Simplified vs. dumbed down

You know by now, Gentle Reader, that we are book people here. And you know that I'm kind of a snob, at least for myself. Give me the unabridged version, thankyouverymuch. Annotated is fine, analysis is great, footnotes are encouraged. But don't cut or dumb it down on me. I can handle it.

So that may bring up the question of why we have forty-some Great Illustrated Classics [GIC]. In short, they're for the kids. I'm not reading them; they're there for me to read to the kids or, soon enough, for them to read to themselves.

A friend was recently discussing those with a friend of hers who wasn't as much of a fan. Now, let's get something established first. There's a difference between simplified and dumbed down. The difference is relevant to the original source. To take the Little House books and make them "easy readers" is dumbing them down where the GIC version of Count of Monte Cristo is simplified. What's the difference?

Listen, have you looked at these? The Little House books are written at maybe a third grade level. That's not an insult since I'll bet they're intended for 8-year-old girls. They just don't have much room to move down, you know?
But Count of MC is fifteen hundred pages. That's a lot to drop in front of someone, especially a kid. Even in English is a high school reading level, anyway. The same goes for others--Pride and Prejudice, Three Musketeers, Time Machine, Huckleberry Finn, Black Beauty, Little Women, Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist. [Can you tell we have more than a few?]
I realize some of the GIC books are already kids' books and I'm okay with that. The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden--so be it. In a few years they may want the original version. I've never read the original Wizard but I get the reference if someone says, "We're not in Kansas anymore" or "I'll just sic my flying monkeys on you." Though I have seen the movie...
If Dale remembers us reading Huck Finn together and picks up the GIC version in a few years, great. I think that makes it more likely that, when he discovers there's an "adult" version, he'll want to find out what he missed. He won't spend time wondering about the storyline; he'll be able to concentrate on the deeper issues in the novel.
It's kind of like me with books versus movies. Yeah, I'll watch the movie, but I'd really rather read the book. Dale already is talking about reading The Black Stallion since he's seen the movie.

I know too that some are on Kolbe's middle school lit program. If any of my kids tries to get away with reading those instead of the original, it will not be kosher. But if they've read the GIC version in third grade, and have an idea what's going on when they read it in seventh or eighth, it will be a good thing.