Lit2Go

Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level 7

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

Books

7.0

The Bird's Christmas Carol

by Kate Douglas Wiggin

In The Bird's Christmas Carol, the arrival of Carol into the Bird family brings joy and sadness throughout the years, but her presence reminds everyone of the real meaning of Christmas.

The Castle of Otranto

by Horace Walpole

The Castle of Otranto is considered the first "gothic" novel, a genre that loves melodrama, mystery, hidden places, ancestral curses, and fainting heroines. Its roots are the "romance," which was a tale of heroism (not love as it is now known), and the Romantic movement in literature, which focused on emotion and the sublimity of nature. When The Castle of Otranto was first published, it was said to be a translation of a lost medieval transcript, and received positive attention. But when it was next published, the truth was revealed--that the story was quite modern and written by a priviledged author. Critics then panned it, but it survives today as the seminal Gothic literary novel.

The Little Lame Prince

by Maria Dinah Mulock Craik

The Little Lame Prince and his Travelling Cloak (often published under its shorter title The Little Lame Prince) is a story for children written by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik and first published in 1875. In the story, a young prince whose legs are paralysed due to a childhood trauma is given a magical travelling cloak by his fairy godmother; he uses this cloak to go on various adventures, and develops great wisdom and empathy in the process.

The Sea-Wolf

by Jack London

The Sea-Wolf is a psychological adventure novel by American novelist Jack London about a literary critic and other survivors of an ocean collision who come under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, the powerful and amoral sea captain who rescues them.

Tik-Tok of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published in 1914, the book actually has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in The Road to Oz) to rescue his brother, and his resulting conflict with the Nome King.

The Tin Woodman of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

The Tin Woodman of Oz is the twelfth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum and was originally published in 1918. The Tin Woodman is unexpectedly reunited with his Munchkin sweetheart Nimmie Amee from the days when he was flesh and blood. This was a backstory from The Wizard of Oz.

Treasure Island

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of “buccaneers and buried gold.” Traditionally considered a coming of age story, its influence on popular lore about pirates can not be overestimated.

7.1

The Call of the Wild

by Jack London

The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated happy dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as a sled dog in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs were bought at generous prices.

Published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is London's most-read book, and it is generally considered his best, the masterpiece of his so-called "early period". Because the protagonist is a dog, it is sometimes classified as a juvenile novel, suitable for children, but it is dark in tone and contains numerous scenes of cruelty and violence.

London followed the book in 1906 with White Fang, a companion novel with many similar plot elements and themes as Call of the Wild, although following a mirror image plot in which a wild wolf becomes civilized by a mining expert from San Francisco named Weedon Scott.

7.2

Crime and Punishment

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg ex-student who formulates and executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money.

7.4

Babbitt

by Sinclair Lewis

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.

Behind the Scenes

by Elizabeth Keckley

Behind the Scenes Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House is an autobiographical narrative by Elizabeth Keckley. In it she tells the story of her life as a slave and her time as a seamstress for Mrs. Lincoln in the White House.

7.5

David Copperfield

by Charles Dickens

David Copperfield is a novel by Charles Dickens. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial form a year earlier. Many elements within the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of all of his novels.

The Invisible Man

by H.G. Wells

The Invisible Man is a suspense novel by H.G. Wells, narrating the tale of "Griffin", a scientist who undergoes an irreversible procedure, the results of which eventually drive him insane.

Peter Pan

by J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan (also known as the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up or Peter and Wendy) is the story of a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate Captain Hook.

7.6

Little Women

by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women concerns the lives and loves of four sisters growing up during the American Civil War. It was based on Alcott's own experiences as a child in Germantown, Pennsylvania with her three sisters, Anna, May, and Elizabeth.

Passages

7.0

The Lion and the Mouse

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

The Lion wakes as a mouse runs across his face. He caught the mouse who begs to be let go with a promise to help the Lion someday. Later, the Lion is captured by hunters. The mouse gnaws the rope and sets the Lion free.

“The Lion and the Statue”

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

A Man and a Lion talked about the strength of men and lions. Each believed his species was stronger. The Man showed the Lion a statue of Hercules overcoming the Lion. The Lion believed this proved nothing because a man made the statue.

The Purloined Letter

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe

by Edgar Allan Poe

An unnamed narrator tells how a Parisian detective, Auguste Dupin, solves a case of a “purloined letter.” The letter belonged to the Queen, and the man who took it had switched it with a plain letter, and was using the information contained in the stolen letter to blackmail the Queen. The police Prefect wants Dupin to figure out how to catch the man, and Dupin reasons his way through the case, eventually nabbing the thief by using his own technique against him—switching letters back.

7.1

“The Wolf and the Crane”

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

A Wolf hired a Crane to put her head into his mouth and draw out a bone stuck in his throat. When the Crane demanded payment the Wolf told her she was already rewarded for escaping his jaws.

