Abstract
This paper is a guide to 25 Easy Story House books and 15 Popcorn ELT Readers, both of which are a kind of picture books for young learners of English in about the same levels, though they are from different publishers. The former collects a wide range of famous stories for children from legendary folk tales, mostly Grimm’s Fairy Tales such as Thumbelina, Rumpelstiltskin, and Rapunzel, to modern creations like Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant, and Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit. The latter gathers animated films, especially Hollywood’s hit series like Shrek, Ice Age, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda.
In comparison, it is likely that Popcorn ELT Readers produced by the larger publishing firm Scholastic will attract more readers because of their much familiar, movie characters, which feature the front covers. It is surely fun to look at still pictures from the movies; yet, it is rather boring to read the outline of an animation movie just because it is stripped of its motions, voices, music, and special effects, all of which make the movie interesting. Easy Story House books are more enjoyable to read even if young readers are less interested in unfamiliar, old folk tales. Above all Grimm’s Fairy Tales (I recommend The Wonderful Musician and Henny Penny) are immortal and definitely worth reading. WorldCom ELT decorates the series with unique illustrations by talented Korean artists.
