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Storie classiche di animali
Questa raccolta di racconti e brani di romanzi classici, scritti da celebri autori come Carlo Collodi, Lewis Carroll, Jack London, Rudyard Kipling e Mark Twain, ha per protagonisti gli animali. Basta leggere e guardare le bellissime illustrazioni, per entrare nel mondo di un elefantino curioso o di una foca bianca alla ricerca di una casa sicura, e per viaggiare nel ventre di un pescecane o sulla groppa di un cavallo alato.
479 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
About the author
Miles Kelly Publishing
724 books29 followersMiles Kelly is an independent UK children's book publisher, producing high-quality, affordable books for kids. The team's ethos is to create 'children's books to inspire and share' that reach as many children as possible, spreading the joy of reading. The company has more than 400 titles in print, for kids aged 3–12 years, including non-fiction books packed with awesome facts and dramatic photography, original illustrated picture books, preschool flashcards and workbooks, and classic illustrated children's fiction. Among the bestsellers are the hugely successful 100 Facts series, now with over 80 titles available, great-value bumper fiction and non-fiction books, and the much-loved Convertibles – books that fold out into vehicles or fold flat into playmats. There really is something for every child.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 25, 2011
This was a present for Julia this past Christmas. I wish the cover was shown because it's really a beautiful book - one that you'd hang on to just because if for no other reason. It's going to take us a long time to finish - there are 26 different stories broken up into five different categories: Friends and Companions, Myths and Wonders, Tricks, Traps, and Mischief, The Hunters, and Tall Tales. Each one has between four and six stories and they're not of the usual length for a book like this. They're also different in how they were written. Instead of being written with the purpose of being published here these stories have been taken from others from years past. Some I've heard of, Black Beauty's Final Home is taken directly from Anna Sewell's Black Beauty for instance. (A book I read and loved and am saving for Julia.) Some, actually, most, I've never heard of, The Cat that Walked by Himself (never heard of it) by Rudyard Kipling (obviously heard of the author).
So far we've read the first two and as we go I'll collect our thoughts here. It should be noted that many of these stories aren't written as they would be today. The language is ancient in a lot of cases and not all kids - or adults for that matter - are into that sort of thing. I'm not in fact. This has actually prevented me from reading certain classics in the past. Had I flipped through this more, and seen this, I'd have almost definitely passed it by. But it wasn't cheap and we're going to give it a shot.
***Friends and Companions***
1.) The Cat that Walked by Himself - taken from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - We both liked this one even with it's repetitiveness. I toned that down some where I could, thankfully it wasn't hard to do. But the story really is a good one and it grabs your attention because the animals featured, most especially the dog and cat, are still in everyday life. And cats still do, very much, walk by themselves.
2.) Dulce Domum - taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - Neither one of us liked this as much as Kipling's. I could tell easily that I was losing Julia a few times so I skipped a sentence or two that was so old-timey even I would have had to work to understand it and pushed on. It took two nights to read (this is our before-bedtime-book right now) and while it wasn't bad I can't say it ended too soon. I was worried Julia would be turned off by the entire book but luckily that didn't happen.
3.) Bucephalus - by James Baldwin (not sure which one so I won't link) - We read this one last night and it's the shortest one we've read so far. I liked it more than the last and Julia said she liked it well enough.
It's about an "untamable" horse who is finally tamed by the 12-year-old son of a king who owned the horse. It' basically an 'animal serves its master well' sort of story. The horse dies at the end of the story and although it's not graphic the story does include an illustration of the man, older now of course, coming back from battle with about four arrows sticking out of his body. Blood trickling included. Julia was more fascinated than anything else but she's seen a lot in her six years, what with being so into animals and their lives.
4.) Black Beauty's Final Home - taken from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - Not much to say. It's from Black Beauty. Anyone who has read that book already knows and anyone that hasn't read it should.
I was a little surprised Julia was so into it. It took her a few minutes which was natural with the wording and the fact that the story doesn't have a typical beginning but by the end she was into it and she was happy when I told her I have a copy of the book just for her for when she's a little older.
