Lit2Go

Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level 6

Readability levels for passages on Lit2Go are reported as Flesch-Kincaid grade levels which are roughly equivalent to U.S. grade levels.

Books

6.0

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

by L. Frank Baum

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz (though most of the action is outside of it) written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John R. Neill. It was published in 1908 and reunites Dorothy with the humbug Wizard from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This is one of only two of the original forty Oz books (with The Emerald City of Oz) to be illustrated with watercolor paintings.

The Emerald City of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

The Emerald City of Oz is the sixth of L. Frank Baum’s fourteen Land of Oz books. Originally published in 1910, it is the story of Dorothy and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em coming to live in Oz permanently. While they tour through the Quadling Country, the Nome King assembles allies for an invasion of Oz.

Baum had intended to cease writing Oz stories with this book, but financial pressures prompted him to write and publish The Patchwork Girl of Oz, with seven other Oz books to follow.

The Journey to the Center of the Earth

by Jules Verne

Originally published in French in 1864, the first English translation of this classic of adventure and science fiction was published in 1871. The book describes the journey of a scientist, his nephew, and their guide through the Earth's interior by way of volcanic tubes. Along the way, they encounter various threats and wonders, seeing evidence of earlier stages in the planet's development.

The Story of Siegfried

by James Baldwin

The Story of Siegfried is James Baldwin's retelling of ancient yet perpetually popular Norse and Germanic tales about the hero Siegfried. The stories tell of a young man who had many adventures that readers might find familiar from modern movies and books, such as forging a legendary sword, rescuing a beautiful woman from a deep sleep, fighting dragons and armies, and so forth. Baldwin's sources included the Eddas, the Volsung Saga, and the Nibelungenlied, some of the oldest surviving references to the legends.

Sylvie and Bruno

by Lewis Carroll

Sylvie and Bruno, first published in 1889, and its 1893 second volume Sylvie and Bruno Concluded form the last novel by Lewis Carroll published during his lifetime. Both volumes were illustrated by Harry Furniss.

The novel has two main plots: one set in the real world at the time the book was published (the Victorian era), the other in the fictional world of Fairyland. While the latter plot is a fairytale with many nonsense elements and poems, similar to Carroll’s most famous children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the story set in Victorian Britain is a social novel, with its characters discussing various concepts and aspects of religion, society, philosophy and morality.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children’s book written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. It was originally published by the George M. Hill company in Chicago, and has since been reprinted countless times, sometimes under the name The Wizard of Oz. The story chronicles the adventures of a girl named Dorothy in the land of Oz. It is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success led to Baum’s writing and having published thirteen more Oz books.

6.1

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas, pére

The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure story that takes place during the historical events of 1815 to 1838. This piece tells the tale of a man who seeks revenge after his escape from prision and deals with the central themes of vengeance, justice, forgiveness, and mercy.

6.2

6.3

6.4

The Iliad

by Homer

The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set in the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of Ilium by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. Although the story covers only a few weeks in the final year of the war, the Iliad mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege.

The Wind in the Willows

by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie.

6.5

The Open Boat: A Tale Intended to be After the Fact. Being the Experience of Four Men Sunk from the Steamer Commodore

by Stephen Crane

Published in 1897, The Open Boat is based on an actual incident from Stephen Crane’s life. While on his way to Cuba, Crane's ship sank off the coast of Florida. Crane and other survivors were stranded at sea for thirty hours. They eventually made their way to safety in a small boat, but one of the men drowned while trying to swim to shore. Crane wrote this story soon after the incident occurred.

Sylvie and Bruno Concluded

by Lewis Carroll

Sylvie and Bruno, first published in 1889, and its 1893 second volume Sylvie and Bruno Concluded form the last novel by Lewis Carroll published during his lifetime. Both volumes were illustrated by Harry Furniss.

The novel has two main plots: one set in the real world at the time the book was published (the Victorian era), the other in the fictional world of Fairyland. While the latter plot is a fairytale with many nonsense elements and poems, similar to Carroll’s most famous children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the story set in Victorian Britain is a social novel, with its characters discussing various concepts and aspects of religion, society, philosophy and morality.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

by Jules Verne

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (French: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne, published in 1870. It is about the fictional Captain Nemo and his submarine, Nautilus, as seen by one of his passengers, Professor Pierre Aronnax.

6.6

6.7

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol is a Victorian morality tale that focuses on the life of the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge. First published by Charles Dickens in 1843 as a means to relieve personal debts, A Christmas Carol has become one of the most enduring Christmas stories of all time.

6.8

The King of the Golden River

by John Ruskin

The King of the Golden River is a folk tale about three brothers. The two elder brothers are terrible to the younger and to the people of the town. The younger brother is good-natured and invites a strange man into the house one

Passages

6.0

“The Fox and the Stork”

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

The Fox served the Stork soup in a shallow dish. The Stork could not lap it up. The Stork served the Fox dinner in a long-necked jar into which the Fox could not lap. Does one bad turn deserve another?

