Classic Childrens Literature

He wasn't born with the name Maniac Magee. He came into this world named Jeffrey Lionel Magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name. And Maniac Magee became a legend. Even today kids talk about how fast he could run; about how he hit an inside-the-park "frog" homer; about how no knot, no matter how snarled, would stay that way once he began to untie it. But the thing Maniac Magee is best known for is what he did for the kids from the East Side and those from the West Side.

Meg Murry can't help but be worried when her six-year-old brother, Charles Wallace, announces there are dragons in the vegetable garden. He's so bright, and so different from other kids, he's getting bullied at school, and he is also strangely, seriously ill. But Charles Wallace is right about the dragons - actually a friendly entity who has come to help Charles Wallace fight his sickness, and to take Meg and her friend Calvin O'Keefe on a terrifying, wonderful journey into galactic space - where they must battle the force of evil to save Charles Wallace, and themselves.

Working at a plantation in his youth, Joel Chandler Harris found that much of his shyness disappeared in the slave QTLYters, and his background as the illegitimate son of an Irish immigrant helped fuse a close bond with the slaves. The language of his new friends and the African-American animal tales they shared later became the inspiration for Joel’s beloved Uncle Remus stories.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle loves everyone, and everyone loves her right back. The Children love her because she is lots of fun. Their parents love her because she can cure children of absolutely any bad habit. The treatments are unusual, but they work! Who better than a pig, for instance, to teach a piggy little boy table manners? And what better way to cure the rainy-day "waddle-I-do's" than hunt for pirate treasure in Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's upside-down house?

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen. Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker.

Jenna-Louise Coleman reads The Secret Garden, one of the best-loved stories of all time. When newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to live at Misselthwaite Manor with her uncle, she is determined to be miserable. But she finds a lonely house which is full of mystery. There's her sad Uncle Archibald, her cousin, Colin, who believes he's dying, and then there's Dickon, a local boy. Together they discover a locked and secret garden and their great adventure begins.

Beginning in 1910, Howard Roger Garis penned an Uncle Wiggily tale every day (except Sundays) for 30 years, much to the delight of both children and adult fans of the elderly gentleman rabbit. Join Uncle Wiggily in outwitting such outrageous creatures as the Pipsiseweh, Skeeziks, Bazumpus, Crozokus and the Scuttlemagoon while teaching heartwarming life lessons. Listeners will be charmed at this newly narrated version of a beloved classic.

This is a story about REAL WITCHES. Real witches dress in ordinary clothes, have ordinary jobs and look very much like ordinary people. But they are far from ORDINARY. The Grand High Witch, leader of all the witches, has a plan to make each and every child disappear. That is, unless one boy and his grandmother can stop her.

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943, and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life.

Greg Rich should feel invincible. After all, he’s traveled through time, become one of the legendary Musketeers, and - most recently - prevented the Spanish army from attacking Paris. Instead, he and his friends are languishing in prison, having fallen into a trap set by Milady and the prince of Condé. But Greg didn’t come to the 17th century to sit in a jail cell and await execution. He, Aramis, Athos, and Porthos need to get to King Louis, who is in immediate danger of being overthrown by the scheming prince.

Peter Brownrigg finds himself on the wrong side of the law - and on the run. As he makes his way to London he meets Kit, another runaway, and with luck on their side they find jobs as apprentices to William Shakespeare. But then a chance discovery endangers their lives once more... An action-packed spy thriller set in Elizabethan times, 'Cue for Treason' is a masterpiece of historical fiction, widely considered to be a modern classic.

When 10-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles upon the Tuck family's disturbing secret, she is forced to come to terms with her conflicting emotions. She feels drawn to the loving, gentle, and rather eccentric Tucks, but what they tell her is too incredible to be believed. Doomed to, or blessed with, eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family tries to make Winnie understand that the terrible magic of the forest spring can never be revealed.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is a fantasy novel for children, first published in 1950. It is the best known of the seven novels that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956). Most of the story is set in Narnia, a land of talking animals and mythical creatures ruled by the wicked White Witch. The narrative starts with four English siblings being relocated to a large country house following a wartime evacuation. They visit Narnia through a wardrobe and become involved in its affairs and its history.

Nobody could capture the Phantom. She was the wildest mare on Assateague Island. They said she was like the wind, that the white "map" on her shoulders was her mark of freedom. Paul and Maureen Beebe had their hearts set on owning her. They were itching to buy and tame her; and worked hard to earn the money she would cost. But the roundup men had tried to capture her and for two years she had escaped them.

That meanie Jim has invited everyone in Room Nine to his birthday party on Saturday - except Junie B.! Should she have her own birthday party six months early and not invite Jim? Or should she move to It's a Small World After All in Disneyland?

Abridged and retold in modern English by respected children's authors, this collection of sixteen classic stories makes them accessible to listeners as young as six, while retaining all the charm, atmosphere, and sense of adventure that made the original tales world-famous.

Long before saving the earth became a global concern, Dr. Seuss, speaking through his character the Lorax, warned against mindless progress and the danger it posed to the earth's natural beauty.

It was a clear, apple-green evening in May, and Four Winds Harbour was mirroring back the clouds of the golden west between its softly dark shores. The sea moaned eerily on the sand-bar, sorrowful even in spring, but a sly, jovial wind came piping down the red harbor road along which Miss Cornelia’s comfortable, matronly figure was making its way towards the village of Glen St. Mary. Miss Cornelia was rightfully Mrs. Marshall Elliott, and had been Mrs. Marshall Elliott for thirteen years, but even yet more people referred to her as Miss Cornelia than as Mrs. Elliott.

Equality 7-2521 is a young man who yearns to understand “the Science of Things”, but he lives in a bleak, dystopian future where independent thought is a crime and where science and technology have regressed to primitive levels. All expressions of individualism have been suppressed in his world. Obedience to the collective is so deeply ingrained that the very word “I” has been erased. In pursuit of his quest for knowledge, Equality 7-2521 struggles to answer the questions that burn within him.

Original adventures of the classic bear from Darkest Peru, soon to be a major movie star! 'I do wish I could see into Paddington's mind,' said Mrs Brown. 'I know something's going on. I can recognise the signs.' And there is plenty of cause for concern when Paddington takes an interest in detective work. Not to mention sewing and ballroom dancing! Paddington Bear has touched the hearts of adults and children worldwide with his earnest good intentions and humorous misadventures for more than 50 years.