5.) The Death of Gellart by P.H. Emerson - This is a short one, the shortest so far, and one I thought I wouldn't like. (I've been known to make assumptions based on nothing more than a title or cover at times.) Here, I assumed wrong. Leaving Black Beauty out of it, it was the best as yet. I'd like to read a whole story around this short one.
I was a little worried when I saw where the story was going (man has dog and baby, dog is loyal, baby is killed, dog is blamed, dog ends up innocent but far too late). But I shouldn't have worried. If Julia's anything it's mature for her age. She tore the story apart (yikes... first descriptive word that came to mind, sorry) and talked and thought all about it and was finished with it.
***Myths and Wonders***
1.) The Labors of Hercules - by Mary E. Burt & Zenaide A. Ragozin - One would think I'd have learned my lesson with the previous story but one would be wrong. This is another I assumed wouldn't interest me that did from the very beginning. And yet again I was wrong. I'd have bet money that a 6-year-old wouldn't get into it, what with the writing style and all, but I'd have lost my money.
We read one or two Labors a night until we finished the twelve and while this isn't my favorite story in this collection it surely deserves to be here.
2.) The Horse and the Olive - by James Baldwin - this was a quick one about how Athens came to be. Athena and Neptune both want King Cecrops to name his town after them. Neptune promises wealth while Athena promises wisdom. The townspeople aren't dimwitted and it's obviously who was picked.
The story is fast - I think we read it in a sitting before bed - but it's a good one.
3.) The Story of Arachne - by James Baldwin - This has been a favorite so far for both of us. Julia had never heard, before the night we read this, any form of the word arachnid to my knowledge. So she had no idea where it was going which made it all the better.
Arachne was a young girl living in Greece who was known to spin and weave like no one else. She has a problem giving credit where credit is due though so Athena, queen of the air, comes to her with a proposition. Athena proposes a spinning/weaving competition - one can guess who wins.
Yet, after her victory, Athena feels sorry for the poor girl whose entire life has been spinning and weaving. The deal they made can not be broke so Athena offers the girl a different form, which she happily takes to continue doing what she loves. I've learned I like Baldwin's writing. :-)
4.) Bellerophon and Pegasus - by James Baldwin - I didn't like this as much as the other Baldwin stories but it's definitely a good addition to the book. I'm not sure how to give a description so I won't. Basically, it's how Bellerophon came to be with Pegasus and how Pegasus helps him through his journey and helps him to defeat the Chimaera.
5.) The Elephant's Child - taken from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - This is the story of how an elephants trunk came to be. :) This was another I wondered about how good it would be but the title alone interested Julia.
A young elephant, very 'curtious' (curious) wants answers to all his questions. When he wants to know what Crocodiles eat for dinner, and he's not answered, he sets off to find his answer.
He does in fact find it, along with a new nose and, one would think, some serious life experiences. He finds a friend, the Bi-Colored-Python-Rock-Snake along the way who helps him more than once.
It's not my favorite but again, a nice addition.
6.) The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - We didn't like this very much. It was okay but it dragged out for us both. So much so that we've actually decided to take a break with this for now.
***Tricks, Traps, and Mischief***
1.) Tom Sawyer in Church - from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - we didn't record out thoughts when we read this months ago. I wish we had but I remember a distinct bored feeling. I also distinctly remember trying to skip a bit here or there to technically "finish" the story with Julia before she bucked and gave up on the whole book.
2.) Pinocchio is Swallowed by the Dogfish - from Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi - we both liked this story well enough. It's actually one of the better stories in the book I think.
3.) Rikki-tikki-tavi - from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - this is another that is one of the best in the book. Julia's never been a fan of the cartoon movie so when I told her the title of this she groaned. Once we started reading I thought the wording would get to her but the story was awesome enough that it didn't matter at all. I know she'd have liked this to be even longer and I could have kept reading it myself.
4.) The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf - by Joel Chandler Harris - Julia didn't like this one so much. It's a shorter one, we read it last night before bed and I think it fell flat after Rikki-tikki-tavi.
