Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

1Rocket Book

By Peter Newell

The Rocket Book can be listened to while viewing a beautiful facsimile edition at the International Children's Digital Libarary (ICDL): <a href="http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/SaveBook?bookid=newrock_00150085&lang=English">http://childrenslibrary.org/</a> <br /><br />The Rocket Book begins when the son of a building superintendent sets a match to a rocket he discovered in the basement. Suddenly, the rocket blasts its way up through apartment after apartment in a high-rise, disrupting and transforming the humdrum goings-on of twenty families till it is finally stopped cold by something in the attic. An elliptical hole is punched in each of the book's pages and illustrations to signify where the rocket passed through every apartment! As in all of Newell's books, the verse on the verso-page provides commentary on the recto-page illustration. <br /><br /> This book and Newell’s The Slant Book pioneered the “special format” children’s literature of today, such as pop-up books or cutout books like Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Newell’s books from 80 years ago have been reprinted, since Newell has undergone a resurgence in popularity much as Dr. Seuss’s books did during the 1980s. This is a boon for teachers and home-schooling parents, since this recording can now be listened to as youngsters page through a real book (ISBN: 0-8048-0505-9) or as they view the ICDL scanned version online (both are a real treat)! (Summary by Denny Sayers)

2Slant Book

By Peter Newell

This recording of Peter Newell’s The Slant Book (1910) kicks off voiced renderings by LibriVox of public domain books in the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL). <br /><br />The ICDL book can be found at: <a href="http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookPreview?bookid=newslan_00150052&summary=true&route=alsoby&lang=English&msg;=">http://www.childrenslibrary.org/</a>.<br /><br /> The Slant Book is literally the shape of a parallelogram, with the spine of the book running down one side. When opened, facing pages form a "V" shape. All the pictures on the slanted recto pages show a way-too-precocious infant in a carriage [the "go-cart" of yesteryear] racing downhill who has somehow gotten away from his nanny, gleefully creating havoc all along the way! The facing verso pages contain two stanzas of commentary on the charming --if alarming!-- illustrations. <br /><br /> This book pioneered the "special format" children's literature of today, such as pop-up books or cutout books like Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Newell books from 80 years ago have been reprinted, since Newell has undergone a resurgence in popularity much as Dr. Seuss's books did during the 1980s. This is a boon for teachers and home-schooling parents, since this recording can now be listened to as youngsters page through a real book (ISBN: 080-480-5326) or as they view the ICDL scanned version online (both are a real treat)! (Summary by Denny Sayers)

These are a collection of humorous "letters" written by a fictional character to a relation in the north during the Civil War. They were published regularly in the New York Mercury Sunday newspaper for the four years of the war. In the letters, Newell pokes fun at northern generals, politicians, and has hard things to say about southerners. Although Newell is rarely serious, I imagine the letters reflect the bitterness and frustration of many northerners at the time. (Introduction by Margaret)<br><br> Note: Chapters 20, 33, 43, and 49 were found to be cut short. Another reader added the missing portions, and the files were replaced on January 9, 2023.

4Orpheus C. Kerr Papers Vol. 2

By Robert Henry Newell

These are a collection of humorous "letters" written by a fictional character to a relation in the north during the Civil War. They were published regularly in the New York Mercury Sunday newspaper for the four years of the war. In the letters, Newell pokes fun at northern generals, politicians, and has hard things to say about southerners. Although Newell is rarely serious, I imagine the letters reflect the bitterness and frustration of many northerners at the time. - Summary by Margaret