Favorite Public Domain Novels?

[VeritasMama]

I find it enormously helpful to hear your opinions on this. Thank you!

 

Have you seen the Dirda list of Patterning Works?

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/507794-the-knowledge-most-worth-having-by-michael-dirda/?hl=%2Bdirda&do=findComment&comment=5752526

 

I found an old thread where I was trying to break it up into a 4 year cycle, along with the list of books from a children's anthology.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/519318-dirda-literature-list-according-to-sotw/?p=5744230

Thank you, the Dirda list is great, I knew I was trying to reinvent the wheel :). You've already put a lot of work into this. Most of those books on the Dirda are on my list for middle school high school.

 

I know AO schedules Bullfinch in 4-6th grade, but my boys just couldn't and can't handle it at that age. It is too advanced. I'm saving it for high school. Also on my high school list is Don Quixote, El Cid, Pride and Prejudice and Sherlock Holmes. My older boys read Robinson Crusoe in 3rd grade, but I'm holding off with my 10yo. I'm planning on RC and Gulliver in middle school. I also want my kids to read an advanced translation of Homer in high school. I would also add for high school the Count of Monte Cristo to the list, just a personal favorite, and an American short fiction anthology.

 

We spent almost and entire month on Dante in my World lit class in college. The only other work we spent as much time on was Homer. We covered a lot in two semesters, but I was able to get a lot out of it because I had already taken two years of challenging world history in high school. We didn't always have the time to dive into the hitlstorical context of each work, so I was glad to have a frame of reference ready to go.

 

I forgot about Jospeh Jacobs, we enjoy his fairy tale books very much. I like the way you incorporated fairy tales, folk tales, and poems into the each year of your rotation.

 

I don't like to tie in all the literature selections to the time period, but I can see how it would work well for others and I think this is a very worthwhile project you're undertaking :).

[Hunter]

Thank you, the Dirda list is great, I knew I was trying to reinvent the wheel :). You've already put a lot of work into this. Most of those books on the Dirda are on my list for middle school high school.

 

I know AO schedules Bullfinch in 4-6th grade, but my boys just couldn't and can't handle it at that age. It is too advanced. I'm saving it for high school. Also on my high school list is Don Quixote, El Cid, Pride and Prejudice and Sherlock Holmes. My older boys read Robinson Crusoe in 3rd grade, but I'm holding off with my 10yo. I'm planning on RC and Gulliver in middle school. I also want my kids to read an advanced translation of Homer in high school. I would also add for high school the Count of Monte Cristo to the list, just a personal favorite, and an American short fiction anthology.

 

We spent almost and entire month on Dante in my World lit class in college. The only other work we spent as much time on was Homer. We covered a lot in two semesters, but I was able to get a lot out of it because I had already taken two years of challenging world history in high school. We didn't always have the time to dive into the hitlstorical context of each work, so I was glad to have a frame of reference ready to go.

 

I forgot about Jospeh Jacobs, we enjoy his fairy tale books very much. I like the way you incorporated fairy tales, folk tales, and poems into the each year of your rotation.

 

I don't like to tie in all the literature selections to the time period, but I can see how it would work well for others and I think this is a very worthwhile project you're undertaking :).

 

I was starting to work on that 4 year rotation awhile back, and it was a "good for you" list rather than an "enjoy" list. I am now wanting to prioritize enjoyment and appropriateness for students jumping into a literature list after public schooling or having used a late start method.

 

Bullfinch is tough and it's too much without having first prepared for it. I bought all the books on the Dirda list and have been skimming/reading them since I learned about the list. I'm glad to have the list, but…many of the titles will be on a supplement list of THIS curriculum, rather than the main schedule. I'm more likely to use the list of titles from the children's anthology.

 

Your opinions are very helpful.

 

I've seen and used too many curricula that have "good for you" tiles that I have found overwhelming for the student. I don't want to do that in these schedules. I want to make SURE the books are doable for my target audience. I don't think this audience is ready for Plutarch and Bulfinch in the main schedule.

 

I'm not sure if this will be family style, or leveled, or a bit of both.

[MamaSprout]

I was starting to work on that 4 year rotation awhile back, and it was a "good for you" list rather than an "enjoy" list. I am now wanting to prioritize enjoyment and appropriateness for students jumping into a literature list after public schooling or having used a late start method.