5.) The Spider and the Toad - from Wood Magic by Richard Jeffries - Julia and I both agreed that the beginning to this story was boring. I briefly thought about skipping it but since it's one of the shorter ones I figured we could get through it. We actually ended up liking it so I'm glad we kept on.
6.) The Circus - from The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit -
**I'll add in title and author links later.**
So far we've read the first two and as we go I'll collect our thoughts here. It should be noted that many of these stories aren't written as they would be today. The language is ancient in a lot of cases and not all kids - or adults for that matter - are into that sort of thing. I'm not in fact. This has actually prevented me from reading certain classics in the past. Had I flipped through this more, and seen this, I'd have almost definitely passed it by. But it wasn't cheap and we're going to give it a shot.
***Friends and Companions***
1.) The Cat that Walked by Himself - taken from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - We both liked this one even with it's repetitiveness. I toned that down some where I could, thankfully it wasn't hard to do. But the story really is a good one and it grabs your attention because the animals featured, most especially the dog and cat, are still in everyday life. And cats still do, very much, walk by themselves.
2.) Dulce Domum - taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - Neither one of us liked this as much as Kipling's. I could tell easily that I was losing Julia a few times so I skipped a sentence or two that was so old-timey even I would have had to work to understand it and pushed on. It took two nights to read (this is our before-bedtime-book right now) and while it wasn't bad I can't say it ended too soon. I was worried Julia would be turned off by the entire book but luckily that didn't happen.
3.) Bucephalus - by James Baldwin (not sure which one so I won't link) - We read this one last night and it's the shortest one we've read so far. I liked it more than the last and Julia said she liked it well enough.
It's about an "untamable" horse who is finally tamed by the 12-year-old son of a king who owned the horse. It' basically an 'animal serves its master well' sort of story. The horse dies at the end of the story and although it's not graphic the story does include an illustration of the man, older now of course, coming back from battle with about four arrows sticking out of his body. Blood trickling included. Julia was more fascinated than anything else but she's seen a lot in her six years, what with being so into animals and their lives.
4.) Black Beauty's Final Home - taken from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - Not much to say. It's from Black Beauty. Anyone who has read that book already knows and anyone that hasn't read it should.
I was a little surprised Julia was so into it. It took her a few minutes which was natural with the wording and the fact that the story doesn't have a typical beginning but by the end she was into it and she was happy when I told her I have a copy of the book just for her for when she's a little older.
5.) The Death of Gellart by P.H. Emerson - This is a short one, the shortest so far, and one I thought I wouldn't like. (I've been known to make assumptions based on nothing more than a title or cover at times.) Here, I assumed wrong. Leaving Black Beauty out of it, it was the best as yet. I'd like to read a whole story around this short one.
I was a little worried when I saw where the story was going (man has dog and baby, dog is loyal, baby is killed, dog is blamed, dog ends up innocent but far too late). But I shouldn't have worried. If Julia's anything it's mature for her age. She tore the story apart (yikes... first descriptive word that came to mind, sorry) and talked and thought all about it and was finished with it.
***Myths and Wonders***
1.) The Labors of Hercules - by Mary E. Burt & Zenaide A. Ragozin - One would think I'd have learned my lesson with the previous story but one would be wrong. This is another I assumed wouldn't interest me that did from the very beginning. And yet again I was wrong. I'd have bet money that a 6-year-old wouldn't get into it, what with the writing style and all, but I'd have lost my money.
We read one or two Labors a night until we finished the twelve and while this isn't my favorite story in this collection it surely deserves to be here.
2.) The Horse and the Olive - by James Baldwin - this was a quick one about how Athens came to be. Athena and Neptune both want King Cecrops to name his town after them. Neptune promises wealth while Athena promises wisdom. The townspeople aren't dimwitted and it's obviously who was picked.
The story is fast - I think we read it in a sitting before bed - but it's a good one.
3.) The Story of Arachne - by James Baldwin - This has been a favorite so far for both of us. Julia had never heard, before the night we read this, any form of the word arachnid to my knowledge. So she had no idea where it was going which made it all the better.
