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The Desert by John Charles Van Dyke, published in 1901, is a lush, poetic description of the natural beauty of the American Southwest. What land can equal the desert with its wide plains, its grim mountains, and its expanding canopy of sky! Van Dyke, a cultivated art historian, saw sublimity in the desert's lonely desolation, which previous generations had perceived only as a wasteland, and his book has a conservationist flavor which seems distinctly modern. The deserts should never be reclaimed, he writes. They are the breathing spaces of the west and should be preserved for ever. The changing colors of the sky, hills, and sand impress Van Dyke, as do the mirages. He celebrates the long overlooked commonplace things of nature-- cactus and grease wood, desert animals, and winged life, the birds and insects. His writing has a philosophical undertone. Not in vain these wastes of sand ... simply because they are beautiful in themselves and good to look upon whether they be life or death. Anyone who views with equal awe fiery sunrises and weeds growing out of pavement cracks will enjoy this reading of Van Dyke's The Desert. (Summary by ...

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Nature, Travel

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豊島与志雄 (1890-1955) は、『レ・ミゼラブル』や、『ジャン・クリストフ』の翻訳で知られている。しかし、多数の児童文学の作品を書いている。多作で、青空文庫には、３００タイトル以上が登録されている。『コーカサスの禿鷹』は、禿鷹が一番高い山を探し求める話である。最後に、高い山がどれか分かった時、禿鷹は、雷に打たれ死んでしまうという結末を迎える。 TOYOSHIMA Yoshio is known as the translator for 'Les Misérables' and 'Jean Christophe', but he also wrote numerous books for children. There are more than 300 of his works registered at Aozora Bunko. 'The Vulture in the Caucasus' is a story where the vulture tries to locate the tallest mountain. When he finally finds the tallest mountain, he is hit by a thunderbolt. (Summary by Uchida Masatomo)...

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Children, Fairy tales, Myths/Legends, Nature, Animals

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Sybella There is no plot in this story, because there has been none in my life or in any other life which has come under my notice. I am one of a class, the individuals of which have no time for plots in their life, but have all they can do to get their work done without indulging in such a luxury. Like the author Miles Franklin, Sybella grows up in the bush , and as her family's fortunes decline , so her feelings rise that life should hold more for her than the relentless hard physical work farming marginal land in times of drought.(Summary by Annise)...

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John Clare (1793 - 1864) was a farm labourer in the village of Helpstone, Northamptonshire, who became arguably England's greatest nature poet. He rose to fame when his 'Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery' was published in 1820. His language preserves many local dialect words in a mixture of classical forms and heart-felt love of country life and nature. This volume comprises fifteen of his bird poems. (Summary by David Barnes)....

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Poetry, Animals, Nature

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The Treasury contains nineteen stories written by Beatrix Potter. The most famous story is Peter Rabbit, which features a naughty young rabbit who learns the value of listening to his mother. (Summary by Jenny Lundak)...

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Children, Animals

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Nei 12 volumi delle Favole (1669 - 1693) Jean de La Fontaine rinnovò la tradizione esopica, rappresentando la commedia umana. Quest'opera dimostrò il suo amore per la vita rurale e attraverso animali simbolici ironizzò sulla vita della società dell'epoca. In the 12 volumes/books of Favole (1669 - 1693) Jean de La Fontaine renewed Aesop's tradition, representing the human comedy. This demonstrated his love for country life and by symbolic animals he ironized about his current years society's life. (Summary by Paolo Fedi)...

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Animals, Children, Satire

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This volume in the series, Sleepy-Time Tales, follows the adventures of Master Meadow Mouse as he moves his home to various (safer) places, and tells how he cleverly avoids creatures such as Fatty Coon, Mr. Crow, and Mr. Great Blue Heron, just to name a few. (Summary by Laura Caldwell)...

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Children, Fiction, Animals

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Commander Greylorn has a problem. No, actually he has two of them. It's not enough that the remaining residents of Earth have pinned their last hope of salvation on him and his mission. He has to find a colony that presumedly was established at an unknown star two centuries before and beg their help. But first, he has the small matter of a mutiny on board his starship, and people are trying to kill him! Written in an era when radios used vacuum tubes, the scientific component of the story is quaint and dated. But Laumer makes the centerpiece of his tale the retelling of how, four years out on the voyage, his crew decides it wants to give up and go home when it meets an alien race... that apparently breeds humans in captivity as food animals! Beating the aliens, shanghaiing the crew, finding the colony and saving Mother Earth - just the ingredients for a rattling good yarn! (summary by Mark F. Smith)...

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Science fiction

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Jock of the Bushveld is a true story by South African author Sir Percy Fitzpatrick when he worked as a storeman, prospector's assistant, journalist and ox-wagon transport-rider. The book tells of Fitzpatrick's travels with his dog, Jock, during the 1880s. Jock was saved by Fitzpatrick from being drowned in a bucket for being the runt of the litter. Jock was very loyal towards Percy, and brave. Jock was an English Staffordshire Bull Terrier....