 

Bullfinch is tough and it's too much without having first prepared for it. I bought all the books on the Dirda list and have been skimming/reading them since I learned about the list. I'm glad to have the list, but…many of the titles will be on a supplement list of THIS curriculum, rather than the main schedule. I'm more likely to use the list of titles from the children's anthology.

 

Your opinions are very helpful.

 

I've seen and used too many curricula that have "good for you" tiles that I have found overwhelming for the student. I don't want to do that in these schedules. I want to make SURE the books are doable for my target audience. I don't think this audience is ready for Plutarch and Bulfinch in the main schedule.

 

I'm not sure if this will be family style, or leveled, or a bit of both.

I like the idea of using an anthology. Even if you can't get/ use the e-reader version, there are lots of copies of the Norton around in the $40 range. It's a college textbook, so there are likely to continue to be lots of copies available in the used market. And many of the books it contains are widely available elsewhere. It is a bit flimsy to hold/ use IRL, but still contains some of the original illustrations.

 

Fun to watch this develop.

 

ETA, I agree with what you say about target ages. I have an advanced reader and she simply wouldn't enjoy many of the books listed at her "grade level". Many of the books on the "great books" and AO type schedule are listed at a younger grade level than gifted reading list.

[Hunter]

I have used a few anthologies over the past few years. The Classics of Children's Literature is complete works instead of excerpts. so is easy to replicate, without needing the anthology itself.

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/519318-dirda-literature-list-according-to-sotw/?p=5744236

 

The one Stripe linked to

https://archive.org/details/anthologyofchild00horoarch

is an earlier edition of the very expensive Riverside/Wadsworth Anthology.

http://www.amazon.com/Wadsworth-Anthology-Childrens-Literature/dp/1133316298/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411216021&sr=1-2

 

I think I will use both of these. I was very excited to see excepts of post 1923 novels in the free pdf anthology, and they are most of the full non PD novels listed in the Classics Of Children's Literature list/anthology. I am excited to have some post 1923 literature to add to the 4th year schedule, even if just an excerpt. I am even more excited that the excerpts are of titles I have been using and trust from the Classics of Children's Literature list/anthology.

 

There are a lot of things that are nicely falling into place for me. This pdf anthology is one of them. Stripe, thank you SO much for linking to it!

 

All of you have been a major inspiration to me, and I cannot thank you all enough.

 

Even the worldview focus is getting clearer to me. 

 

 

 

 

[Deee]

I haven't read this whole thread, but wanted to make a few quick recommendations, based on what has worked with our teenage book club.

 

I picked The Wind in the Willows over Anne of Green Gables because the group is mostly boys. Both books have wonderful descriptive language, but Toad is so naughty that I thought he was more appealing to boys (and he was, but so was the relationship between Rat and Mole). Anne's language is a bit too flowery. I actually think the second book, Anne of Avonlea, is more interesting. WitW is also good for discussing the idea of story within a story.

 

Huck Finn was a hard read for these kids. They found the language challenging (we are Australian - I'm not sure if that contributed), but I thought it was an excellent way for them to stretch their muscles. Great discussions of slavery (including modern), America, class, education and civilisation vs decency. I'd do it again. Also nice to contrast it with the writing style and intent of Twain when he wrote Tom Sawyer.

 

Animal Farm was fabulous. A big hit and great for discussion. Adelaide Uni has a free pdf version.

 

We've just finished Merchant of Venice - we all took parts and read it out loud in the park. Its a great first Shakespeare, and nice for discussing bigotry, revenge, mercy, etc.

[Hunter]

I haven't read this whole thread, but wanted to make a few quick recommendations, based on what has worked with our teenage book club.

 

I picked The Wind in the Willows over Anne of Green Gables because the group is mostly boys. Both books have wonderful descriptive language, but Toad is so naughty that I thought he was more appealing to boys (and he was, but so was the relationship between Rat and Mole). Anne's language is a bit too flowery. I actually think the second book, Anne of Avonlea, is more interesting. WitW is also good for discussing the idea of story within a story.

 

Huck Finn was a hard read for these kids. They found the language challenging (we are Australian - I'm not sure if that contributed), but I thought it was an excellent way for them to stretch their muscles. Great discussions of slavery (including modern), America, class, education and civilisation vs decency. I'd do it again. Also nice to contrast it with the writing style and intent of Twain when he wrote Tom Sawyer.

 

Animal Farm was fabulous. A big hit and great for discussion. Adelaide Uni has a free pdf version.

