“Not once upon a time but just now, in a white house by the side of a road, live three happy children.Their mother and father gave them very odd names, for two old uncles and one aunt, which pleased the old people very much. Their names are all written in the big family Bible,–Jehosophat Green, Marmaduke Green, and Hepzebiah Green.” So begins this collection of bedtime stories for children, one each night for twenty days, involving these three happy children and their playmates.

A heady mix of thrills, mystery, atmosphere and memorable characters, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is a classic adventure story that has enthralled both young and old alike ever since it was first published in 1883. Right from the racy opening chapter where the young hero Jim Hawkins encounters a mysterious guest, Billy Bones, at the Admiral Benbow Inn run by his widowed mother, the tale carries the reader off on an edge-of-the-seat roller-coaster ride of non-stop action and drama....

Kidnapped is the story of a 16-year old young man who is searching for his true birthright and is determined to make a fortune after the death of his parents. This timeless tale by Robert Louis Stevenson follows the life of David Balfour who leaves his home in Scotland after the death of his parents. First he meets his uncle for the first time in his life. His uncle is a very mean person who, at first, tried to kill David by devious means but then got him kidnapped onto a slave ship. In the ship, David makes friends with a Scottish rebel and together they successfully defeat the ship’s crew...

The Black Arrow tells the story of Richard (Dick) Shelton during the Wars of the Roses: how he becomes a knight, rescues his lady Joanna Sedley, and obtains justice for the murder of his father, Sir Harry Shelton. Outlaws in Tunstall Forest organized by Ellis Duckworth, whose weapon and calling card is a black arrow, cause Dick to suspect that his guardian Sir Daniel Brackley and his retainers are responsible for his father’s murder. Dick’s suspicions are enough to turn Sir Daniel against him, so he has no recourse but to escape from Sir Daniel and join the outlaws of the Black Arrow against him...

Beloved by many generations of children, A Child’s Garden of Verses is a beautiful collection of children’s poetry. Sometimes thoughtful, sometimes whimsical, but always fun.

R. M. Ballantyne (April 24, 1825 – February 8, 1894) was a Scottish juvenile fiction writer. Born Robert Michael Ballantyne in Edinburgh, he was part of a famous family of printers and publishers. At the age of 16 he went to Canada and was six years in the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company. He returned to Scotland in 1847, and published his first book the following year, Hudson’s Bay: or, Life in the Wilds of North America. For some time he was employed by Messrs Constable, the publishers, but in 1856 he gave up business for the profession of literature, and began the series of adventure stories for the young with which his name is popularly associated.

This story surrounds a child waif, a young woman, a young gentleman doctor, and an elderly lady. This tale unfolds the story of a bond that brings these unlikely friends together and merges their separate paths of life into one common path. The bond is "Dumps", or "Pompey", the "doggie". With many twists, turns, and uncertainties, the ending may surprise the reader. All's well that ends well in this doggie "tail". (Introduction by Allyson Hester)

“Is that your bundle, sir?” repeated Mr Blunt a little louder. “Eh? yes, yes—all right,” replied Edwin, annoyed at the interruption, and thinking only of Emma Lee, to whom he turned, and went on—“Well, when Colonel Jones had scaled the first wall—” “Come, sir,” said Blunt, entering the carriage, and laying his hand on Edwin’s shoulder, “it’s not all right. This is another man’s property.” The youth turned round indignantly, and, with a flushed countenance, said, “What do you mean?” “I mean that you are travelling with another man’s property,” said Blunt, quietly pointing to the strapped rug...

How do you tell apart a parrot from a carrot? A plover from a clover? A bay from a jay? Although there are several ways of differentiating, R. W. Wood’s use of pun and rhyme is one of the most entertaining!

Written originally for his own children, Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories have continued to delight generations of youngsters since they were first published in 1902. The thirteen stories collected in this book are meant for very young children, but they engage older kids and adults too with their charming conversational style and simple plot lines. These stories are typical examples of the “origin” story, where children are provided with imaginative rather than practical explanations for the “why” “what” “how” “where” “who” “when” questions of childhood...

Originally written for his young daughter Josephine, who died tragically aged six, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling is a collection of short stories which were published separately in magazines before being compiled into a book. The stories are in the form of fables, where animals communicate and speak to each other as humans do and the purpose of each story was to convey a moral or message to the reader. Modern readers would be more familiar with the Disney animated version in which Mowgli the little “man-cub” is raised by wolves...

