Here is a list I have compiled of all the Thornton Burgess books I could find that are available for free online.
If you have read any of the Burgess stories, I know you have fallen in love with the little characters. We always look forward to hearing about nosy Peter Cottontail, mischievous Sammy Jay, and wise Grandfather Frog. For me, the best thing about them is reading them aloud. The dialog is charming, and I love doing the different voices.
I know that Ambleside Online curriculum recommends some of them, as do other homeschool curricula. They are wonderful stories which teach morals and values while exploring the world of wildlife.
The majority of the Burgess books that you can find online are at Gutenberg.org. There are a few more out there, however, that are not included on Gutenberg. Most of these are not available in text format, because they are scanned images. They do include the color illustrations by Harrison Cady.
Burgess books on Gutenberg.org
Burgess Bedtime Stories from an old calendar.
The Adventures of Peter Rabbit
Bobby Coon’s Mistake
A Great Joke on Jimmy Skunk
The Neatness of Bobby Coon
A Merry Coasting Pary
Paddy’s Surprise Visitor
The Three Bears
Reddy Fox’s Sudden Engagement
Grandfather Frog Stays in the Smiling Pool
A Robber Meets His Match
Peter Rabbit Proves a Friend
Young Flash the Deer
Additional Link: Podcast of Old Mother West Wind by Lori K. Brooke. There are audio versions of some of the Burgess books available at Gutenberg.org and Librivox.org, but I wanted to share these because they are different, and not as easy to find. The woman reading them has a grandmotherly, sweet voice, and there is background music added which gaves them a relaxing, bedtime feel.
Please comment if you know of any other Burgess stories available online, and I will add them.
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Call Menus and Listening Skills
As a teaching mom, I get tired of explaining things to my kids and seeing their eyes glaze over. I know they are not with me. I will redirect them and say, "Are you listening?"
The answer is always something like, "Yeah. What'd you say?"
Or when I asked them to narrate back to me, a la Charotte Mason, I get a blank look, and if I hear anything, it is not related to what we just read. It is usually related to the picture on the front of the book.
It's aggravating, I know. But if you are in the same predicament, you might want to be a little easier on them. You might be doing the same thing yourself, but in an acceptable, adult manner.
Have you ever thought about this: How many times have you called a customer service line and had to listen to the computerized menu twice? Or thrice? I have to do that all the time. As soon as I press "one" for English, my focus slips down the drain like spaghetti. Somewhere between "three" and "four," I get hopelessly lost.
And I really am going to look into getting a rotary phone.
The answer is always something like, "Yeah. What'd you say?"
Or when I asked them to narrate back to me, a la Charotte Mason, I get a blank look, and if I hear anything, it is not related to what we just read. It is usually related to the picture on the front of the book.
It's aggravating, I know. But if you are in the same predicament, you might want to be a little easier on them. You might be doing the same thing yourself, but in an acceptable, adult manner.
Have you ever thought about this: How many times have you called a customer service line and had to listen to the computerized menu twice? Or thrice? I have to do that all the time. As soon as I press "one" for English, my focus slips down the drain like spaghetti. Somewhere between "three" and "four," I get hopelessly lost.
Now, what did they say? Was it "three" for account information? If I push "three", will I get a recording of my balance, or will they let me talk to someone? I really need to talk to someone. ..Oh, no! Now they are on "five"! What was "four"? Oh no, I think "four" was what I needed! Do I push "0" or "*" to make this thing repeat?After thinking about this issue, I am resolved to be a little easier on my kids for their listening skills. I'm going let them push "*" to hear the menu again, and repeat with all the coolness of the computerized lady. I might even say, "Your call is valuable to me. Thank you for being a customer!"
I wonder if you can still buy a rotary phone?
And I really am going to look into getting a rotary phone.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Book Review of A Little Princess (with discussion ideas)
* A good friend of mine who homeschools brought up the issue of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s philosophy/religion as a potential problem area for some Christians. You might read some background on Frances Hodgson Burnett to learn a little about this area.
A Little Princess is the story of a rich little girl named Sara Crewe, who is sent away to boarding school. Soon after that, she loses her father and her fortune. She is relegated to the position of a servant and is badly mistreated. Even with all these misfortunes, she manages to keep her spirits up, and show compassion and kindness to others.
One of the recurring themes in the book is friendship. When Sara comes to the new school, the little girls are fascinated at her luxurious room and expensive posessions, but they quickly learn to love Sara for who she is. She is a very imaginative girl and tells wonderful stories. When her fortune is gone, she is treated very differently, but after a while, she is able to see that her old friends are as confused as she is. They are under a great deal of pressure from Miss Minchin, the owner of the boarding school. It shows the strength of friendship that a couple of her friends are willing to risk getting in a lot of trouble just to see Sara for a little while.
Another recurring theme in the book is pride. Sara is able to withstand very cruel treatment, usually without retaliating. This is because she has a keen sense of pride. She imagines that she is a real princess and is better than those who would act cruelly to her. Her strength actually comes from a sense of superiority. As Christ-followers, we can see that this is not really a good motivation for behavior, but it is a very human one. This opens up a good area for discussion.
