Follow more of the hilarious life of the boy Penrod Schofield, his friends Sam Williams, Herman, Verman, Georgie, Maurice, and the love of his life, Marjorie Jones.
Rinkitink in Oz is the tenth book in the Oz series written by L. Frank Baum, first published in 1916. It was originally written in 1905 as a stand alone fantasy work and subequently rewritten as an Oz book. Therefore, most of the action takes place outside of Oz in neighboring fairy countries. It tells the story of Prince Inga's quest to rescue his parents from captivity after his island home is ravaged by enemies. With the help of three magical pearls and the more dubious assistance of the excessively jolly King Rinkitink and his surly goat, Bilbil, his travels lead him to the underground caverns of the Nome King where he is united with some people from Oz who help him to free his parents and restore his island kingdom. (description written by Judy Bieber)
This is a charming book on Art History for children (and everyone else). Each chapter focuses on a great painting, reproduced in color in the original text. The authors explain the story behind the paintings, as well as the life, times, and techniques of the artists.
The Adventures of Paddy Beaver is another in the long list of children’s books by the conservationist, Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, the industrious and clever Paddy Beaver, a newcomer to the Green Forest, has encounters with Sammy Jay, Jerry Muskrat, Ol’ Man Coyote and other inhabitants of the Green Forest. Along the way, we learn how Paddy builds his dam and his house, and how he stores his food. We also learn little lessons about life, such as the importance of planning before doing, caring for Nature, trusting others, the benefits of working together and how wonderful it is to have a job one can sink one’s teeth into.
Tom Swift is the young protagonist in a series of juvenile adventure novels which began in the early twentieth century and continue to the present. Tom Swift is a genius inventor whose breakthroughs in technology (especially transport technology) drive the plots of the novels, placing them in a genre sometimes called "invention fiction" or "Edisonade". This book is the 20th in the original series published from 1910 -1942, written by a ghost writer using the name of Victor Appleton. This adventure takes Tom and his cohorts to Honduras in search of a Mayan idol of gold. (K. McAsh adapted from information found on Wikipedia)
The Slant Book is literally the shape of a parallelogram, with the spine of the book running down one side. When opened, facing pages form a "V" shape. All the pictures on the slanted recto pages show a way-too-precocious infant in a carriage [the "go-cart" of yesteryear] racing downhill who has somehow gotten away from his nanny, gleefully creating havoc all along the way! The facing verso pages contain two stanzas of commentary on the charming --if alarming!-- illustrations.
This book pioneered the "special format" children's literature of today, such as pop-up books or cutout books like Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Newell books from 80 years ago have been reprinted, since Newell has undergone a resurgence in popularity much as Dr. Seuss's books did during the 1980s.
Join us as we follow Jerry Muskrat and his friends on an adventure to discover what is threatening their homeland, Laughing Brook and Smiling Pool.
Deep in the heart of every parent is the wish, the desire, to have other adults tell us, in an unsolicited way, just how very polite one’s child is! This perhaps was even more the case in 1903, when Gelett Burgess produced his second book on the Goops. With entertaining cartoons - caricatures of misbehaving children - he described many different breaches of tact and good manners.
Burgess wrote several books of poetry on the Goops, each poem describing some significant way in which an unthoughtful or unkind child could offend polite society and often offering the hope that the listener would never behave that way. Ahem! Well, perhaps very few people have succeeded in not acting Goop-like at some point in their lives, but read along with Burgess as he attempts to define, in a humorous fashion, exactly what the differences between “Good” and “Goop” are!
Written primarily for children, James Baikie's 'peep' at ancient Egypt is a really well done, historical account of the ways of that fascinating land so many years ago. It has stood well the test of time, being both well researched and well written. It's a fun book for everyone, and families especially will enjoy listening together.
G. A . Henty was a prolific writer of historical fiction for young adults. In this collection of shorter stories we visit Malay pirates, have a couple of tales of India, a shipwreck off the Channel Islands and a bursting dam in California, and finish off escaping from captivity in China
The second book in The Bobbsey Twins series finds the two sets of twins experiencing life in the country during the first part of their summer vacation from school. Their stay with their aunt, uncle and cousins on their farm in Meadow Brook is filled with new adventures for the 'city' Bobbseys.