Real men don’t take guff from snotty kids. Neither does Disko Troop, skipper of the “We’re Here”, a fishing schooner out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, when his crew fishes Harvey Cheyne out of the Atlantic. There’s no place on the Grand Banks for bystanders, so Harvey is press-ganged into service as a replacement for a man lost overboard and drowned. Harvey is heir to a vast fortune, but his rescuers believe none of what he tells them of his background. Disko won’t take the boat to port until it is full of fish, so Harvey must settle in for a season at sea...

Kipling shows his love of the sub continent and its people and understanding of their beliefs in these tales. An older Mowgli roams the jungle with his old friends and investigates the ways of his people, a Prime Minister becomes wandering holy man, scavengers tell their tale and we leave India for the far,far north of Canada.

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was an English author and poet, born in India, and best known today for his children’s books, including The Jungle Book, Just So Stories, and Puck of Pook’s Hill; his novel, Kim; his poems, including “Mandalay”, “Gunga Din”, and “If—”; and his many short stories, including “The Man Who Would Be King” and the collections Life’s Handicap, The Day’s Work, and Plain Tales from the Hills. He is regarded as a major “innovator in the art of the short story”; his children’s books are enduring classics of children’s literature; and his best work speaks to a versatile and luminous narrative gift...

Puck of Pook’s Hill is a children’s book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of history. The stories are all told to two children living near Pevensey by people magically plucked out of history by Puck.

A story about a boy who befriends a cat and then sets off on an adventure to rescue a dragon. Illustrations from the original book can be seen at the e-text link.

Intended for children 11 to 14 years old, The Story of the Middle Ages relates a little known period of history in an interesting and entertaining way. The author terms the Middle Ages as that period in the history of Europe between the fifth and fifteenth centuries. Its beginning is marked by the decline and fall of the mighty Roman Empire and its end is generally thought to be the dawn of the Renaissance or the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages are also divided by historians into the Early, High and Late Middle Ages...

Sara Cone Bryant was an educator and storyteller who wrote several books on the importance of oral storytelling to children, and stories to tell children. This volume expounds on her theories and practices of telling stories to children, and provides several examples. Her conversational writing style makes this work as relevant for parents and teachers as it was 90 years ago.

Mr. Clark and Donald spend a year out west to the Crescent Ranch in Idaho learning about raising sheep.

The Goody-Naughty Book was originally published as two books back to back. Opening the book from one end, the reader experiences “The Goody Side” where the children are polite and thoughtful. However, turning the book over and beginning from the other side, one reads “The Naughty Side” where the children are lazy and irritable. These short, moral stories teach children the proper way to behave and that there are consequences if they don’t.

Between these pages you will find only the good, old-fashioned, every-day cat. No Angora or thoroughbred has been entered here, unless it be "Hansie," who is little more than mentioned. These are true incidents and true lives, with the exception of the one chapter, "The Mission of the Cat." The reader will pardon the intrusion of Victor, the dog. I have added him as the cook adds her trace of spice, but feeling also that he is entirely in place, being an ardent cat-lover himself.

Between these pages you will find only the good, old-fashioned, every-day cat. No Angora or thoroughbred has been entered here, unless it be "Hansie," who is little more than mentioned. These are true incidents and true lives, with the exception of the one chapter, "The Mission of the Cat." The reader will pardon the intrusion of Victor, the dog. I have added him as the cook adds her trace of spice, but feeling also that he is entirely in place, being an ardent cat-lover himself.

This book includes the classic alphabet, Sing-A-Song Of Sixpence, The Frog Who Would A Wooing Go, The Three Little Pigs, Puss In Boots, and The Ugly Duckling. Fun for all ages!

Marion Park, the daughter of missionaries, is sent to Miss Ashton's boarding school. There she meets with many young girls and together they learn not just lessons in German, Logic, Arithmetic, Latin and Rhetoric, but also life lessons of study habits, lady like manners, self control, thoughtfulness of others, truthfulness, and many other character traits. Join these girls of Montrose Academy as they plunge into the adventures of a secret society, fall into a scrape with the boys of Atherton Academy, and plan many Holiday festivities.

Selma Lagerlöf was born in Vaermland, Sweden, in 1858 and enjoyed a long and very successful career as a writer, receiving the Nobel-Price in Literature in 1909. She died in Vaermland in 1940. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (Orig. Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige) is a famous work of fiction by Selma Lagerlöf, published in two parts in 1906 and 1907. The background for publication was a commission from the National Teachers Association in 1902 to write a geography reader for the public schools...

