The present study deals with adaptations of literary classics for adoption by schools. This thesis is based on the premise that every adaptation written for young readers is an actualization of a literary discourse. Adaptations exist and are necessary because every society is built by means of a sophisticated and complex net of discourses (artistic, juridical, scientific, political, religious etc.); and for society to maintain a certain cohesion and to rebuild itself constantly, it must be capable of actualizing them - a task which is by no means simple, easy or free from conflicts. The function of using adaptations in schools is to keep alive and active a tradition which is considered valuable, by presenting to a new generation of readers what has come to be considered as the literary canon. After all, traditions can only be maintained through renewal: a literary discourse which is not actualized through attracting new readers ends up being forgotten and abandoned. By studying the history of the book and of copyright, we can identify both the origins of adaptations written for schools as part of the educational system and the reasons behind certain prejudices against this specific genre. Based on Michel Foucault, Edward Said, Jorge Luis Borges and Monteiro Lobato, this thesis counterposes literature as narrative with the ideology of the fixed text formulated in the 18th century. The greatest challenge for the adaptor in his task of summarizing and rewriting the plot is choosing where (or how) to cut it. A summarized narrative becomes a new narrative, one where a story with a beginning, a middle and an end has to be told. It has to be at the same time the same narrative (containing the past, the canon) and a different one (accessible by the reader s receptive competence). The adaptor needs to adapt the language to the reader s age group as well as to respect the limits imposed by the prevailing moral code. Technique, talent and research are required to achieve this balance. One has to know the work to be adapted extremely well, be able to understand why it has lasted and continues to be read and revered, surviving the test of time. The hypotheses put forward in this thesis were tested in two lots of field work carried out with readers in the seventh grade of secondary education, on adaptations written by Ana Maria Machado and Ruth Rocha.