Published in 1903, Gawayne and the Green Knight is a modern-language retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a 14th-century verse romance following a young knight of the Round Table. During Christmas celebrations, a mysterious, entirely green knight presents a challenge to King Arthur's court: that any may strike the stranger a single blow with his green axe, provided he assent to receiving the same a year later. Gawayne accepts the challenge, and its unexpected outcome leads to a great test of his courage and knighthood. A significant addition to this version is the Lady Elfinhart, whose back-story and romance with Gawayne are tightly interwoven with the plot.
This book includes the classic alphabet, Sing-A-Song Of Sixpence, The Frog Who Would A Wooing go, The Three LIttle Pigs, Puss In Boot, and The Ugly Duckling. Fun for all ages!
I first read this little book when I was in the fifth grade, and now more than fifty years later, I still find it fascinating. Ernest Thompson Seton was a man with a concern for nature her creatures and an excellent story teller. I could almost feel Wahb, the great grizzly’s pain and frustration as he tried to avoid contact with humans and just be left alone to carry out his bear business. Listening to this audio book will be an hour and a half well spent.Summary by Mike Vendetti, Narrator.
Who is stealing all the magic in Oz? Dorothy and her friends set out to comb all of Oz, not only for magic stolen from Glinda and the Wizard, but also for the kidnapped princess, Ozma. Along the way, they explore regions never seen in other Oz books, meeting strange and interesting people and animals, and falling into peril more than once. It’s a desperate mission – for if the thefts are all linked, then it means that some magician unknown to them has acquired powers beyond any available to them now. How will they find him? And how will they conquer him? Not one of them knows – but with continuing faith that goodness will triumph, they march forth to try.
Dream Days is a collection of children's fiction and reminiscences of childhood written by Kenneth Grahame. A sequel to Grahame's 1895 collection The Golden Age (some of its selections feature the same family of five children), Dream Days was first published in 1898 under the imprint John Lane: The Bodley Head. (The first six selections in the book had been previously published in periodicals of the day—in the Yellow Book, the New Review, and in Scribner's Magazine in the United States.) The book is best known for its inclusion of Grahame's classic story The Reluctant Dragon. Like its precursor volume, Dream Days received strong approval from the literary critics of the day. In the decades since, the book has perhaps suffered a reputation as a thinner and weaker sequel to The Golden Age—except for its single hit story. In one modern estimation, both books "paint a convincingly unsentimental picture of childhood, with the adults in these sketches totally out of touch with the real concerns of the young people around them, including their griefs and rages." Its concern is chiefly with the lands of imagination, ranging from a reconnaisance of men of solitude, a disastrous introduction of a girl to the narrator's private castle in the clouds, derring-do on the high seas, and, of course, an encounter with a dragon. Its concluding bittersweet story bids a reluctant farewell to the dream days of childhood.
Sky Island (1912) was the second of three titles written by Baum featuring a spunky girl from California, Trot, and her companion, the old sailorman, Cap’n Bill. Baum had hoped to end the Oz series in 1910 and the following year he introduced Trot and Cap’n Bill in The Sea Fairies. In Sky Island, they journey to an island in the sky by means of an enchanted umbrella belonging to Button Bright, a character who first appeared in The Road to Oz (1909). The trio is then captured by the Boolaroo of the Blues, a monarch who is both comical and dangerous, escape to the country of the “Pinks”, and eventually regain the magic umbrella and return back to earth. This is one of Baum’s best fantasy books and contains enough not-so-veiled commentary on race and politics to interest adults as well. However, it (and The Sea Fairies) did not sell as well as the Oz books and Baum resumed writing them in 1913. He subsequently brought Trot and Cap’n Bill to Oz in 1915 in The Scarecrow of Oz.
What would you do if you discovered a dragon living in a cave on a hill above your home? Make friends, read poetry together? It turns out that not all dragons are intent on pillaging the countryside. Some might actually enjoy peace, quiet, and the occasional banquet. The Boy of this story knows how to handle dragons, and life is good… until a knight in shining armor arrives in town to exterminate his friend! It doesn’t matter that it’s a “good” dragon — rules are rules, you know!