MANUAL OF SURGERY, OXFORD MEDICAL PUBLICATIONSBY ALEXIS THOMSON, F.R.C.S.Ed.PREFACE TO SIXTH EDITION Much has happened since this Manual was last revised, and many surgical lessons have been learned in the hard school of war. Some may yet have to be unlearned, and others have but little bearing on the problems presented to the civilian surgeon. Save in its broadest principles, the surgery of warfare is a thing apart from the general surgery of civil life, and the exhaustive literature now available on every aspect of it makes it unnecessary that it should receive detailed consideration in a manual for students...

A story which shows that strength of character, and belief in the good in everything is above all else The old fisherman had a good dog, Boley, and an evil black cat, Sershina. "Master, this cat will be our undoing! Let's drive her away! Black cat, evil cat!" yelped Boley "Don't say that! You'll see that Serzhina will change and become good!" answered the old fisherman... Excerpt: There once lived an old man on the shore of a beautiful sea. All day he wove nets and caught fish. There were so many that the old fisherman shared them with his animals...

A very heart touching story about two homeless children, a brother and sister, living on the streets of Liverpool, England during Victorian times.

This exciting historical adventure depicts the last stand of the Gordons - God's "outlaws" - fighting for their Catholic Faith in the early days of the Protestant Revolution in seventeenth-century Scotland.

“Girls, I have some great news for you. I’m sure you’ll be interested, and I hope you’ll be as delighted as I am. Come on, all of you. Gather around in a circle just as if we were going to have a Council Fire and I’ll tell you something that will—that will—Teddy Bear your teeth.” A chorus of laughter, just a little derisive, greeted Katherine Crane’s enigmatical figure of speech. The merriment came from eleven members of Flamingo Camp Fire, who proceeded to form an arc of a circle in front of the speaker on the hillside grass plot near the white canvas tents of the girls’ camp. (Gutenberg)

The Camp Fire Girls books is a series of fiction novels written for children by various authors from 1912 into the 1930s. (Wikipedia)

Teen-ager Hazel Edwards and the other twelve members of the Flamingo Camp-Fire Girls experience some real adventure when they are invited to spend part of their summer as guests of Hazel’s elderly aunt on her large country farm. Mrs. Hannah Hutchins is a widow living alone with a few servants and farming assistants in her home in the midwestern town of Fairberry. The girls set up camp on a section of Aunt Hannah’s farm but, before too long, an incident occurs during the annual Fourth of July celebration in Fairberry...

The continuing story of Katy Carr, recounting the time she spent at boarding school with her sister Clover.

Follow the adventures of Katy Carr and her family, through good times and bad.

Clover is the fourth book in the popular What Katy Did series. After Katy's wedding, the focus shifts to her little sister Clover. Their brother Phil encounters serious illness in the winter, and Dr. Carr sends him with Clover to the mountains of Colorado. Clarence Page, their naughty cousin from the other books, lives nearby. He is a rancher now with an attractive English partner, Geoff Templestowe, whom Clover falls for.Other books in the series areWhat Katy DidWhat Katy Did at SchoolWhat Katy Did NextIn the High Valley

Not Quite Eighteen is a delightful collection of children’s stories that range from moral to whimsical. From unfinished fairy tales and daydreams about a pony who kept shop to a lesson on presence of mind, these anecdotes will entertain as well as improve the mind. (

Thomas Bailey Aldrich was a child when his father moved to New Orleans from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. After 10 years, Aldrich was sent back to Portsmouth to prepare for college. This period of his life is partly described in his semi-autobiographical novel The Story of a Bad Boy (1870), in which "Tom Bailey" is the juvenile hero. Critics have said that this novel contains the first realistic depiction of childhood in American fiction and prepared the ground for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Aldrich went on to associate with many of the literati of his time in New York City, and was editor of the Atlantic Monthly in the 1880's...

A young man from a poor, working-class background, passionate about education, who aspires to become a professor. His teacher, a respected role model who turns out to have feet of clay. An independent, free-spirited woman. Another who is scheming, selfish and flirtatious. Dominating their lives is the magnificent university town of Christminster. All these and a host of other colorful, memorable characters inhabit the pages of Thomas Hardy's monumental fourteenth novel published in 1895. Thomas Hardy's fame as a novelist rivals that of even Dickens in Victorian literature...

