Classic Childrens Literature

In honor of Madeleine L'Engle's 100th birthday, fans are invited to enjoy this archival audiobook, originally recorded in 1993 and newly restored! Listen to the voice of the author as Madeleine L'Engle reads her Newbery Medal-winning novel A Wrinkle in Time.

Wayside School is back in session in this brand-new, fourth installment in the perennially beloved and best-selling series by Newbery Medal-winning author Louis Sachar. Your favorite students and teachers are all here. That includes Sharie, who loves her striped-and-spotted umbrella more than anything; Kathy, who has a bad case of oppositosis; Jason, who has to read the longest book in the world; and the rest of Mrs. Jewls’s class on the 30th floor, who are busily collecting toenail clippings.

Switters is a contradiction for all seasons: an anarchist who works for the government, a pacifist who carries a gun, a vegetarian who sops up ham gravy, a cyberwhiz who hates computers, a robust bon vivant who can be as squeamish as any fop, a man who, though obsessed with the preservation of innocence, is aching to deflower his high-school-age stepsister (only to become equally enamored of a nun ten years his senior). Yet there is nothing remotely wishy-washy about Switters. He doesn't merely pack a pistol. He is a pistol.

This volume contains a collection of fairy tales from a wide array of classical works. These immortal tales include "The Enchanted Stag", "Twelve Brothers", "Puss in Boots", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "The Princess and the Pea", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Light Princess", "Beauty and the Beast", "Hansel and Gretel", "Jack the Giant Killer", "The Second Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor", and "The Story of Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp".

Beatrix Potter's amazing universe of animals dressed in human clothing has taught and entertained children for over a century. This volume brings together 21 of Potter's tales and verses in one audiobook. Hear Peter Rabbit outwit old Mr. McGregor, and Squirrel Nutkin come within a tail's length of being an owl's dinner. Listen as a family of mice save the kind tailor of Gloucester, and as Peter and Benjamin Bunny battle a barn cat. Learn how one fierce rabbit is set on the road to honesty.

He had likewise, by another wife, a young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world. No sooner were the ceremonies of the wedding over than the mother-in-law began to show herself in her true colors. She could not bear the good qualities of this pretty girl, and the less because they made her own daughters appear the more odious. She employed her in the meanest work of the house.

Mrs. Pepper, a widow, and her five children lived in a plain little brown house, where she struggled to feed and clothe her lively brood. The family had little in the way of luxury and hardly any of the things that many of us today take for granted, but they had such fun and good times together, and loved one another so dearly that, when a very rich little boy discovered the warmth and happiness that flooded the little brown house, he felt himself lucky to be in it.

Some folk stories endure generation after generation because, although they are not literal, they resound in truths on a human scale. Folktales remind us of wisdom so elemental it is often lost in the rush of everyday life, so that "sometimes common sense makes no sense at all." The six wonder tales on this audiobook are gems of the genre. They have a "long ago and far away" quality.

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.

Jack London's The Call of the Wild was written in 1903, but Buck's gripping adventure makes for a thrilling listen on audio more than 100 years after it was first published. This gripping story follows the adventures of the loyal dog Buck, who is stolen from his comfortable family home and forced into the harsh life of an Alaskan sled dog. Passed from master to master, Buck embarks on an extraordinary journey that ends with his becoming the legendary leader of a wolf pack.

Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Jack are not pleased when the wimpish Gustavus has to come with them on holiday. Even Kiki the parrot dislikes him! But when Gustavus is kidnapped along with Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann, Jack bravely follows them to a faraway country and unravels a plot to kill the king.

On Prince Edward Island, aging siblings Mathew and Marilla Cuthbert decide to adopt a boy to help with chores around the farm. But when Mathew arrives at the train platform, the only living creature in sight, legs dangling from the piles of shingles where she sits, is a freckled, green-eyed, redheaded little girl. Mathew senses immediately that life at Green Gables is going to be very different. And how right he is.

Mole, Rat, and Badger are Toad's dearest friends even as the aristocratic amphibian's wastrel ways get him into trouble. After being arrested and sentenced to jail, he returns to his ancestral home of Toad Hall to find it overrun with stoats and weasels from the Wild Wood. But his friends haven't abandoned him yet. In fact, they've conspired to help drive the villainous vermin from his home.

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?

The mice of Brambly Hedge have many adventures but they always have time for fun too. All through the year, they mark the seasons with feasts and festivities and, of course, the mice never miss an opportunity to meet and celebrate. This collection contains four classic stories following their adventures throughout the year.

Watch out for cats in boots, three bears who live in the woods and strange unicorns in this magical collection of short stories by Enid Blyton. From lost slippers and fairy curses to imps without names and a dragon called Mr Wumble, there's fairy magic brewing. Who will live happily ever after? These traditional tales are ideal for younger children and for new listeners. Each story stands alone and is the perfect length for listening at bedtime or in the classroom.

Emily Byrd Starr is destined to become a great writer. With high school behind her and her girlhood chums pursuing their ambitions far from home, Emily faces the future alone at dear old New Moon Farm, with only her maiden aunts and Uncle Jimmy as companions. But when a tragic accident threatens her life, she casts aside old dreams in favor of a new and surprising romance.

Witness a tale of love, fairies, and betrayal in this classic tale. Theseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage when Hermia, and her father, Egeus, burst into his court and beg for Theseus’s judgment regarding whom Hermia, Egeus’s, daughter, should marry. Theseus tells Hermia she must marry Demetrius, even though she really loves Lysander.

Hidden somewhere in South America, a world full of adventure awaits, but only the extravagant Professor Challenger believes in its existence. When he joins a reporter in search of adventure, a brave nobleman and a colleague ready to prove him wrong, Challenger will, at last, have the opportunity to discover the lost world.

Following up on the classic children's novel The Saturdays, Elizabeth Enright continues the engaging tale of the Melendy family (Mona, Rush, Randy, Oliver, Father, and Cuffy, the housekeeper) and their move from an old brownstone in New York City to a charming house in the country. Called the Four-Story Mistake for its odd look and confused architectural history, the house offers the Melendys wonderful quirks and surprises.