Arachne was a young girl living in Greece who was known to spin and weave like no one else. She has a problem giving credit where credit is due though so Athena, queen of the air, comes to her with a proposition. Athena proposes a spinning/weaving competition - one can guess who wins.
Yet, after her victory, Athena feels sorry for the poor girl whose entire life has been spinning and weaving. The deal they made can not be broke so Athena offers the girl a different form, which she happily takes to continue doing what she loves. I've learned I like Baldwin's writing. :-)
4.) Bellerophon and Pegasus - by James Baldwin - I didn't like this as much as the other Baldwin stories but it's definitely a good addition to the book. I'm not sure how to give a description so I won't. Basically, it's how Bellerophon came to be with Pegasus and how Pegasus helps him through his journey and helps him to defeat the Chimaera.
5.) The Elephant's Child - taken from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - This is the story of how an elephants trunk came to be. :) This was another I wondered about how good it would be but the title alone interested Julia.
A young elephant, very 'curtious' (curious) wants answers to all his questions. When he wants to know what Crocodiles eat for dinner, and he's not answered, he sets off to find his answer.
He does in fact find it, along with a new nose and, one would think, some serious life experiences. He finds a friend, the Bi-Colored-Python-Rock-Snake along the way who helps him more than once.
It's not my favorite but again, a nice addition.
6.) The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - We didn't like this very much. It was okay but it dragged out for us both. So much so that we've actually decided to take a break with this for now.
***Tricks, Traps, and Mischief***
1.) Tom Sawyer in Church - from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - we didn't record out thoughts when we read this months ago. I wish we had but I remember a distinct bored feeling. I also distinctly remember trying to skip a bit here or there to technically "finish" the story with Julia before she bucked and gave up on the whole book.
2.) Pinocchio is Swallowed by the Dogfish - from Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi - we both liked this story well enough. It's actually one of the better stories in the book I think.
3.) Rikki-tikki-tavi - from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - this is another that is one of the best in the book. Julia's never been a fan of the cartoon movie so when I told her the title of this she groaned. Once we started reading I thought the wording would get to her but the story was awesome enough that it didn't matter at all. I know she'd have liked this to be even longer and I could have kept reading it myself.
4.) The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf - by Joel Chandler Harris - Julia didn't like this one so much. It's a shorter one, we read it last night before bed and I think it fell flat after Rikki-tikki-tavi.
5.) The Spider and the Toad - from Wood Magic by Richard Jeffries - Julia and I both agreed that the beginning to this story was boring. I briefly thought about skipping it but since it's one of the shorter ones I figured we could get through it. We actually ended up liking it so I'm glad we kept on.
6.) The Circus - from The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit -
**I'll add in title and author links later.**
Currently Reading
November 27, 2012Mommy's (ongoing) review from 11/29/12 -
This was a present for Julia this past Christmas. I wish the cover was shown because it's really a beautiful book - one that you'd hang on to just because if for no other reason. It's going to take us a long time to finish - there are 26 different stories broken up into five different categories: Friends and Companions, Myths and Wonders, Tricks, Traps, and Mischief, The Hunters, and Tall Tales. Each one has between four and six stories and they're not of the usual length for a book like this. They're also different in how they were written. Instead of being written with the purpose of being published here these stories have been taken from others from years past. Some I've heard of, Black Beauty's Final Home is taken directly from Anna Sewell's Black Beauty for instance. (A book I read and loved and am saving for Julia.) Some, actually, most, I've never heard of, The Cat that Walked by Himself (never heard of it) by Rudyard Kipling (obviously heard of the author).
So far we've read the first two and as we go I'll collect our thoughts here. It should be noted that many of these stories aren't written as they would be today. The language is ancient in a lot of cases and not all kids - or adults for that matter - are into that sort of thing. I'm not in fact. This has actually prevented me from reading certain classics in the past. Had I flipped through this more, and seen this, I'd have almost definitely passed it by. But it wasn't cheap and we're going to give it a shot.