Her father compels her to visit the biggest mansion in the village to “claim kin” with the aristocratic d'Urberville family. She falls prey to the debauched son of the house and returns home to give birth in secret to an illegitimate baby who lives only for a few days. Determined to put her past behind her, she goes to work as a milkmaid in a faraway country farmhouse where she falls in love with a good and kind young man. Her conscience troubles her and she confesses the truth about herself in a letter which her beloved never receives...

This is a collection of ten short, entertaining, informative picture-book biographies of famous composers. Each book tells about the childhood and great achievements of a composer, and includes a short musical example.

These delightful stories created by the writer known famously as the Bedtime Story Man provide hours of endless enjoyment for readers both young and old. His daily newspaper column which he wrote without a break from 1912 through to 1960 featured a host of engaging characters and their lively pranks and doings. In this charmingly illustrated volume, Reddy Fox, the young hero is sent to stay with his grandma. Grandmother Fox is the “wisest, slyest and smartest fox in all the country around” and she takes it upon herself to educate Reddy in the things that every fox should know! Thus begins a battle of wits between Farmer Brown, Farmer Brown's Boy, Reddy and Grandmother Fox...

Known to generations of children and their parents as the Bedtime Story Man, Thornton Waldo Burgess wrote nearly two hundred much loved children's books. They were tales that recounted the doings of delightful characters who inhabited the Green Meadow and the Green Forest. Burgess, who was also an ardent conservationist besides being a writer and journalist shared his love of Nature and respect for all beings who share this earth with us. The Adventures of Buster Bear is a fun children's book that helps children understand that animals and the forest deserve respect and it is also a sincere call for responsible conservationism...

Peter Rabbit goes to school, with Mother Nature as his teacher. In this zoology book for children, Thornton W. Burgess describes the mammals of North America in the form of an entertaining story, including plenty of detail but omitting long scientific names. There is an emphasis on conservation.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children is a zoology book written in the form of a story featuring Peter Rabbit. Peter learns from his friend Jenny Wren all about the birds of North America, and we meet many of them in the Old Orchard, the Green Meadow, and the Green Forest.

The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk is another in the long list children’s books by the conservationist, Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, Jimmy Skunk has encounters with Reddy Fox, Peter Rabbit, Unc’ Billy Possum and other acquaintances of his in the Green Meadows and Green Forest. Along the way, we learn some of the habits of Jimmy and his friends and we learn little lessons about life such as the importance of always keeping one’s temper, keeping promises and not playing practical jokes. We are also treated to a philosophical discussion by Jimmy Skunk on the advantages of defensive weaponry.

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.

“You can’t fool old Mother Nature. No, Sir, you can’t fool old Mother Nature, and it’s of no use to try.” The animals of the Green Meadows and Green Forest have little adventures while Grandfather Frog tells stories to Mother West Wind’s children, the Merry Little Breezes.

The Adventures of Johnny Chuck is another in the long list of children’s books by conservationist Thornton W. Burgess. In this story, it is spring time and a young chuck’s fancy turns to thoughts of … traveling, protecting one’s turf, finding a new home, and yes, love. Along the way, we learn little lessons about life such as there are good and bad kinds of pride, the importance of keeping secrets and that, even in the animal world, the three most important factors in determining the desirability of property are “location, location, location.”

Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 14, 1874 – June 5, 1965) was a conservationist and author of children’s stories. He loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books. Many of his outdoor observations in nature were used as plots for his stories. In his first book, “Old Mother West Wind,” published in 1910, the reader meets many of the characters found in later books and stories. These...

Thornton W. Burgess was a conservationist and prolific author of children’s books. His gently humorous stories about the animals of the meadows and woods teach little lessons about getting along with others; they are perfect bedtime stories for small children.

When an innocent blue jay starts talking in his sleep, it’s up to him to find out what’s going on in this fun, naturalistic, Southern-style children’s story.

Join us as we follow Jerry Muskrat and his friends on an adventure to discover what is threatening their homeland; The Laughing Brook and The Smiling Pool.

A wonderful book in which we meet the lucky little bunny who becomes Mrs. Peter Rabbit! This is one of many delightful animal books written by Thornton W. Burgess. I grew up reading and enjoying these tales of talking animals with fun and varied personalities. Peter Rabbit is a character loved by all, and this charming tale recounts the adventures of meeting, wooing, and marrying Mrs. Peter Rabbit. (Introduction by CLW Rollins)

Another short story for children by the well-known conversationalist and writer, Thornton W. Burgess. This story revolves around Unc' Billy Possum and his adventures.