The Lion and the Cat

The Brown Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

The cat and the lion are brothers. Although the lion is stronger, the cat has a magical golden ball to protect himself. However, the ball is actually a handsome young man that is under a spell and can only be released by two young maidens.

The Magic Ring

The Yellow Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

Martin saves the lives of a dog and a cat and gains a magic ring. The ring wins him the hand of a princess, but she does not want to marry a poor man and has him put into a tower to starve, accused of witchcraft. But his faithful friends bring him the magic ring and food, and soon the King lets him out, and he forgives his wife.

7.2

“The Gold-Bearded Man”

The Crimson Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

A queen marries another man after the king dies and he is especially cruel. He passes a ridiculous law that a man with a golden beard doesn’t abide by. The king goes off to war and his stepson lets the man out and he is therefore blessed by good luck and magical assistance.

“Shepherd Paul”

The Crimson Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

Shepherd Paul was abandoned as a child and grows up to be the strongest man in the forest. He wrestles many strong men, but none can match his strength. He also fights three dragons, gains three castles, and three princess. He marries the youngest.

The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab

Japanese Fairy Tales

by Yei Theodora Ozaki

The monkey and the crab were playing along the river. The monkey finds a persimmon seed and the crab a rice dumpling; the monkey convinces the crab to exchange the items. The crab grows a tree from the seed, and asks the monkey to help him pick the fruit. The monkey is greedy, and eats all the fruit and then throws hard seeds at the crab, killing him. The crab’s son plans revenge on the monkey, eventually killing him.

The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower

Japanese Fairy Tales

by Yei Theodora Ozaki

A childless couple love their dog very dearly, and the dog finds gold coins buried under their tree. The old man is grateful and loves his dog even more. The man has a very jealous and hateful neighbor, who tries to copy his neighbor’s luck by borrowing the dog and making him dig. The hateful man finds only garbage, and kills the dog in rage. The good man asks for the tree in remembrance of his dog, and the tree’s wood is made into a mortar that produces unending food. The jealous neighbor asks to borrow it and destroys it when it won’t also give him food. More events continue until the good man is eventually given riches by a lord for his kindness to him, and when the hateful man tries to copy the kindness, he is arrested as an imposter and jailed forever, thus finally being punished for his crimes.

“The Jew’s Breastplate”

Tales of Terror and Mystery

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A museum of fine Oriental archaeology is passed to a new owner who is a close friend of the narrator. After receiving an anonymous warning letter, the museum is robbed. The letter is a warning to the new owner to have more than one guard on watch and is written in a script similar to that of the previous owner.

7.3

The Ogre of Rashomon

Japanese Fairy Tales

by Yei Theodora Ozaki

A brave warrior fights an ogre, cutting off his arm. The ogre runs away, and the warrior keeps the arm as a prize. Later, the warrior’s old nurse appears at his door and pleads to see the arm. He lets her, and she grabs it, turning into the ogre. The ogre thus gets away with his arm, and is scared enough of the warrior that he never troubles the city again.

“The Japanned Box”

Tales of Terror and Mystery

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A man is a tutor to two young boys in a household. Their father is very quiet and studious and keeps to himself. However, he has a room that no one has set foot in until the tutor saves the youngest from a well. The tutor in this manner learns from the servants about his employer’s past as an obnoxious drunk. His wife was the one to tame him and he carries a black Japanned Box, which is believed to hold her letters, with him when he stays somewhere else.

7.4

7.5

7.6

“Clever Maria”

The Crimson Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

Maria was the youngest and prettiest of the merchant’s daughters. When the merchant leaves on business, she is the only one to obey his wishes and begins a bizarre courtship with the king through their antics in an attempt to out-perform the other.

7.7

7.8

“Little Wildrose”

The Crimson Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

An old couple was never able to have children and the old man sets out to find one. Through magic he acquires a daughter, but she is stolen by an eagle. The eagle takes care of her because he sees her as a good omen and she grows up in his nest. Later in her life, she is discovered by a prince. The girl is tricked by an old woman and brought down from the trees in order to marry the prince and lives happily ever after.

7.9

The Dog in the Manger

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

A dog makes a bed out of an ox’s straw-filled manger. Enraged when the ox returns and awakens him from his nap, the dog barks and bites at the ox, not allowing him to have his straw.

The Mirror of Matsuyama

Japanese Fairy Tales

by Yei Theodora Ozaki

A husband gives his wife a mirror, and when she is on her deathbed, she gives it to her daughter. The daughter thinks she sees her mother’s soul in it and spends much time staring into it after her father remarries. The stepmother begins resenting the daughter’s relationship with her father and starts to hate her; she thinks the daughter is doing black magic to curse her, and she tells the father of it. The father confronts the daughter, and he finally realizes that the daughter is innocent and is simply still brokenhearted over her mother’s death. The stepmother is moved by the daughter’s story to renounce her hate, and the father, stepmother, and daughter finally become a happy family.

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