Family Classics

The Three Sisters is Anton Chekhov's 1901 play about the Prosorov family, who are stuck in a provincial Russian town. The sisters - Olga, Masha, and Irina - fantasize about one day returning to Moscow. Meanwhile, their brother Andrey courts village girl Natasha, and the family socializes with the soldiers stationed nearby. Dreams, longing, and illicit love drive the action of Chekhov's comic drama.

When Mary Lennox was uprooted from her home in India and sent to live with her mysterious uncle, Mr. Craven, at gloomy Misselthwaite Manor, a very contrary Mary assumed the worst. But after exploring the grounds, she discovered that it just takes a little bit of magic to help gardens and friendships bloom.

After hearing scratches in the attic, Alison discovers a dinner service covered in an intriguing floral owl pattern, and a series of events are set in motion that will change her life forever. Alison, her step-brother Roger and Welsh boy Gwyn are forced into a cyclical replay of the tragic Welsh legend of Blodeuwedd, in which a woman is turned into an owl as a punishment for betraying her husband.

Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk! Sal and her mother are picking blueberries to can for the winter. But when Sal wanders to the other side of Blueberry Hill, she discovers a mama bear preparing for her own long winter. Meanwhile Sal's mother is being followed by a small bear with a big appetite for berries! Will each mother go home with the right little one?

The death of a beloved sister initiates the career of the heiress of the Tyrone Estate. Pressured into an advantageous marriage, she finds herself residing in a spectral castle, her husband particularly forbidding her to explore the halls of the south wing.

Grandma's house was a magical place, and in this vivid memoir, Donald Davis makes it possible for each of us to go back to our own grandma's kitchen, clutter room, living room, and to that immeasurable bed that seemed to swallow us whole. This selection also contains a traditional story Davis learned from his grandmother, one handed down through his family from generations who once lived in Scotland before coming to the Appalachian mountains, about the time that fortune-seeker named Jack made the king mad.

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.

A traveling prospector wandering around California looking for gold spends a few peaceful days with a man hiding a sad story.

World War I has ended, and the five All-of-a-Kind girls are growing up! The oldest, Ella, is a young lady with dreams of singing and dancing in the theater. But she also thinks of Jules, who is returning from the war, so marriage is in the air, as well. Suddenly, however, Ella is discovered by a Broadway talent scout, and it seems that she will have her chance at a theatrical career after all. Will Ella choose Jules or vaudeville? Here is another charming tale of the warm, caring family that fans have loved for years!

Thirteen-year-old Huck runs away from his alcoholic and abusive father in a stolen canoe. Hiding on a wooded island, he comes upon a slave named Jim, who is also fleeing--from slavery. The two set off down the Mississippi on a piece of a raft, each in search of his own kind of freedom.

With renewed interest in Alexander Key's extraordinary 1968 novel, fans can dive into Escape to Witch Mountain as it was meant to be listened to. The powerful, thrilling story of Tony and Tia - twins joined by their paranormal gifts, on the run from evil forces that seek to suppress their forgotten pasts - is more gripping and relevant than ever.

Swept off course by a raging storm, a Swiss pastor, his wife, and their four young sons are shipwrecked on an uncharted tropical island. Thus begins the classic story of survival and adventure that has fired the imaginations of readers since it first appeared in 1812. With optimism and boundless enthusiasm, the Robinson family undertakes the extraordinary task of constructing a home for themselves and exploring the primitive island filled with strange and beautiful creatures and exotic fruits and plants.

Abbie Mackenzie dreamed of becoming a fine lady like her aristocratic grandmother, devoting herself to music and art. But at eighteen Abbie found a different dream, turning away from the promise of a comfortable life as a doctor’s wife to marry handsome, quiet Will Deal. Together, they eagerly accepted the challenge of homesteading in Nebraska territory, where the prairies stretched as far as the eye could see, and only the strongest survived for long.

Galsworthy¿s masterly portrait of the Forsyte family continues here with the fifth novel, The Silver Spoon, coming second in the second trilogy, called A Modern Comedy.

Traditional values abound in these hilarious stories from Appalachia: friendship, family, orderliness, humor, and delight in an especially inventive practical joke. In "Rainy Weather", a hound dog with more heart than sense wins everyone's admiration. "Uncle Frank Learns to Speak Polish" finds Davis' famous Uncle Frank making the most of a little foreign language. And, in "Uncle Frank Clean Up the Post Office", cleanliness is next to godliness, and it's also next to hilarity.

Mary, unloved and selfish, finds friendship and happiness helping her neurotic, invalid cousin become strong and healthy. Nature's powerful magic touches both children as they toil to revive their secret garden. The story alludes to some very modern themes including the ability of mental beliefs to create health, the strength of group optimism, and the restorative power of nature.

Raison et Sentiments: À la suite du décès de leur père, les soeurs Dashwood et leur mère, injustement privées de leur héritage, sont contraintes de réduire drastiquement leur train de vie et de quitter leur propriété pour s’installer dans le Devonshire, à Barton Cottage. Orgueil et Préjugés: Dans un petit village d'Angleterre, Mrs Bennet ne songe qu'à marier ces cinq filles. La nouvelle de l'installation à Netherfield, le domaine voisin, de Mr Bingley, célibataire et beau parti, suscite une agitation toute particulière chez toutes les jeunes filles des alentours.

A masterpiece of American fiction and a best seller upon its publication in 1935, BUtterfield 8 lays bare with brash honesty the unspoken and often shocking truths that lurked beneath the surface of a society still reeling from the effects of the Great Depression. One Sunday morning, Gloria wakes up in a stranger's apartment with nothing but a torn evening dress, stockings, and panties. When she steals a fur coat from the wardrobe to wear home, she unleashes a series of events that can only end in tragedy.

The story girl of the title is the 14-year-old Sara Stanley who weaves spellbinding tales that enchant her audience that comes from near and far. These 32 stories range from the humorous and satirical to exotic romances, Scottish folk tales, retellings of Greek myths and poems by Tennyson, to ghost stories. They include the scary "Tale of the Family Ghost", and the bittersweet "The Blue Chest of Rachel Ward".

Booker Prize¿winning novelist Penelope Lively's latest masterpiece opens with a snapshot: Kath, before her death, at an unknown gathering, holding hands with a man who is not her husband. The photograph is in an envelope marked "DON'T OPEN - DESTROY." But Kath's husband does not heed the warning, embarking on a journey of discovery that reveals a tight web of secrets within marriages, between sisters, and at the heart of an affair.