Classic Childrens Literature

The extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful. The texts are taken from his recent omnibus, The Early Stories, 1953-1975.

Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel return for more astonishing, laugh-out-loud adventures when 15-year-old Mary Alice moves in with her spicy grandmother for the year. Her extended visit is filled with moonlit schemes, romances both foiled and founded, and a whole parade of fools made to suffer in unusual (and always hilarious) ways.

A father's wounded heart. A mother's patient love. An eager boy, an impetuous girl, and, above all, the healing power of nature. These are the classic ingredients that fill Virginia Sorensen's Newbery Award-winning novel with a tender power and lift it to classic status.

Little Women, set in the 19th century follows the lives of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March as they live, learn, love, and grow as young pilgrims and blossom into fine little women. Based on the author's childhood, Little Women is one of the most beloved stories in American literature. It continues to touch listeners both young and old. Alcott takes you on a prolific journey which will make your heart swell, your soul laugh, and your heart ache as we experience the lives of the March sisters as they endure their lessons, scrapes, castles in the air, their romances, and more.

Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the smelliest, nastiest, ugliest people in the world. They hate everything - except playing mean jokes on each other, catching innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies, and making their caged monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, stand on their heads all day. But the Muggle-Wumps have had enough. They don't just want out, they want revenge.

The Sugar Creek Gang discovers a "disguise" hidden in a old tree. Does it belong to the bank robber hiding in the swamp? A mysterious map hidden near the tree proves to be even more exciting than the disguise. Before the adventure ends, the gang encounters the robber, helps Bill Collins welcome a new baby sister, and saves the victim of a black widow spider bite. Join the gang as they learn the lesson of sowing and reaping.

Mrs. Pepper, a widow, and her five children lived in a plain little brown house, where she struggled to feed and clothe her lively brood. The family had little in the way of luxury and hardly any of the things that many of us today take for granted, but they had such fun and good times together, and loved one another so dearly that, when a very rich little boy discovered the warmth and happiness that flooded the little brown house, he felt himself lucky to be in it.

In Daniel Defoe’s 17th century masterpiece of English literature, hero Robinson Crusoe relates his story of shipwreck, perseverance, hope, and redemption. Full of adventure, suspense, and daring heroics, this celebration of Robinson Crusoe, updated for the modern young reader, retains all of the classic elements of Defoe’s original tale of courage, insight and the power of endurance.

Peter wanders around his neighborhood enjoying the snowy city weather.

An unnamed island in the middle of the ocean hides a huge secret. During the day, inhuman screams are heard coming from a house. At night, the silence is only broken by stifled rumors that come from the forest. It is said that someone there played God. It is said that something went terribly wrong....

Cuando en lugar del chico huérfano que pretendían adoptar, Ana Shirley, una niña pelirroja de once años, aparece en las vidas de Marilla y Matthew Cuthbert, dos hermanos solteros que viven en su casa familiar de Tejas Verdes, en el pequeño pueblo de Avonlea, sus vidas y las de cuantos la rodean cambiarán para siempre. Con su vivacidad, risas y lágrimas, y sobre todo su alegría e imaginación, Ana conseguirá formar parte, por primera vez en su vida, de una familia, y tener un lugar al que podrá llamar hogar para siempre.

Eleven year-old Portia and her younger brother, Foster, spend a summer with their cousin, Julian, engaged in more than the usual summer pastimes of sun, fun and games. The children discover a fascinating abandoned summer resort, consisting of deserted crumbling Victorian summer homes surrounding a vanished lake, which is now a swamp. But, best of all, they discover and befriend an elderly eccentric brother and sister who tell them the story of Gone-Away Lake.

Discover the bone-chilling adventures that made Goosebumps one of the best-selling children's book series of all time. Now with all-new bonus materials! Greg thinks there is something wrong with the old camera he found. The photos keep turning out...different. When Greg takes a picture of his father's brand-new car, it's wrecked in the photo. And then his dad crashes the car.

In this companion volume to A Wrinkle in Time (Newbery Award winner) and A Wind in the Door fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace and the unicorn Gaudior undertake a perilous journey through time in a desperate attempt to stop the destruction of the world by the mad dictator Madog Branzillo. They are not alone in their quest. Charles Wallace's sister, Meg - grown and expecting her first child, but still able to enter her brother's thoughts and emotions by "kything" - goes with him in spirit.

The Jungle Book is a series of fables written about wild animals and a boy named Mowgli. Most of the short stories in the collection are about Mowgli, who wanders off into the Indian jungle while being pursued by a vicious tiger, Shere Khan. Shere Khan is lame and cannot catch Mowgli on his first attempt.

Evan visits an eerie old toy store and buys a dusty can of Monster Blood. But then he notices something weird about the slimy green ooze. It keeps growing. And growing. And growing. And all that growing has given the Monster Blood a monstrous appetite....

He was named "Sham" for the sun, this golden red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco's stone stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was as swift as the desert winds, Sham's proud pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.

Betsy hopes that whoever moves into the house across the street will have a little girl just her age. And the little girl who moves in is just her age. Her name is Tacy. She is very bashful, but she likes to listen to Betsy's stories: wonderful stories that the girls love, and that they keep as their own special secret.

When Slappy, the world's most evil ventriloquist dummy, shows up after being abandoned by his previous owner, things start to go wrong around the house. But this time, Slappy may have met his match. There's another bad doll who loves to make a mess of things. Everyone better watch out for this imperfect couple.

For centuries, children and adults have treasured the stories handed down by Aesop, a slave who lived in ancient Greece approximately six centuries B.C. Known for their charm and simplicity, these simple tales feature brief adventures of animals, birds, and beasts - with a message hidden in each narrative. Every child should meet up with "The Hare and the Tortoise", "The Ants and the Grasshopper", "The Goose and the Golden Egg", "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", and other characters.