Set in the days of the religious wars of Europe, St. Bartholomew's Eve is the tale of the Huguenot's desperate fight for freedom of worship in France. As the struggle intensifies the plot thickens, culminating in the dreadful Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve. Henty, "The Boy's Own Storyteller" weaves the life and adventures of Philip Fletcher and his cousin, Francois DeLaville, into the historical background with thrilling battles, sieges and escapes along the way (not to mention a fair damsel in distress! ).
Arthur Scott Bailey (1877 – 1949) was author of more than forty children's books. He was born on November 15, 1877, in St. Albans, Vermont, United States, the second child of Winfield Scott Bailey and Harriet Sarah Goodhue.
THERE was great excitement in the neighborhood of Farmer Green's house. Rusty Wren had found some strange tracks. And nobody knew whose they were.
Now, when they were puzzled like that the field- and forest-folk usually went straight to Mr. Crow for advice. But this time it happened that the old gentleman had gone on an excursion to the further side of Blue Mountain, where Brownie Beaver lived. And there seemed to be no one else at hand who was likely to be able to explain the mystery. 21426
The Rocket Book begins when the son of a building superintendent sets a match to a rocket he discovered in the basement. Suddenly, the rocket blasts its way up through apartment after apartment in a high-rise, disrupting and transforming the humdrum goings-on of twenty families till it is finally stopped cold by something in the attic. An elliptical hole is punched in each of the book's pages and illustrations to signify where the rocket passed through every apartment! As in all of Newell's books, the verse on the verso-page provides commentary on the recto-page illustration.
This book and Newell’s The Slant Book pioneered the “special format” children’s literature of today, such as pop-up books or cutout books like Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Newell’s books from 80 years ago have been reprinted, since Newell has undergone a resurgence in popularity much as Dr. Seuss’s books did during the 1980s. This is a boon for teachers and home-schooling parents, since this recording can now be listened to as youngsters page through a real book (ISBN: 0-8048-0505-9) or as they view the ICDL scanned version online (both are a real treat)!
George MacDonald is mainly known for his fantasy works and fairy tales such as At the Back of the North Wind and the Princess and the Goblin. However, during his life he was more famous for many more realistic novels. . . among them the somewhat autobiographical Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood.
This story of a young motherless boy growing up with his brothers in a Scottish manse is full of delightful characters. There is Kirsty, an enchanting Highland storyteller, Turkey, the intrepid cowherd, the evil Kelpie, and the lovely Elsie Duff. Throughout the twists and turns of his escapades and adventures Ranald learns from his father the important lessons of courage and integrity.
When Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood came out in 1871 the New York Independent praised it as "full of sweetness, full of boy-life and true goodness". Perhaps, but it is also a good story, from the master of storytellers.
A tale written for children in 1885.
It tells of a child of noble birth whose parents have fallen foul of the current royalty. He is placed in hiding and grows up with a bowyer and then apprenticed to an armourer just outside the gates of the City of London.
He becomes accomplished in arms and joins the campaign in France where we see the battles of Crecy and Poitiers through his eyes.
A tale of heroism and 14th century viciousness.
Great fun.
Summary: Four short Christmas stories, a bit sentimental, but still affecting and worthwhile. Plus Four Christmas verses.
"And now, mamma, until your tea is ready, we know what you must do," said the children, in a breath. "Tell us a story—a 'real, truly' fairy tale, about a giant and a dwarf, lots and lots of fairies, a prince and a beautiful princess with hair to her very feet, a champion with a magic sword, a dragon-chariot, a witch dressed in snake-skin—and, if you can, an ogre. Don't punish anybody but the witch and the ogre; and please don't have any moral, only let everybody 'live in peace and die in a pot of grease,' at the end of it." "To be sure, we know most of mamma's stories by heart," said the sage elder of nine. "If she could only make up some new ones that aren't in any of our books! Or else, mamma, tell us something you heard a little bit of, long, long ago, from your nurse, and then make up the rest. But whatever one you tell, we'll be sure to like it anyhow." The stories told, the mother fell to musing, and the result is the little book here presented to the judgment of children other than her own—a few new fairy tales, on the old, old pattern!
From the first chapter: "History is a story, a story of things that happened to real live people in our England years ago; and the things that are happening here and now, and that are put in the newspapers, will be history for little children one of these days. And the people you read about in history were real live people, who were good and bad, and glad and sorry, just as people are now-a-days."
