The Busy Blue Jay: True Bird Stories from My Notebooks
by Olive Thorne Miller
A story about a blue jay named Jakie. This chapter focuses on his mischevious behavior.
Readability levels for passages on Lit2Go are reported as Flesch-Kincaid grade levels which are roughly equivalent to U.S. grade levels.
A story about a blue jay named Jakie. This chapter focuses on his mischevious behavior.
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 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 narrator travels through Florida.
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.
Philosophy and Fun of Algebra is meant for young readers as an introduction to the basics of algebra and logic. Her style is humorous, easy to read, and conversational.
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, 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 Velveteen Rabbitt, or How Toys Become Real is the story of a toy rabbit that hopes the love of his owner will make him real.
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.
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.
Sara Crewe is left in the care of Miss Minchin's Seminary when her father departs for India.
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 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.
The Heart of Happy Hollow is a short story collection by Paul Laurence Dunbar that focuses on the experiences of African-Americans after the conclusion of the Civil War.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories originally published in 1894.
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, 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 (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.
Heart of Darkness is a frame narrative recounting Charles Marlow's voyage down the Congo River.
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.
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
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?
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.
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 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.
A fairy tale about the sons of two widows that were on a quest to save the king’s daughters from the possession of the Red Etin, a horrible monster.
A story about a wolverine who is not very kind and who does not get punishment for what he does.
A short story about five kernels of corn growing in the Farmer Lane. The author uses this as a religious metaphor.
A story of a prince that escapes from his father and proves himself in battle with the help of three magical apples.
The twelve sons of the king would be killed if the queen had a daughter. She had a daughter and the sons were banished to the forest until they would meet their sister.
This is the well-known classic story about Benjamin Bunny helping his cousin, Peter Rabbit. Peter must reacquire his clothing from the scarecrow in Mr. MacGregor’s garden.
Hans trades items for ones he thinks are better.
A man has a difficult time letting his dead wife go.
The importance of working together, even through disagreements.
A Fox got its tail tangled in a bush and could not move. A number of Mosqitoes began biting the trapped Fox. A hedgehog offered to drive the mosqitoes away, but the fox refused.
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.
A boy Sigurd becomes cursed by a giantess and has to go through several trials to escape the many magical dangers in the kingdom. He meets a girl Helga and they live happily ever after.
A part of a collection of short stories about three children in the revolutionary times. In this story Marmaduke and the Toyman dig a hole to China with their magical friends.
The thoughtful fish saves his two less-thoughtful brothers, and they all return to a safer river.
A pig has reason to cry out.
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.