***Friends and Companions***
1.) The Cat that Walked by Himself - taken from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - We both liked this one even with it's repetitiveness. I toned that down some where I could, thankfully it wasn't hard to do. But the story really is a good one and it grabs your attention because the animals featured, most especially the dog and cat, are still in everyday life. And cats still do, very much, walk by themselves.
2.) Dulce Domum - taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - Neither one of us liked this as much as Kipling's. I could tell easily that I was losing Julia a few times so I skipped a sentence or two that was so old-timey even I would have had to work to understand it and pushed on. It took two nights to read (this is our before-bedtime-book right now) and while it wasn't bad I can't say it ended too soon. I was worried Julia would be turned off by the entire book but luckily that didn't happen.
3.) Bucephalus - by James Baldwin (not sure which one so I won't link) - We read this one last night and it's the shortest one we've read so far. I liked it more than the last and Julia said she liked it well enough.
It's about an "untamable" horse who is finally tamed by the 12-year-old son of a king who owned the horse. It' basically an 'animal serves its master well' sort of story. The horse dies at the end of the story and although it's not graphic the story does include an illustration of the man, older now of course, coming back from battle with about four arrows sticking out of his body. Blood trickling included. Julia was more fascinated than anything else but she's seen a lot in her six years, what with being so into animals and their lives.
4.) Black Beauty's Final Home - taken from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - Not much to say. It's from Black Beauty. Anyone who has read that book already knows and anyone that hasn't read it should.
I was a little surprised Julia was so into it. It took her a few minutes which was natural with the wording and the fact that the story doesn't have a typical beginning but by the end she was into it and she was happy when I told her I have a copy of the book just for her for when she's a little older.
5.) The Death of Gellart by P.H. Emerson - This is a short one, the shortest so far, and one I thought I wouldn't like. (I've been known to make assumptions based on nothing more than a title or cover at times.) Here, I assumed wrong. Leaving Black Beauty out of it, it was the best as yet. I'd like to read a whole story around this short one.
I was a little worried when I saw where the story was going (man has dog and baby, dog is loyal, baby is killed, dog is blamed, dog ends up innocent but far too late). But I shouldn't have worried. If Julia's anything it's mature for her age. She tore the story apart (yikes... first descriptive word that came to mind, sorry) and talked and thought all about it and was finished with it.
***Myths and Wonders***
1.) The Labors of Hercules - by Mary E. Burt & Zenaide A. Ragozin - One would think I'd have learned my lesson with the previous story but one would be wrong. This is another I assumed wouldn't interest me that did from the very beginning. And yet again I was wrong. I'd have bet money that a 6-year-old wouldn't get into it, what with the writing style and all, but I'd have lost my money.
We read one or two Labors a night until we finished the twelve and while this isn't my favorite story in this collection it surely deserves to be here.
2.) The Horse and the Olive - by James Baldwin - this was a quick one about how Athens came to be. Athena and Neptune both want King Cecrops to name his town after them. Neptune promises wealth while Athena promises wisdom. The townspeople aren't dimwitted and it's obviously who was picked.
The story is fast - I think we read it in a sitting before bed - but it's a good one.
3.) The Story of Arachne - by James Baldwin - This has been a favorite so far for both of us. Julia had never heard, before the night we read this, any form of the word arachnid to my knowledge. So she had no idea where it was going which made it all the better.
Arachne was a young girl living in Greece who was known to spin and weave like no one else. She has a problem giving credit where credit is due though so Athena, queen of the air, comes to her with a proposition. Athena proposes a spinning/weaving competition - one can guess who wins.
Yet, after her victory, Athena feels sorry for the poor girl whose entire life has been spinning and weaving. The deal they made can not be broke so Athena offers the girl a different form, which she happily takes to continue doing what she loves. I've learned I like Baldwin's writing. :-)
4.) Bellerophon and Pegasus - by James Baldwin - I didn't like this as much as the other Baldwin stories but it's definitely a good addition to the book. I'm not sure how to give a description so I won't. Basically, it's how Bellerophon came to be with Pegasus and how Pegasus helps him through his journey and helps him to defeat the Chimaera.