 

We've just finished Merchant of Venice - we all took parts and read it out loud in the park. Its a great first Shakespeare, and nice for discussing bigotry, revenge, mercy, etc.

 

Thank you so much for these personal reviews!

 

I really like Animal Farm, but I think it's illegal for Americans to download it, unfortunately. I'm really sad about that.

[Deee]

Oh thats just silly (them not you)! I think the copyright regulations are daft when they don't cross international boundaries. Same frustration I have with Google books. Does the Adelaide Uni site tell you its illegal?

D

[Deee]

Yes, I just checked the Adelaide website. Seems our laws are different. What a huge pain in the backside! Of course, you could just read it online.........

[Hunter]

Yes, I just checked the Adelaide website. Seems our laws are different. What a huge pain in the backside! Of course, you could just read it online.........

 

I wonder how that works! If you don't download something, are you allowed to read it off a webpage? Is visiting the webpage the same as visiting a country? You can view it there, but just not bring it home?

[stripe]

I saw an online books site that had dire warnings about not clicking the link and visiting the site if you're in the US. But really.

[SEGway]

I'll add another vote for _Understood Betsy_. I really enjoyed it. (I think my girls did, too.)

 

Some of my 9yo dd's favorite rereads are the Lang Fairy books and the Oz series. (I don't think she even knows how many times she's read them).

[Hunter]

I saw an online books site that had dire warnings about not clicking the link and visiting the site if you're in the US. But really.

 

Thank you. I'm just going to skip anything that isn't PD in the USA in the main schedule and list some of the books that are PD in other countries as alternatives/supplements.

[Hunter]

I'll add another vote for _Understood Betsy_. I really enjoyed it. (I think my girls did, too.)

 

Some of my 9yo dd's favorite rereads are the Lang Fairy books and the Oz series. (I don't think she even knows how many times she's read them).

 

Thank you so much for the reviews! Every post made here has helped me narrow down on what I want to do.

[stripe]

Thank you. I'm just going to skip anything that isn't PD in the USA in the main schedule and list some of the books that are PD in other countries as alternatives/supplements.

Yeah, good idea, I found the Jane of Lantern Hill dire warning at

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/nonus?id=olbp23989

[Hunter]

I'm so bogged down in choosing language arts texts right, now. I don't feel like I can choose novels until I decide on and schedule language arts texts.

 

The first edition of TWTM used an updated version of a vintage book by Mary Hyde. I don't think I'm going to use that book, but I might. I am rereading the TWTM instructions for using it, though.

 

There are so many pros and cons for each series of language arts books. It's hard to choose. 

 

I know that I absolutely must stay focused on the big picture. No details matter more than the whole.

[VeritasMama]

I'm interested in which vintage language arts curricula are favorites, would you mind sharing?

[Hunter]

I'm interested in which vintage language arts curricula are favorites, would you mind sharing?

 

I love PARTS of so many vintage books. But as a whole, I just wallow in them instead of using them. I need to choose, for better and for worse, and decide which ones to marry.

 

I think I'm going to try and narrow down to spines that are available as both hardcopies and eBooks, and then supplement with eBooks that are only available as ebooks.

 

I think I'm going to use the TWTM 1st edition recommended Mary Hyde book. 

http://books.google.com/books?id=7JcAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Part 1 of the above vintage book is the updated version known as ECT, and what is in TWTM 1st edition, not the whole vintage book.

http://www.amazon.com/English-Thoughtful-Child-Vol-1/dp/1882514076/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411603940&sr=1-4&keywords=mary+hyde

 

I think I'm going to use Harvey's–heavily supplemented–after that, but I'm not sure if that is too big of a jump.

http://books.google.com/books?id=hB8BAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Updated version

http://www.amazon.com/Harveys-Elementary-Grammar-Composition-Thomas/dp/0880620412/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

 

I think I'm going to use the McGuffey's Readers

 

And Ray's for the math. But Ray's needs a study guide and a better one than the Ruth Beechick one. Beechick is helpful, but she schedules the Intellectual book before the Practical book and that is NOT how they were meant to be used. The intellectual book is a supplemental mental math book, meant to be used along side the Practical book. I'll supplement, skip, tweak and such, and still use Ray's as the spine, but do some major updating of the original scope and sequence and something different and hopefully better that the Beechick guide.

 

Phonics, I'm narrowing down on, now that I have chosen McGuffey's.

 

I'm primarily choosing 3R texts with rules that can be notebooked, rather than the more CM style texts.