“The Hart in the Ox-Stall”

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

An animal being chased by hounds hids in the hay in a barn. When the hunters come into the barn they are told by the stable boys that they could see nothing. Shortly afterwards the master came in. He saw something unusual. He asked what the things sticking out of the hay might be. The Hart was discovered and done away with. Moral: Nothing escapes the eye of the master.

The Lion and the Mouse

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

A little Mouse wakened a sleeping Lion. Just as the Lion was about to eat the Mouse the Mouse cried out that he should be spared. Someday he might be able to do a good turn for the Lion. The Lion let the Mouse go. Much later, when the Lion was trapped the mouse gnawed the ropes holding him.

“The Wind and the Sun”

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

The Wind and Sun argued about who was stronger. They decided whichever could cause a traveler to take off his cloak would be seen as stronger. The Wind blew and the traveler wrapped his cloak more tightly around himself. The Sun shone and soon the traveler found it to hot to walk with his cloak on.

6.1

Pigs is Pigs

American Short Fiction

by Ellis Parker Butler

Railway agent Mike Flannery wants to charge the livestock rate for a shipment of two guinea pigs. He refuses to accept the lower pet rate saying “Pigs is Pigs.” The grumbling customer complains to the railway company. Meanwhile while the guinea pigs reproduce and eat in Flannery’s stationhouse.

6.2

Habogi

The Brown Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

Helga, the youngest, prettiest and smartest of three daughters, requests what seems to be the simplest choice for a husband and because she trusts her situation, she receives the most extravagance of the three girls.

The Goblin of Adachigahara

Japanese Fairy Tales

by Yei Theodora Ozaki

A priest looks for lodging in the night and is given shelter by an old woman. She goes to gather more wood, and she tells him not to look in the back room. Curiosity gets the better of him, and he looks in the room and sees horrible things. He realizes she is the Goblin of Adachigahara, and flees. She chases him through the night, but he prays to Buddha and keeps running. Morning dawns, making the goblin disappear, and the priest is safe.

6.3

“Niels and the Giants”

The Crimson Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

A fairy tale recounting the adventure of Niels and his family on a pilgrimage to Rome. Niels encounters three giants and is forced to help them in their scheme to steal the king’s daughter. Niels is able to conquer the giants, continues his journey, and later, is found by the princess he inadvertantly rescued and marries her.

“The Strong Prince”

The Crimson Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

A prince finds a sword near a river that gives him great strength. He kills a band of robbers and his mother marries the leader. The leader steals his sword and blinds the prince. A giant then helps the prince get his sword back and blind the leader. The giant then gives his daughter to the prince and they live happily ever after.

6.4

“The Jay and the Peacock”

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

A Jay ties peacock feathers to his tail to appear more grandiose. The peacocks plucked away the feathers. The jays would not accept him back saying it takes more than fine feathers to make fine birds.

“The Stone-Cutter”

The Crimson Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

The stone-cutter is unhappy with his life and has his various, greedy wishes granted by a mountain spirit. After he passes through various stages of power, he realizes he was happier as he once was and decides to be himself instead of something he is not.

The White Hare and the Crocodiles

Japanese Fairy Tales

by Yei Theodora Ozaki

A hare deceives many crocodiles, then mocks them, and the crocodiles pull out all of his fur in retaliation. The hare is suffering, and a fairy man comes along and tells him to bathe in the sea and lie in the sun to recover his fur, but the man was spiteful and his advice only increases the hare’s pain. A kind fairy man comes by and listens to the hare’s sad story, telling him his pain is the consequence of his behavior to the crocodiles. The hare agrees and repents, and the kind man tells him how to heal his wounds and regrow his fur. The hare correctly predicts that the princess the other men were off seeking would deny them and instead choose the kind man for her husband.

6.5

6.6

“The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts”

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

Seeing that the Lion appeared to be dying, a Goat, Sheep, and a Calf came to receive the last wishes of the Lord of Beasts. Soon the Lion seemed to recover and saw a Fox. He asked why the fox did not come to pay his respects. The Fox responded that he saw hoof-marks going into the Lion’s cave and none coming out.

“How to Find Out a True Friend”

The Crimson Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

A queen and king longed to have a son and promised to send him on a pilgrimage after his eighteenth birthday if St. James were to grant their wish. The had their son and in turn, he set off on his journey. He met his true friend along the way and they survived many hindrances and proved their true friendship in the process.

6.7

Kisa the Cat

The Brown Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

A princess is captured and maimed by a giant and is rescued and made whole again by her childhood cat. When the princess marries, her cat is transformed into a beautiful princess. She had been under a spell that could only be broken by a good deed that had never been performed before.

6.8

“Little Daylight”

Fairy Tales and Other Traditional Stories

by Sara Cone Bryant

A princess is born to a queen and king and upon her christening she is cursed by a bad fairy. Her curse is intercepted twice by two good fairies so the fate of the princess is not quite so harsh. The princess is doomed to sleep through the day to wake at night and wane and wax with the moon until kissed by a prince who knows nothing of her story.

The Ice Palace

Flappers and Philosophers

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sally Carrol thinks that she wants a different life than the one she leads in the South, with a man who isn't like the boys she grew up with. Her engagement to Henry and her trip North show her what that different life would be like.

6.9

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