There are many children's retellings and adaptations available that might be more appropriate and/or entertaining. However, some of the content of the story is a bit suggestive.

In terms of target audience, I'm guessing Edith Grossman's is the most accessible, thus most suitable for a child John Rutherford's might also be pretty fun. Montgomery's translation seems to be a good modern version. Tom Lathrop's translation is a bit academic. John Rutherford's translation has long sentences, but uses modern language, inserts explanations into the text rather than in notes, and is said to emphasize the humor of the story.Įdith Grossman's translation uses modern language and is highly and widely praised. Walter Starkie's unabridged translation is out of print.īurton Raffel's translation is considered 'natural' and 'colloquial' sounding, but the edition available is very academic, with essays included. JM Cohen's translation has 'fairly lifeless' prose. Samuel Putnam's translation has been characterized as wordy, pedantic, and convoluted or almost incomprehensible. These are the translations written from 1949 onward: Okay, so I know the particular child in question is no longer five, but here's my answer, in case it helps other parents wishing to share the story of Don Quixote with their children:

Everyman's library don quixote