[MamaSprout]

The Mary Hyde book is nice on google books. I'm sorry I overlooked it three years ago.

[MamaSprout]

Have you looked at Wheeler's readers? Eta, I know they haven't been reprinted though.

[MamaSprout]

Also, I suppose you've been to Don Potter's page? http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/

[Hunter]

I'm going to use Wheeler as a supplemental reader. The pictures are beautiful. One of the deficits of an all ebook curriculum is what I have called "visual impoverishment". Wheeler's is a ready supply of pictures of basic vocabulary that modern students sometimes have not seen in real life.

[Hunter]

Yes, I've been rereading all of the Don Potter pages. I will definitely be using his handwriting curriculum.

[Hunter]

And not vintage, but I will be using Daily Grammar. Again, all free, but a hardcopy can be purchased.

http://www.dailygrammar.com/archive.html

[Hunter]

I'm interested in which vintage language arts curricula are favorites, would you mind sharing?

 

I think this is the book recommended by Riggs Institute.

 

Essentials of English by Pearson and Kirchwey

http://books.google.com/books?id=pN5EAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

The Summary of Rules pages are particularly nice. See pages 52, 159, 284.

[Hunter]

I think I'm going to use Essentials of Spelling. It's based on the Ayre's list. It isn't marked with phonograms, though, so don't get too excited before clicking on it.

http://books.google.com/books?id=3fIAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:25mPteI-nGAC&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N4cjVO6DGdGNsQTS7YHQDQ&ved=0CCMQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

It's nice though. For the first 4 days of the week, it teaches just 2 new words a day, while reviewing 4 others, and has a dictation sentence that includes the 2 new words.

[VeritasMama]

Thanks! Reading vintage language arts programs is my new hobby :).

[Deee]

I think reading online books without downloading might be a bit like smoking pot without inhaling ;)

D

[MamaSprout]

A few I had in my google books to share:

Ray's Key: http://books.google.com/books/reader?id=TAIAAAAAYAAJ&num=11&printsec=frontcover&output=reader

 

Eye and Ear Speller (phonetic)

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=2rUAAAAAYAAJ

 

Inductive Grammar: This is a brief English grammar, intended to prepare students for beginning Latin grammar. It is available on Amazon in a paperback:

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=R4gSAAAAIAAJ

 

Teachers "Eclectic" Manual. I haven't read all the way through it:

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=FMkKAQAAIAAJ&pg=GBS.PA16

 

Also, easy steps in Spelling- sort of combo Primer/ Speller:

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=2pMAAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA11

 

Hope this are useful to someone.

[Hunter]

Thanks! Reading vintage language arts programs is my new hobby :).

 

I have learned so much by reading vintage LA books, as well as arithmetic and geography and natural science and teacher training. The hard part for me, now, is to narrow down my selections to triage and create a whole.

 

Reading vintage books is a great hobby. It's affordable, and it can be shared with friends all over the world.

[Hunter]

I think reading online books without downloading might be a bit like smoking pot without inhaling ;)

D

 

:lol:

 

I freely admit to downloading. I have thumbdrives full of books.

[Hunter]

A few I had in my google books to share:

Ray's Key: http://books.google.com/books/reader?id=TAIAAAAAYAAJ&num=11&printsec=frontcover&output=reader

 

Eye and Ear Speller (phonetic)

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=2rUAAAAAYAAJ

 

Inductive Grammar: This is a brief English grammar, intended to prepare students for beginning Latin grammar. It is available on Amazon in a paperback:

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=R4gSAAAAIAAJ

 

Teachers "Eclectic" Manual. I haven't read all the way through it:

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=FMkKAQAAIAAJ&pg=GBS.PA16

 

Also, easy steps in Spelling- sort of combo Primer/ Speller:

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=2pMAAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA11

 

Hope this are useful to someone.

 

Some interesting books!

 

The Ray's key is for the newer modern series, so be careful to make sure you match it to the right texts.

 

The spellers and grammar are all interesting. Hazen puts out some good stuff.

 

I need to reread all of the Eclectic Manual. There is so much wisdom packed in that book. So many books so little time.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Hunter]

It looks like the Essentials in English books got updated in 1921 and follows the same divisions of the Essentials in Spelling series from 1919/1921: Lower (2/3), Middle (4-6), Higher (7-8/9).