5.) The Elephant's Child - taken from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - This is the story of how an elephants trunk came to be. :) This was another I wondered about how good it would be but the title alone interested Julia.
A young elephant, very 'curtious' (curious) wants answers to all his questions. When he wants to know what Crocodiles eat for dinner, and he's not answered, he sets off to find his answer.
He does in fact find it, along with a new nose and, one would think, some serious life experiences. He finds a friend, the Bi-Colored-Python-Rock-Snake along the way who helps him more than once.
It's not my favorite but again, a nice addition.
6.) The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - We didn't like this very much. It was okay but it dragged out for us both. So much so that we've actually decided to take a break with this for now.
***Tricks, Traps, and Mischief***
1.) Tom Sawyer in Church - from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - we didn't record out thoughts when we read this months ago. I wish we had but I remember a distinct bored feeling. I also distinctly remember trying to skip a bit here or there to technically "finish" the story with Julia before she bucked and gave up on the whole book.
2.) Pinocchio is Swallowed by the Dogfish - from Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi - we both liked this story well enough. It's actually one of the better stories in the book I think.
3.) Rikki-tikki-tavi - from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - this is another that is one of the best in the book. Julia's never been a fan of the cartoon movie so when I told her the title of this she groaned. Once we started reading I thought the wording would get to her but the story was awesome enough that it didn't matter at all. I know she'd have liked this to be even longer and I could have kept reading it myself.
4.) The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf - by Joel Chandler Harris - Julia didn't like this one so much. It's a shorter one, we read it last night before bed and I think it fell flat after Rikki-tikki-tavi.
5.) The Spider and the Toad - from Wood Magic by Richard Jeffries - Julia and I both agreed that the beginning to this story was boring. I briefly thought about skipping it but since it's one of the shorter ones I figured we could get through it. We actually ended up liking it so I'm glad we kept on.
6.) The Circus - from The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit -
**I'll add in title and author links later.**
This was a present for Julia this past Christmas. I wish the cover was shown because it's really a beautiful book - one that you'd hang on to just because if for no other reason. It's going to take us a long time to finish - there are 26 different stories broken up into five different categories: Friends and Companions, Myths and Wonders, Tricks, Traps, and Mischief, The Hunters, and Tall Tales. Each one has between four and six stories and they're not of the usual length for a book like this. They're also different in how they were written. Instead of being written with the purpose of being published here these stories have been taken from others from years past. Some I've heard of, Black Beauty's Final Home is taken directly from Anna Sewell's Black Beauty for instance. (A book I read and loved and am saving for Julia.) Some, actually, most, I've never heard of, The Cat that Walked by Himself (never heard of it) by Rudyard Kipling (obviously heard of the author).
So far we've read the first two and as we go I'll collect our thoughts here. It should be noted that many of these stories aren't written as they would be today. The language is ancient in a lot of cases and not all kids - or adults for that matter - are into that sort of thing. I'm not in fact. This has actually prevented me from reading certain classics in the past. Had I flipped through this more, and seen this, I'd have almost definitely passed it by. But it wasn't cheap and we're going to give it a shot.
***Friends and Companions***
1.) The Cat that Walked by Himself - taken from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - We both liked this one even with it's repetitiveness. I toned that down some where I could, thankfully it wasn't hard to do. But the story really is a good one and it grabs your attention because the animals featured, most especially the dog and cat, are still in everyday life. And cats still do, very much, walk by themselves.
2.) Dulce Domum - taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - Neither one of us liked this as much as Kipling's. I could tell easily that I was losing Julia a few times so I skipped a sentence or two that was so old-timey even I would have had to work to understand it and pushed on. It took two nights to read (this is our before-bedtime-book right now) and while it wasn't bad I can't say it ended too soon. I was worried Julia would be turned off by the entire book but luckily that didn't happen.
3.) Bucephalus - by James Baldwin (not sure which one so I won't link) - We read this one last night and it's the shortest one we've read so far. I liked it more than the last and Julia said she liked it well enough.
