Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a work of children’s literature by the English mathematician and author, Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, written under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit-hole into a fantasy realm populated by talking playing cards and anthropomorphic creatures. The tale is fraught with satirical allusions to Dodgson’s friends and to the lessons that British schoolchildren were expected to memorize. The Wonderland described in the tale plays with logic in ways that has made the story of lasting popularity with children as well as adults. The book is often referred to by the abbreviated title Alice in Wonderland. This alternate title was popularized by the numerous film and television adaptations of the story produced over the years. Some printings of this title contain both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.
To access artwork from the 1889 Harper's publication, visit the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland collection on ClipArt ETC.
Around the World in 80 Days (French: Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is a classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in 1873. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager set by his friends at the Reform Club.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is set in the 1840's in the fictitious town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, where Tom lives with his deceased mother's sister, Aunt Polly, and his half-brother, Sid. After Tom plays hooky from school, he is made to whitewash Aunt Polly's fence as punishment, but persuades his friends to do it for him.
Tom's real trouble begins when he and Huck Finn witness a murder committed by Injun Joe. They swear to never tell, and the wrong man, Muff Potter, is accused of the crime. Tom, Huck, and a friend run away to be pirates, but become aware that the whole town is searching for their bodies. Each of the boys make an appearance at their own funerals, where they are greeted with open arms. As Muff Potter's trial begins, Tom is overcome with guilt and testifies against Injun Joe, who quickly flees the courtroom.
Later, on a class field trip to a cave, Tom and his love interest, Becky Thatcher, get lost. As they run out of food and candles searching for a way out, Tom and Becky come upon Injun Joe, who is using the cave as a hideout. Tom finds a way out just as the search party is giving up. The town rejoices and Judge Thatcher, Becky's father, has the cave sealed, unknowingly trapping Injun Joe inside where he starves to death.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a first person narrative told by the title character, Huckleberry Finn, as he accompanies a runaway slave on his journey to freedom.
A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court is a satirical novel that depicts a contemporary American, Hank Morgan, who is transported to medieval England. In the court of the legendary King Arthur, Morgan uses his modern knowledge to face the trials and tribulations of the middle ages.
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.
Anne of Green Gables is a coming-of-age novel about Anne Shirley, the Cuthbert's, and the community of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island.
The Age of Innocence is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. The story is set in the 1870s, in upper-class, "Gilded-Age" New York City. The story centers on an upper-class couple's impending marriage, and the introduction of the bride's cousin, plagued by scandal, whose presence threatens their happiness. The novel is noted for Wharton's attention to detail and its accurate portrayal of how the 19th-century East Coast American upper class lived, as well as for the social tragedy of its plot. Wharton was 58 years old at publication; she had lived in that world and had seen it change dramatically by the end of World War I.
Babbitt is a novel by Sinclair Lewis. Largely a satire of American culture, society, and behavior, it critiques the vacuity of middle-class American life and its pressure on individuals toward conformity.
