smfmommy Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 I am looking for a single volume that shows excerpts of great writing. A well crafted description by Dickens or a great passage from Moby Dick. I don't want an anthology, just examples of wonderful writing. Has something like that ever been created? I am not looking for a textbook that gives analysis just an enjoyable foray into excellent writing. Something I could read a selection or two during lunch to inspire my budding writers. I have tried multiple searches on Amazon and this board but haven't found anything. I am beginning to worry it doesn't exist but am hoping someone can correct me and send me in the right direction. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 You asked for classics, but it would be easier to point you to best of annuals. The Best American Essays 2015 The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2015 Best Food Writing 2014 Collections like that will give you pieces that are shorter and more complete. You could read the article and discuss why it worked, etc. They have annuals for travel writing, crime writing, fiction, all sorts of things. I use them extensively with my dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Those look interesting but I really don't want contemporary literature. Now that I think of it though, it doesn't have to be in print. Is there a web site with excerpts of great writing? Anyway, thank you for the ideas OhElizabeth. I'll see where the Amazon "those who bought this..." rabbit trails lead me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 You might look at Good Will/Salvation Army/second hand book stores for individual volumes from the following out-of-print book series, which contain excerpts of classics: Collier's Junior Classics: The Young Folks Shelf of Books My Book House The Children's Hour -- a number of the volumes can be read online through Gutenberg Project; here are links Bookshelf for Boys and Girls Journeys Through Bookland -- a number of the volumes can be read online through Gutenberg Project In the past thread, "Anthologies: The Children's Hour vs Young Folks' Library vs.?", posts #22, 25, 28 list some of the contents of some of the editions of these book series to help you decide which ones would be more useful for your purposes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Thank you for the information and especially the thread with content listing! I will check these out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Thank you for the information and especially the thread with content listing! I will check these out. The online versions will also have the table of contents, so you can track down what classics are excerpted in that particular volume. :) Also, I recommend reading through that whole thread -- mixed in are some great ideas of how people use these anthologies -- for example, to "whet appetite" of late elementary/early middle school students for continuing from reading/hearing the excerpt to reading the classic on their own. ;) From your signature, it looks you have a number of students in the perfect age range for these anthologies… And, here are a few other threads in which people explain how they use these love anthologies: "How to use My Book House set?" "Just wanted to share again how much I really like Journeys Through Bookland" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Caesar's English 1 & 2, vocabulary books by Michael Clay Thompson, have lots of great excerpts from classics. They are fairly short, if memory serves, but MCT is great at pointing out what is so good about them, and why the author may have made certain vocabulary choices. They are excellent books for reading aloud and discussing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Junior Great Books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 Thank you, katilac. That looks promising. I'll look into those as well Carol, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 How long do you want the selections to be? Sentence Composing is a collection of great sentences from a wide variety of works. But they are literally individual sentences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 I was thinking various lengths from sentences to a page or two but I will check the book out. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 There is a kindle book called "the harvard classics in a year" that might do. Authors first name is eliot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 I actually have that book. I could flip through it again but I found the selections too long for lunch reading. Thanks for reminding me though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children and More Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children by William F. Russell http://www.amazon.com/Classics-Read-Aloud-Your-Children/dp/0517587157/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459280187&sr=1-1&keywords=classics+to+read+aloud+to+your+children http://www.amazon.com/More-Classics-Read-Aloud-Children-ebook/dp/B004FYZ3LI/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459280187&sr=1-3&keywords=classics+to+read+aloud+to+your+children Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Those look good, especially if they are excerpts and not adaptations. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) Would something like Spelling Wisdom from Simply Charlotte Mason work? Volume 4 & 5 have some passages from Dickens, Austen, etc. Maxwell's School Composition and Writing in English use excerpts from classics as models for teaching imitation, narration, description and exposition skills. Spelling Wisdom https://simplycharlottemason.com/store/spelling-wisdom/ School Composition https://books.google.com/books?id=E_8AAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=maxwell+school+composition&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiV4-jE1efLAhUT7mMKHQn8BtoQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=maxwell%20school%20composition&f=false http://www.amazon.com/School-Composition-Grammar-Classes-Classic/dp/1331838908?ie=UTF8&keywords=school%20composition&qid=1459315561&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 Writing in English https://books.google.com/books?id=s1sQAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=maxwell+school+composition&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiV4-jE1efLAhUT7mMKHQn8BtoQ6AEIJDAB#v=onepage&q=maxwell%20school%20composition&f=false http://www.amazon.com/Writing-English-Composition-Classic-Reprint/dp/1330479475/ref=pd_sim_sbs_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=11T9N2K9SV2XBGJMBNYT Edited March 30, 2016 by LivingHope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 Thank you. Free is always nice. :-) I will take a look at them. I think through all the options mentioned I should be able to get some inspiring excerpts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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