 

https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Henry%20Carr%20Pearson%22

 

I wish these came in hardcopies, but this is too nice of a set to pass up. A complete spelling and English course that is post 1920 and includes updates like the Ayres studies and more modern punctuation.

[vonfirmath]

Yup Alcott's Little Women.

 

 

 

Yes Five Little Peppers and. How they Grew. I loved that as a kid.

 

I love Little Women. I related to Jo very much. I was not a girly girl. I like the sequels where she had a school for boys so much and I really wanted to open something like that myself. It was always a dream. Not just for boys. Just for children in general.

 

As noted about I loved The Five Little Peppers but I have not read that since I was a kid.

 

Recently my son and I both read Heidi. I would add that to a list. My son loved it so much that when he got a puppy recent he named her Adelheid, but we call her Heidi.

We also loved A Little Princess and A Secret Garden.

 

Korrale and I must have been the same kid.

Little Women, little Men, five little peppers, Heidi (I bought this with my own money and read the cover off of it), Little Princess, Secret Garden

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

 

 

Robert Louis Stevenson should be in the public domain. Treasure Island

 

I loved Swiss Family Robinson as a child (though I wonder if it was a different translation because I've read one as a grownup and it seems really dull)

(Last of the Mohicans has also not stood up through time)

 

I loved the Oz books and hunted down the sequels in all the branches of the Houston library system I could get my mom to take me to.

 

The Adventures of Sherlock  Holmes

Uncle Tom's Cabin

 

Black Beauty (Unless I'm getting this confused with another series about a black horse?)

The Gift of the Magi makes a great Christmas tale

Leaves of Grass for poems

 

Is Once and Future KIng by T.H. White in the public domain? I was assigned to read book 1 in class but sped through and read the entire thing instead.

 

Gone with the Wind (in HS)

 

More poetry:

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Rime of the Ancient MAriner

Ozymandias

[Hunter]

Korrale and I must have been the same kid.

Little Women, little Men, five little peppers, Heidi (I bought this with my own money and read the cover off of it), Little Princess, Secret Garden

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

 

 

Robert Louis Stevenson should be in the public domain. Treasure Island

 

I loved Swiss Family Robinson as a child (though I wonder if it was a different translation because I've read one as a grownup and it seems really dull)

(Last of the Mohicans has also not stood up through time)

 

I loved the Oz books and hunted down the sequels in all the branches of the Houston library system I could get my mom to take me to.

 

The Adventures of Sherlock  Holmes

Uncle Tom's Cabin

 

Black Beauty (Unless I'm getting this confused with another series about a black horse?)

The Gift of the Magi makes a great Christmas tale

Leaves of Grass for poems

 

Is Once and Future KIng by T.H. White in the public domain? I was assigned to read book 1 in class but sped through and read the entire thing instead.

 

Gone with the Wind (in HS)

 

More poetry:

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Rime of the Ancient MAriner

Ozymandias

 

Thank you SO much for these reviews! I'm hoping to finalize my LA texts choices in the next couple days, so I can get back to choosing the novels.

 

I think the novels will be more than 1/2 the day's time spent on task, but it's this endless list of other "stuff" that is making my head swim. But it's this "stuff" that is the "steroids" of my "Robinson on steroids" plan. I'm trying to buckle down, but I'm getting motion sickness from all the skimming through so many books.

[ocelotmom]

I haven't seen My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett mentioned yet. I'm not sure why it is public domain, since it was published in 1948, but it is.

[melbotoast]

The Scarlet Pimpernel

[Hunter]

I haven't seen My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett mentioned yet. I'm not sure why it is public domain, since it was published in 1948, but it is.

 

Wow! It's nice to have some current books.

[Hunter]

The Scarlet Pimpernel

 

Thanks!

[MamaSprout]

Reluctant Dragon! I didn't realize it was in the public domain, but Gutenberg has the audio. It's been a family favorite. Same author as Wind in the Willows.

 

ETA LINK: http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/the-reluctant-dragon-by-kenneth-grahame

[Hunter]

Ooh! The audiobook is delightful!

[ocelotmom]

The audiobook (on LibriVox) of My Father's Dragon is, too - it's a kid reading it, and he does a very good job.

[Hunter]

Okay, so the Reluctant Dragon and My Father's Dragon are two different novels. I think I had them as one in my head. I think I've done that with a few other novels. Boxcar and Railway Children. I don't know what else.

