs attacking each other. Then, they see a herd of dinosaurs walk by a prehistoric man over twelve feet tall. The travelers begin to leave, only to be stopped by a caved-in tunnel. They blast their way through and are rushed out of the volcano in a pool of water and magma. They return to their home in Germany and are greeted with joy and treated famously. While this story is indeed a classic and truly belongs on library shelves, only the most die-hard fantasy fans will love this book. Verne's descriptions and characterizations are wonderful, but he is definitely not a writer for the casual reader. Reviewer: Melyssa Malinowski