I haven't read these since elementary school, but I received one as a gift recently so I thought I'd read a few of them again. As an adult reader, it has a bit of a time capsule quality to the story with the settings and the mannerisms. It's a quick read with satisfyingly unpleasant "bad guys." Honestly it reminds me just a touch of 101 Dalmatians. Anyway, I'll give a few more a try this year.