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Adventure, Animals, Biography, Memoirs

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A collection of my favorite short children's stories and rhymes. Each book can be found online at http://gutenberg.org/ http://gutenberg.org if you wish to look at the wonderful pictures while you listen! ( Summary by Kara )...

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Children, Fairy tales, Teen/Young adult, Animals

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Nei 12 volumi delle Favole (1669 - 1693) Jean de La Fontaine rinnovò la tradizione esopica, rappresentando la commedia umana. Quest'opera dimostrò il suo amore per la vita rurale e attraverso animali simbolici ironizzò sulla vita della società dell'epoca. In the 12 volumes/books of Favole (1669 - 1693) Jean de La Fontaine renewed Aesop's tradition, representing the human comedy. This demonstrated his love for country life and by symbolic animals he ironized about his current years society's life. (Summary by Paolo Fedi)...

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Animals, Children, Satire

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This comical children's tale about the funny adventures of a funny pig written by an unknown author. The publisher has hired authors to write children's tales, and gave them house names. The name of the author who wrote this tale is Richard Barnum. It became very successful, the most well known of Richard Barnum's tales. So, if you want to laugh a little, even if you are not a child, read this book. Summary by Stav Nisser....

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Adventure, Animals, Children, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Teen/Young adult

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Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book (1889) was a beautifully produced and illustrated edition of fairy tales that has become a classic. This was followed by many other collections of fairy tales, collectively known as Andrew Lang's Fairy Books. -Wikipedia...

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Children, Animals, Fairy tales

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This is a paper on the history of farming in Ontario. It take the reader through the early settlement from 1783 to the modern period of 1888-1912. We see how farming and farm industries developed and how the population was distributed during these times. We see the trends of settlers moving into the Urban centers instead of rural and how the farm industries (making cheese, butter, wool, etc) move off the farm to the city factories. Excerpt: “The farmer’s wife in those days was perhaps the most expert master of trades ever known. She could spin and weave, make a carpet or a rug, dye yarns and clothes, and make a straw hat or a birch broom. Butter, cheese, and maple sugar were products of her skill, as well as bread, soap, canned fruits, and home-made wine. In those days the farm was a miniature factory or combination of factories.” Summary by Esther...

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History, Advice, Nature, Science, Instruction

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Kenneth Grahame wrote a classic children’s tale in 1908 - he penned The Wind in the Willows. He wrote of the English countryside and the beauty of it, but more than that, he showed how even the most commonplace can be extraordinary and rare. Wind in the Willows is a tale of friendship, of adventure, of foolishness and wisdom, of travel and change as well as peace and predictability; but most of all, it is a story of friendship - friendship that crosses species, ages, and professions. We all could do far worse than remember in this changing world that what changes least is that which is most true. (Summary by Arthur Piantadosi)...

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Children, Fiction, Animals, Teen/Young adult

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This novel won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1964. This delightful story revolves around a 14 year old boy, Dave and his adopted cat, called just Cat, who turns his ordinary everyday life into an exciting roller-coaster ride. (Awful Temporary Summary by Neeru Iyer)...

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Adventure, Animals, Fiction, Humor, Children, Teen/Young adult

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Black Beauty is Anna Sewell’s first and only novel. The story is told in the “first person” (or first horse) as an autobiographical memoir of a highbred horse named Black Beauty, from his carefree days as a foal on an English farm, to his difficult life pulling cabs in London, to his happy retirement in the country. Along the way, he meets with many hardships and recounts many tales of cruelty and kindness. Each short chapter recounts an incident in Black Beauty’s life containing a lesson or moral typically related to the kindness, sympathy, and understanding treatment of horses. (Summary from wikipedia.org)...

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Children, Animals

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Nei 12 volumi delle Favole (1669 - 1693) Jean de La Fontaine rinnovò la tradizione esopica, rappresentando la commedia umana. Quest'opera dimostrò il suo amore per la vita rurale e attraverso animali simbolici ironizzò sulla vita della società dell'epoca. In the 12 volumes/books of Favole (1669 - 1693) Jean de La Fontaine renewed Aesop's tradition, representing the human comedy. This demonstrated his love for country life and by symbolic animals he ironized about his current years society's life. (Summary by Paolo Fedi)...

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Animals, Children, Satire

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The title of this book quotes its object. To tell something of night hunting, and especially to suggest how the ever necessary dog can best be selected, trained, maintained and utilized, is the consideration of first importance. To round out the subject all forms of hunting will receive some notice, and the various breeds of dogs will be so far dealt with, that their value and usefulness in their given fields may be determined. Best of all, the contents of this volume are based on the opinions and declarations of men who have had years of experience in the matters on which they presume to write.(Extracted from the Introduction)...

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Animals, Nature

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A wonderful book in which we meet the lucky little bunny who becomes Mrs. Peter Rabbit! This is one of many delightful animal books written by Thornton W. Burgess. I grew up reading and enjoying these tales of talking animals with fun and varied personalities. Peter Rabbit is a character loved by all, and this charming tale recounts the adventures of meeting, wooing, and marrying Mrs. Peter Rabbit. (Introduction by CLW Rollins)...

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Children, Fiction, Animals