Core Classics Series Stories loved for generations come to life for today's young readers in the Core ClassicsTM series. Faithful to the style, plot, and themes of the originals, Core Classics are designed for use as classroom editions of the literary works listed in the Core Knowledge Sequence. They include introductions by E. D. Hirsch Jr., editor of the Core Knowledge© Series (What Your Kindergartner - Sixth Grader Needs to Know). The Core Classics are generally considered suitable for fourth and fifth grade students. The texts are illustrated, annotated, and include a brief biography of the author. From the Introduction Once when his stepson was sick, Robert Louis Stevenson kept him company by making a map of an imaginary island. Thus was born the story of Treasure Island. The map they colored eventually appeared in the book's first pages. Besides the mysterious map, the story had cutthroat pirates, chests of buried treasure, a scheming one-legged cook, and a wild-eyed castaway. If kids don't like this story, Stevenson once said, "they have gone rotten." - from Amzon