Showing results by narrator "Phil Chenevert" in All Categories

This story chronicles the adventures of a girl named Dorothy Gale in the Land of Oz. As Baum says in the introduction "It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out." And it succeeds wonderfully. It is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated.

What is The Ideal? Renowned science fiction author Stanley Grauman Weinbaum explores individuality and artificial intelligence in this classic story.

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name "The Wizard of Oz", which is the name of both the 1902 stage play and the well-known 1939 film version, starring Judy Garland.

As I write this, I have before me on my desk, propped up against the telephone, an old rag doll. Dear old Raggedy Ann! The same Raggedy Ann with which my mother played when a child. There she sits, a trifle loppy and loose-jointed, looking me squarely in the face in a straightforward, honest manner, a twinkle where her shoe-button eyes reflect the electric light. Evidently Raggedy has been to a tea party" today, for her face is covered with chocolate.

The classic story of a king buying invisible clothes from con men. See what peer pressure can do.

Everyone knows the story of the Headless Horseman but perhaps you, like me, did not remember what a marvelous story teller Washington Irving was. He observed human nature closely and, like any good humorist, lets us laugh at our own silly and superstitious sides through the joy of having strangers be the ones to display them. If you, like me, have only vague and muddy memories of this story, you owe it to yourself to listen and laugh along with the rest of the world.

Thumbelina, by the beloved story teller Hans Christian Andersen, is about a tiny girl and her adventures with appearance- and marriage-minded toads, moles, and cockchafers. Her adventures are many and varied before she successfully avoids their intentions and, just when all seems lost, ends by falling in love with a flower-fairy prince just her size. A perfect ending!

Lady Windermere's Fan is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde. Like many of Wilde's comedies, it bitingly satirizes the morals of Victorian society, particularly marriage. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who discovers that her husband may be having an affair with another woman. She confronts her husband but he instead invites the other woman, Mrs. Erlynne, to his wife's birthday ball. Angered by her husband's unfaithfulness, Lady Windermere leaves her husband for another lover. Or does she?

Who ever heard of a plain and downright homely heroine? Isn't a heroine by definition beautiful? Well, Edna Ferber, in her well known style that later produced Show Boat and Giant, tells us about just such a heroine in this special short story. It is special to me because of her insight into the deep courage and faith of 'ordinary' people, people like most of us. And of course our failings and frailties and sometimes, the prince does not marry the right person. Yep.

Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775-76 that inspired people in the Thirteen Colonies to declare and fight for independence from Great Britain in the summer of 1776. In clear, simple language, it explained the advantages of and the need for immediate independence. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation.

A mysterious nobleman in disguise pleads for his help in preventing a scandal that could hurt a royal house of Europe and indeed upset the balance of power on the Continent. Conan Doyle ranked "A Scandal in Bohemia" fifth in his list of his 12 favorite Holmes stories. Holmes and Dr. Watson are on the case but "the woman" thwarts their schemes at the last moment, eliciting everlasting admiration for her wits from the great Sherlock Holmes.

This classic story by Margery Williams, published in 1922, imparts the timeless message that toys need not be expensive or modern to be appreciated and loved. Through giving and receiving love, even a commonplace stuffed animal can become real in the eyes of a child, and millions of them do every day. Love is the magic ingredient of course, and it works on all of us.

Sherlock Holmes and Watson are awoken early by a distraught woman desperately seeking their aid. Something is terribly wrong and she fears for her life. Upon hearing her story, Sherlock agrees and springs into action to track down and deal with the sinister Speckled Band who have killed once already. Listen to another exciting adventure of the super sleuth as he uses his powers of observation and deduction to solve this perplexing case.

A delightful and funny retelling of one of the most famous tales of all time. Follow the antics of these little pigs as they (well some of them) make foolish decisions and flirt with the hungry wolf.

After changing countless wet and dirty diapers, parents of toddlers everywhere are more than ready to potty train their child and move past the diaper stage. Potty training comes with its own headaches and frustrations, however, and you may find yourself wishing for those peaceful days of diaper-dom. Stay patient and persevere, and you will get through this. Despite what you will hear from many sources through the potty training stage, there is no one perfect potty training method.

"The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz" is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books. It was originally published on July 10, 1909 and documents Dorothy's fourth visit to Oz.

I started to read a story once. It was a good one. There was in it not a single allusion to brandy-and-soda, or divorce, or the stock market. The dialogue crackled. The hero talked like a live man. It was a shipboard story, and the heroine was charming so long as she wore her heavy ulster. But along toward evening she blossomed forth in a yellow gown, with a scarlet poinsettia at her throat. I quit her cold. Nobody ever wore a scarlet poinsettia; or if they did, they couldn't wear it on a yellow gown.

The Little Mermaid is a very well-known fairy tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince. The tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media, including musical theatre and animated film. But this tale is not the Disney version, all cleaned up and made pretty. This is the way Andersen wrote it.

"Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz: A Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventures in an Underground World and How, with the Aid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson, Eureka the Kitten and Jim the Cab-Horse, They Finally Reached the Wonderful Land of Oz" is the fourth work set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John R. Neill. It was published on June 18, 1908 and reunites Dorothy with the humbug Wizard from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Henry Stanton’s 1922 book Sex: Avoided Subjects Discussed in Plain English is intended as a frank (although consevative and moralistic) guide to human sexual behaviour and relationships. It is partly a self-help book, partly an attempt to relay the scientific knowledge of the day in relation to sex and reproduction in a way suitable for popular consumption.