Juvenile Nonfiction Books

CHARACTER. Everything in the practical conduct of life depends upon character. What is character? What do we mean by it? As when we say such a man is a bad character, or a good character, or when we use the words, "I don't like the character of that man." By character we mean what a man really is, at the back of all his actions and his reputation and the opinion the world has of him, in... more...

The Home Coming Tom was to arrive early in the afternoon, and there was another fluttering heart besides Maggie's when it was late enough for the sound of the gig wheels to be expected. For if Mrs. Tulliver had a strong feeling, it was fondness for her boy. At last the sound came—that quick light bowling of the gig wheels. "There he is, my sweet lad!" Mrs. Tulliver stood with her arms... more...

LESSON XLVI NEW WORDS.sobathsickpleasetubwrapshawlsis'terNow, Ned, please do not put my kitty into the bath tub. Yes, sister, I must give her a bath. Here is the bath tub with some nice warm water. But, Ned, kitty will get sick if you put her into the water. She will take cold. No, I will wrap her well in the big shawl, and then she can not take cold. So Ned gave kitty a bath, and then put her... more...

CHAPTER I A BOY AND HIS DOG Penrod sat morosely upon the back fence and gazed with envy at Duke, his wistful dog. A bitter soul dominated the various curved and angular surfaces known by a careless world as the face of Penrod Schofield. Except in solitude, that face was almost always cryptic and emotionless; for Penrod had come into his twelfth year wearing an expression carefully trained to be... more...

FORTUNE AND THE BEGGAR One day a ragged beggar was creeping along from house to house. He carried an old wallet in his hand, and was asking at every door for a few cents to buy something to eat. As he was grumbling at his lot, he kept wondering why it was that folks who had so much money were never satisfied but were always wanting more. "Here," said he, "is the master of this house—I... more...

I. TROY BEFORE THE SIEGE. Design by Burne-Jones.That part of Asia Minor which borders the narrow channel now known as the Dar-da-nellesГЉВ№, was in ancient times called TroГЉВ№as. Its capital was the city of Troy, which stood about three miles from the shore of the Æ-geГЉВ№an Sea, at the foot of Mount Ida, near the junction of two rivers, the... more...

Importance of Oral ReadingThere are several reasons why every boy or girl should strive to become a good reader. In the first place, good oral reading is an accomplishment in itself. It affords a great deal of pleasure to others as well as to ourselves. In the second place, it improves our everyday speech and is also a preparation for public speaking; for the one who reads with distinctness and an... more...

MY DEAR FRIEND: I received yours yesterday morning together with the Prussian, papers, which I have read with great attention. If courts could blush, those of Vienna and Dresden ought, to have their falsehoods so publicly, and so undeniably exposed. The former will, I presume, next year, employ an hundred thousand men, to answer the accusation; and if the Empress of the two Russias is pleased to argue... more...

This preface, though placed at the beginning, as a preface must be, should be read at the end of the book. I have received a large amount of correspondence concerning this small work, and many reviews of it—some of them nearly as long as the book itself—have been printed. But scarcely any of the comment has been adverse. Some people have objected to a frivolity of tone; but as the tone is not, in... more...

THE DIGGING-MEN STORY Once upon a time there was a little boy who was almost five years old. And his mother used to let him wander about the garden and in the road near the house, for there weren't many horses going by, and the men who drove the horses that did go by knew the little boy and they were careful. So this boy wandered about and played happily by himself. He had his cat and his cart and... more...