E. Nesbit writes about some of the people behind the names, dates and battles of English History in this lovely book for older children. The original book contains some beautiful illustrations and you can see those by clicking the 'Gutenberg' link below. Summary by Cori Samuel.
In this DIRECTORY you'll see just what you never ought to be; and so, it should direct your way to Good Behavior, every day. The children of whose faults I tell are known by other names, as well, so see that you aren't in this group of Naughty Ones. Don't be a Goop!
In this biography for young people, Calista McCabe Courtenay takes the reader from George Washington the surveyor to his early military career, first as a colonel in the Virgina militia and then as a member of General Braddock'a staff during the French and Indian War. He later commanded the Virginia forces before joining the First Continental Congress. Much of the book is devoted to his campaigns during the American Revolution. At the end, we see him as President for two terms.
A short travelogue of Egypt, this book was written as part of an early 20th century series of travelogues on exotic destinations.
"Mr. Bailey centered all his plots in the animal, bird and insect worlds, weaving natural history into the stories in a way that won educator's approval without arousing the suspicions of his young readers. He made it a habit to never 'write down' to children and frequently used words beyond the average juvenile vocabulary, believing that youngsters respond to the stimulus of the unfamiliar." (Summary – Wikipedia )
In this volume of adventure the author depicts the lives of certain humble modern heroes whose unconscious courage ordinarily goes unnoticed. Mr. Moffett
has chosen unusual and picturesque careers, and has offered dramatic scenes from the lives of the steeple climber, the diver, the balloonist,the pilot, the bridge builder, the fireman, the aerial acrobat, the wild animal trainer, the dynamite worker and lastly the locomotive driver.
Volunteers bring you 10 recordings of The Christmas Tree by Anonymous. This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 19, 2010
This poem taken from Christmas Entertainments by Alice Maude Kellogg, contianing fancy drills, acrostics, motion songs, tableaux, short plays, recitations in costume for children of five to fifteen years. (from book introduction)
In The Little Colonel in Arizona the story is centered around the Ware family, who, after their husband and father has died, and due to the mother's illness, have to move from Kentucky to Arizona. Joyce now has to take most of the responsibility for holding the family together. She is having difficulties in coming to terms with the family's new existence, feeling lonely and that her dreams for the future will never come true. But when she learns to know an invalid at Lee's Ranch who tells her the “Legend of Camelback Mountain”, and she learns the “Lesson of the Bees”, she begins to see a new hope growing.
A letter to Lloyd, “the Little Colonel”, has the effect that she comes to visit the Ware's at their Wigwam for a month. Here she meets the handsome and likeable Phil Tremont who stirs something in her heart, and she wonders if he might be the one written in the stars for her. But Phil, kind and likeable as he is, has his own problems and has to learn to handle them and to learn the “Legend of Alaka and the lost turquoises”.
Another important person who we get to know more of in this story is the talkative and entertaining little Mary Ware, who has an important role in other, later stories.
The Ontario Readers is a school book first published in 1919, by the Ontario Ministry of Education, containing short excerpts of literary works, both stories and poems, geared to grade-school age children.
This book contains verse for young and old. It is full of fantastic stories, breathtaking images, and brilliant rhymes. Including classics from "The Duel" to "The Delectable Ballad of Walter Lot," the author, a devout Christian, keeps his religious overtones to a minimum. When listening, please keep in mind that the text was originally written in the 1800s. -
Tales of the brave and daring explorers that ventured into the unknown "Sea of Darkness" where it was thought monsters and angry gods lived. They dared to sail near the equator which was thought to have such intense heat that it would boil the ocean water. It was also commonly thought at the time that the world was flat, and the ships would fall off the face of the earth. These men overcame these fears to explore and discover new lands.
In "Grace Harlowe's Junior Year at High School"; Or, "Fast Friends in the Sororities," the girl chums will appear as members of a High School sorority. Here the reader will make the acquaintance of Eleanor Savell, a clever but exceedingly wilful girl, whose advent in Oakdale High School brings about a series of happenings that make the story one of absorbing interest. The doings of a rival sorority, organized by Eleanor, the contest for dramatic honors between Eleanor and Anne Pierson and the mischievous plot against the latter originated by the former and frustrated by Grace Harlowe, are among the features that will hold the attention and cement the reader's friendship for the girl chums.