Compassion is another theme of the book. Sara seems to be a compassionate girl from the beginning, but living in luxury as she has, she has no way to truly empathize. When she experiences poverty, hunger, and loneliness, her compassion grows greatly as a result. This is a truly sweet part of the book, maybe dealt with a bit too neatly, but still appropriate and a very nice way to talk about compassion and putting love into action.
My oldest is nine years old, so I do admit to being picky about what books we read, but the truth is: all books are going to have their flaws. Right now I try to ask myself if there is an opportunity to discuss character issues, is evil or goodness ultimately rewarded, or does the book dwell too much on evil.
I did find two major problems in this book, and a couple of minor areas that might warrant discussion. The first is that Miss Minchin was really scary to my daughter. So much so that we had to put the book away for a few months. I think it was that she was so thoroughly mean and she was the ultimate authority, answering to no one.
The second problem was Sara’s belief in magic. At first, she is just portrayed as an imaginative child who imagines that dolls come to life when no one is in the room. Very cute, but this belief grows and grows through the book. When things go from bad to worse, suddenly Sara starts calling it “the Magic” and really believing that things happen because she pretends them to be. The whole time, the reader is allowed to see what is really happening in the background, but are we to believe that it is just a fortunate coincidence, or that there really is a Magic that made all these things work together?
The last two areas I will mention are not really problem areas. One is very typical for many books of the time period. It is worth discussion, however. Even though class distinction is meddled with through the book, in the end, everyone is neatly placed back in their original social cubbyhole. So it is not a rags to riches story, but a riches to rags to riches story.
And finally, we are to believe (in the opening chapter of the book) that even though Captain Crewe loves his daughter very much, he is forced, really, to send her to boarding school He is greatly grieved, but there is just no option for him. This would be an opportunity to discuss what choice might be made, and what options really were open in those days.
A Little Princess is the story of a rich little girl named Sara Crewe, who is sent away to boarding school. Soon after that, she loses her father and her fortune. She is relegated to the position of a servant and is badly mistreated. Even with all these misfortunes, she manages to keep her spirits up, and show compassion and kindness to others.
One of the recurring themes in the book is friendship. When Sara comes to the new school, the little girls are fascinated at her luxurious room and expensive posessions, but they quickly learn to love Sara for who she is. She is a very imaginative girl and tells wonderful stories. When her fortune is gone, she is treated very differently, but after a while, she is able to see that her old friends are as confused as she is. They are under a great deal of pressure from Miss Minchin, the owner of the boarding school. It shows the strength of friendship that a couple of her friends are willing to risk getting in a lot of trouble just to see Sara for a little while.
Another recurring theme in the book is pride. Sara is able to withstand very cruel treatment, usually without retaliating. This is because she has a keen sense of pride. She imagines that she is a real princess and is better than those who would act cruelly to her. Her strength actually comes from a sense of superiority. As Christ-followers, we can see that this is not really a good motivation for behavior, but it is a very human one. This opens up a good area for discussion.
Compassion is another theme of the book. Sara seems to be a compassionate girl from the beginning, but living in luxury as she has, she has no way to truly empathize. When she experiences poverty, hunger, and loneliness, her compassion grows greatly as a result. This is a truly sweet part of the book, maybe dealt with a bit too neatly, but still appropriate and a very nice way to talk about compassion and putting love into action.
My oldest is nine years old, so I do admit to being picky about what books we read, but the truth is: all books are going to have their flaws. Right now I try to ask myself if there is an opportunity to discuss character issues, is evil or goodness ultimately rewarded, or does the book dwell too much on evil.
I did find two major problems in this book, and a couple of minor areas that might warrant discussion. The first is that Miss Minchin was really scary to my daughter. So much so that we had to put the book away for a few months. I think it was that she was so thoroughly mean and she was the ultimate authority, answering to no one.
The second problem was Sara’s belief in magic. At first, she is just portrayed as an imaginative child who imagines that dolls come to life when no one is in the room. Very cute, but this belief grows and grows through the book. When things go from bad to worse, suddenly Sara starts calling it “the Magic” and really believing that things happen because she pretends them to be. The whole time, the reader is allowed to see what is really happening in the background, but are we to believe that it is just a fortunate coincidence, or that there really is a Magic that made all these things work together?
The last two areas I will mention are not really problem areas. One is very typical for many books of the time period. It is worth discussion, however. Even though class distinction is meddled with through the book, in the end, everyone is neatly placed back in their original social cubbyhole. So it is not a rags to riches story, but a riches to rags to riches story.
And finally, we are to believe (in the opening chapter of the book) that even though Captain Crewe loves his daughter very much, he is forced, really, to send her to boarding school He is greatly grieved, but there is just no option for him. This would be an opportunity to discuss what choice might be made, and what options really were open in those days.
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