Old Man Coyote craftily leads Bowser the hound away from home, and Bowser gets lost. Will Bowser find his way back to Farmer Brown's? Will Reddy Fox finally catch himself a chicken, now that Bowser is no longer guarding the henhouse? This is one of many delightful books by the naturalist Thornton W. Burgess, who wrote children's stories featuring the animals of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows.

There's nothing that sly troublemaker Sammy Jay likes better than stealing corn - unless it's playing tricks on the other animals in the forest. Yet Chatterer the Red Squirrel would like to keep his corn, thank you very much, and while he's at it prove he is just as smart as Sammy Jay! Thornton Burgess takes us once again into the charming world of the Green Forest and Green Meadows in this delightful story.

A treasure trove of more than two hundred poems, this gem of an anthology compiled by Mary E Burt is indeed a most valuable set of poems to read or listen to. Published in 1904, Poems Every Child Should Know contains some well-loved verses like Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, Lewis Carroll's delightful parody Father William, Felicia Hemans' deeply-moving Casablanca and other favorites. It also has lesser-known but equally beautiful pieces like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Arrow and The Song, Robert Browning's The Incident of the French Camp, Eugene Field's nonsense lyrics Wynken, Blynken and Nod and a host of other wonderful verses...

Published in 1910, The Lilac Fairy Book is the last book in the series of fairytale collections known as Andrew Lang's “Coloured” Fairy Books and features stories from various folklores and cultures including Welsh, Portuguese, Scottish, Italian, and many other foreign literary branches. Moreover, the collection is a gem in the short story genre due to the fact that Lang collected some of the featured stories from foreign languages and made them available to English audiences. Featuring 33 stories, The Lilac Fairy Book offers a different perspective to the happy-ever-after fairytales most people are accustomed to and expect...

Bed Time Stories is a collection of 14 short stories especially for young children.

Most parents know and understand the value of children's stories. Reading aloud to your children becomes an occasion for family warmth and bonding. But quite apart from this, the true importance of introducing children to fiction helps them to make sense of the real world they will have to encounter at some later stage. Stories also give them hope, teach moral values and help them to understand the complex nature of the society that they will ultimately have to live in. Children's Short Works Vol 001 contains ten delightful traditional tales...

Francis, a young Italian boy, is a merchant’s son who is enthralled by the troubadour songs and tales of knights that his father brings back from his travels. He decides to become a knight, but after seeing the poor and suffering in the tragedies of war, he decides to give away all of his worldly possessions and become a troubadour for God.

The Fairy Ring, originally published in 1910, is a collection of 63 fairy tales from around the globe. It includes such well-known favorites as “History of Jack the Giant-Killer,” “The Frog Prince,”"Rumpel-stilts-ken,” and “Snow-white and Rose-red,” among many others. Children of all ages will enjoy these stories.

The poems and stories in this collection were selected with the reader’s grandchildren in mind. “The Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphant Annie,” both by James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier Poet were favorites of the reader when she was a child on a farm in Indiana. Other favorites were picked up along the way as she read to her own daughter and to her students, while other gems were discovered while looking for poems and stories to include in this collection. It is hoped that this collection will bless the hearts of many children and parents alike as they listen together.

Young Adults Short Story Collection: a collection of 9 short works of Young Adult fiction in the public domain.

A collection of Classical children’s nursery rhymes. Many familiar, a few unfamiliar, all simple and easy for younger children.

“The House that Jack Built” is a standard of juvenile literature that delights children and adults alike with the increasingly lengthy sentences, stretched to the breaking point, that make up its narrative. Through a chain of events, beginning with a rodent eating some grain and culminating in a festive wedding, children learn that playing with grammar can be fun! You can read along with this recording.

This is the third book of the famous “What Katy did” series.

“The Keepsake, or, Poems and Pictures For Childhood and Youth”, is a collection of twenty pastoral poems published as one collection in London, 1818. The topics are moral encouragement for children, young and old alike.

Cautionary tales of the transmigration of the souls of naughty boys and girls, as elucidated by the mysterious Bramin, Mr Wiseman: “Having been gifted with the faculty of distinguishing those animals which are now animated by the souls of such human beings as formerly degraded themselves to a level with the unthinking brutes, I have taken the pains to provide a collection of beasts, birds, &c. most of which are inhabited by the souls of some naughty masters or misses, who died in the neighbourhood.” (David Barnes, quoting the Introduction)

A book of short fables with morals.