 

Instead of being limiting, I'm finding that my attempts to create this curriculum are only giving me more, not less to teach with. And I'm not even getting overwhelmed with links. When I am dead-set on my big picture, I know when something fits or doesn't, and I know when something newly suggested is better or not than the one I was previously settled on. I still have a few areas of the big picture that are a bit hazy, but mostly I know where I am headed. This is fun! :)

[Dmmetler]

Is Black Beauty public domain yet? I read and cried over that book so many times as a girl. Haven't given it to DD since she's so sensitive to animal abuse.

[Hunter]

Is Black Beauty public domain yet? I read and cried over that book so many times as a girl. Haven't given it to DD since she's so sensitive to animal abuse.

 

Yes. I want to reread this. I'm planning on adding it to year 1. As well as year 1 being a life science year, horses are a fundamental part of history.

[MeaganS]

My personal favorites either now or as a child. Not all of these are 100% PC, but I like/liked them anyways:

 

Anne of Green Gables

Little Women

Heidi

Secret Garden

Little Princess

Scarlet Pimpernel

Count of Monte Cristo

Three Musketeers

Letters of a Woman Homesteader (some unkind stuff about Mormons, but I'm Mormon and still like it)

Helen Keller, the Story of My Life

A Girl of the Limberlost

Swiss Family Robinson

Robinson Crusoe

Understood Betsy

Lang Fairy Books

Jane Eyre

All things Jane Austen

North and South

A Christmas Carol

The Chemical History of a Candle (The Happy Scientist recommended this one on a thread here.)

 

Those are the ones on my Kindle that I could fine that I know I got for free. I hope that helps.

[Hunter]

My personal favorites either now or as a child. Not all of these are 100% PC, but I like/liked them anyways:

 

Anne of Green Gables

Little Women

Heidi

Secret Garden

Little Princess

Scarlet Pimpernel

Count of Monte Cristo

Three Musketeers

Letters of a Woman Homesteader (some unkind stuff about Mormons, but I'm Mormon and still like it)

Helen Keller, the Story of My Life

A Girl of the Limberlost

Swiss Family Robinson

Robinson Crusoe

Understood Betsy

Lang Fairy Books

Jane Eyre

All things Jane Austen

North and South

A Christmas Carol

The Chemical History of a Candle (The Happy Scientist recommended this one on a thread here.)

 

Those are the ones on my Kindle that I could fine that I know I got for free. I hope that helps.

 

It does help. Thank you!

[shinyhappypeople]

I love children's literature and read it for pleasure.  A few PD favorites (off the top of my head) are Riki Tiki Tavi, Anne of Green Gables, The Railway Children, Tanglewood Tales (my 9 yo LOVES this book).... I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them right now.  Oh, I'm in the middle of Girl of Limberlost and I really, really like it.  Elnora reminds me of Anne Shirley. :)

 

On my "to be read" list: Call of the Wild, and White Fang.  I assume I'll love them (seems like most people do), but I mention them because they're accessible classics, and might be useful to your curriculum.

 

Too bad Marguerite Henry's books are nowhere near being public domain.  She's a wonderful author.

[Hunter]

I love children's literature and read it for pleasure.  A few PD favorites (off the top of my head) are Riki Tiki Tavi, Anne of Green Gables, The Railway Children, Tanglewood Tales (my 9 yo LOVES this book).... I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them right now.  Oh, I'm in the middle of Girl of Limberlost and I really, really like it.  Elnora reminds me of Anne Shirley. :)

 

On my "to be read" list: Call of the Wild, and White Fang.  I assume I'll love them (seems like most people do), but I mention them because they're accessible classics, and might be useful to your curriculum.

 

Too bad Marguerite Henry's books are nowhere near being public domain.  She's a wonderful author.

 

Thank you!

 

I'm hoping I will like Girl of the LImberlost and Freckles. They are on my list to read.

 

I remember Call of the Wild to include a lot of evolution, and to have a high vocabulary even though being short. It's been longer since I read White Fang.

 

I really like Riki Tiki Tavi.

[ocelotmom]

Yes. I want to reread this. I'm planning on adding it to year 1. As well as year 1 being a life science year, horses are a fundamental part of history.

 

I know it's going to be hard to find anything perfect, but I think that the Ginger portion of the story would really send the wrong message to your target audience.

[Hunter]

I know it's going to be hard to find anything perfect, but I think that the Ginger portion of the story would really send the wrong message to your target audience.

 

Chapter 40–Poor Ginger? Ouch! That is awful. It reminds me of the book Bambi.