When John and I first started Mandarin Companion, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” was on a very early list of books that we wanted to adapt. We knew that it would be a more complex book that needed the flexibility that level 2 would offer. Reading the book over again brought back the excitement and fantasy I experienced as a young teen reading it for the first time.
In paying homage to the original story, we decided to base many of the illustrations of the Mandarin Companion version on the original illustrations by French painter and illustrator Édouard Riou who illustrated six of Verne’s novels. The original illustrations have long since entered the public domain and we hope you enjoy the artistry and talent of illustrators, then and now!
“这张纸上的每个字的意思我都知道，可是把它们放在一起以后我完全看不懂！这是为什么？！”
“叔叔跟老许两个人，一先一后，开始慢慢地往下。”
“我走过去看了看，前面有三个看起来很像的路口。”
“叔叔坐在我身边，把他最后一点水拿出来让我喝。”
“老许用工具在石头上打了一个洞，水一下子就喷出来了，我兴奋地大叫起来。”
“叔叔让我们每半个小时休息一次”
“这些植物不但高大，而且长得很特别。”
“我感觉海面一直在动，好像水下有很大的东西在动来动去。”
“我发现在离我们不远的地方，两只特别大的怪物打了起来。”
“前面有一个岛！”慢慢地，我才发现，水的声音是岛上的地下水在往上喷。
“海水就带着我们的船也掉进了那个大洞里！”
To check out the book or get a copy of your own, click on the image above or visit the book page!
