The Hunt Begins

“In the year 1866, ships all around the world reported a strange and terrible thing.”

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne · Episode 1 of 8

Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea was first published in French in 1869–1870 and became one of the most famous science-fiction adventures ever written. This episode begins the story of Professor Aronnax's ten-month journey beneath the ocean. Verne wrote during the Victorian era, when submarines were still experimental and the deep sea was almost entirely unknown. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The novel is worth reading because it combines scientific curiosity, moral questions, and unforgettable undersea wonders—Verne invites the reader to ask not only what lies in the ocean's depths, but who might live there, and why.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readersTypical starting range: ages 6–8

Length

medium · about 592 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Jules Verne

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (8 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Colouring page
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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