The four series follow Grace Harlowe and her friends through high school, college, abroad during World War I, and on adventures around America. The College Girls Series sees the friends part ways: Grace, Anne, and Miriam depart for Overton College, while Jessica and Nora attend a conservatory. The Eight Originals gather on holidays, but the seven College books focus on the three at Overton, along with new friends like J. Elfreda Briggs. They form Semper Fidelis, a society devoted to aiding less fortunate students at Overton. Following graduation, Grace rebuffs offers of marriage for "what she had firmly believed to be her destined work," managing Harlowe House at Overton.
This is the story of Henry Ware, a young boy living in the wilds of the Kentucky frontier of the 1700's. The story follows Henry as he helps to establish a frontier outpost, is captured by an Indian tribe, and ultimately ensures the safety and security of a band of settlers against the warring Shawnee Indians. The Young Trailers is action packed and brings to life the adventures that awaited the early settlers as they traversed into the endless forests of the American frontier.
Moni is the goat boy who takes care of all the goats belonging to the people of Fideris, Switzerland. He loves to sing, yodel, and whistle while he romps with the goats all day long on the mountains. His favorite is a young kid named Mäggerli. One day Moni comes across a serious situation where he must keep a deceitful secret in order to protect Mäggerli from being killed. Will Moni risk the life of Mäggerli and tell the truth? This delightful short story teaches children that to trust God and do right is always better than being deceitful.
A $10,000 prize lures Tom into competing at a local aviation meet at Eagle Park. Tom is determined to build the fastest plane around, but his plans mysteriously disappear, which means Tom must redesign his new airplane from the beginning.
A little boy, recuperating from a lengthy illness, is entertained by visits from the Counterpane Fairy, who treats him to stories associated with each of the squares in the counterpane (quilt) on his sickbed. She has him concentrate on one of the squares until it turns into something like a doorway into the story. Once inside the story, he becomes its lead character until it fades out as if he's awakening from a dream.
It is the 1570's, and the people of the Netherlands live in terror under the cruel dominion of Spain. Though many long to be free of Spanish tyranny, efforts at rebellion are failing, and allies are nowhere to be found. Edward “Ned” Martin, son of an English captain and a Dutch lady, is thrust into the conflict when he resolves to help his mother’s people and avenge his murdered relatives. Entering the service of the revolutionary leader William the Silent, Prince of Orange, Ned is called upon to carry out dangerous secret missions deep within occupied territory. Through hairbreadth escapes, fierce sea fights, terrifying sieges, and daring rescues, Ned becomes a witness to the inspiring and heartbreaking events of the rise of the Dutch republic.
The Poor Little Rich Girl is a children’s fantasy about a little girl named Gwendolyn who is lonely and longs for a friend. But she is isolated by rich parents who ignore her and left to the care of servants who are indifferent. Her nanny’s carelessness with some medicine plunges Gwendolyn into a bewildering world in which metaphors literally come to life.
In this sixth volume of “The Little Colonel Series” for girls, Lloyd is surprised with a gift for her twelfth birthday, of a summer trip to Europe. In Geneva she becomes friends with an old Prussian major and his Red Cross dog, a St. Bernard named Hero. Through many adventures, in the end the Little Colonel learns the true meaning of selfless duty.
This delightful story is full of ups and downs involving a young boy and his dog, "a gift from the sea". The adventures range from playful antics to times of peril, and through it all, our protagonists (both human and canine alike) come through for each other as only a dog and his boy can! This adventurous and fun tale will bring you back to your own childhood memories...you and that special tail-wagger from the "good ol' days".
Old Mary Ann has done her best to bring up her son on her own. Like other relatives, her son has a longing to travel off over the mountains. Mary Ann goes with him. Later on her son marries, but loses his wife after she gives birth to their son. Mary Ann assumes responsibility of her grandson, while her son moves away in the agony of his grief. This is the story of what happens to her grandson and where his Grandmother, the songs of the birds, and his faith leads him.
Ring Lardner is a typical parent when his first child is born, full of wonder and the rest of the usual emotions as he watches his little son grow. He wrote a series of 29 short poems on various facets of parenthood.
Short and sweet stories for children.
A book of short fables with morals.