It's about an "untamable" horse who is finally tamed by the 12-year-old son of a king who owned the horse. It' basically an 'animal serves its master well' sort of story. The horse dies at the end of the story and although it's not graphic the story does include an illustration of the man, older now of course, coming back from battle with about four arrows sticking out of his body. Blood trickling included. Julia was more fascinated than anything else but she's seen a lot in her six years, what with being so into animals and their lives.
4.) Black Beauty's Final Home - taken from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - Not much to say. It's from Black Beauty. Anyone who has read that book already knows and anyone that hasn't read it should.
I was a little surprised Julia was so into it. It took her a few minutes which was natural with the wording and the fact that the story doesn't have a typical beginning but by the end she was into it and she was happy when I told her I have a copy of the book just for her for when she's a little older.
5.) The Death of Gellart by P.H. Emerson - This is a short one, the shortest so far, and one I thought I wouldn't like. (I've been known to make assumptions based on nothing more than a title or cover at times.) Here, I assumed wrong. Leaving Black Beauty out of it, it was the best as yet. I'd like to read a whole story around this short one.
I was a little worried when I saw where the story was going (man has dog and baby, dog is loyal, baby is killed, dog is blamed, dog ends up innocent but far too late). But I shouldn't have worried. If Julia's anything it's mature for her age. She tore the story apart (yikes... first descriptive word that came to mind, sorry) and talked and thought all about it and was finished with it.
***Myths and Wonders***
1.) The Labors of Hercules - by Mary E. Burt & Zenaide A. Ragozin - One would think I'd have learned my lesson with the previous story but one would be wrong. This is another I assumed wouldn't interest me that did from the very beginning. And yet again I was wrong. I'd have bet money that a 6-year-old wouldn't get into it, what with the writing style and all, but I'd have lost my money.
We read one or two Labors a night until we finished the twelve and while this isn't my favorite story in this collection it surely deserves to be here.
2.) The Horse and the Olive - by James Baldwin - this was a quick one about how Athens came to be. Athena and Neptune both want King Cecrops to name his town after them. Neptune promises wealth while Athena promises wisdom. The townspeople aren't dimwitted and it's obviously who was picked.
The story is fast - I think we read it in a sitting before bed - but it's a good one.
3.) The Story of Arachne - by James Baldwin - This has been a favorite so far for both of us. Julia had never heard, before the night we read this, any form of the word arachnid to my knowledge. So she had no idea where it was going which made it all the better.
Arachne was a young girl living in Greece who was known to spin and weave like no one else. She has a problem giving credit where credit is due though so Athena, queen of the air, comes to her with a proposition. Athena proposes a spinning/weaving competition - one can guess who wins.
Yet, after her victory, Athena feels sorry for the poor girl whose entire life has been spinning and weaving. The deal they made can not be broke so Athena offers the girl a different form, which she happily takes to continue doing what she loves. I've learned I like Baldwin's writing. :-)
4.) Bellerophon and Pegasus - by James Baldwin - I didn't like this as much as the other Baldwin stories but it's definitely a good addition to the book. I'm not sure how to give a description so I won't. Basically, it's how Bellerophon came to be with Pegasus and how Pegasus helps him through his journey and helps him to defeat the Chimaera.
5.) The Elephant's Child - taken from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - This is the story of how an elephants trunk came to be. :) This was another I wondered about how good it would be but the title alone interested Julia.
A young elephant, very 'curtious' (curious) wants answers to all his questions. When he wants to know what Crocodiles eat for dinner, and he's not answered, he sets off to find his answer.
He does in fact find it, along with a new nose and, one would think, some serious life experiences. He finds a friend, the Bi-Colored-Python-Rock-Snake along the way who helps him more than once.
It's not my favorite but again, a nice addition.
6.) The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - We didn't like this very much. It was okay but it dragged out for us both. So much so that we've actually decided to take a break with this for now.
***Tricks, Traps, and Mischief***
1.) Tom Sawyer in Church - from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - we didn't record out thoughts when we read this months ago. I wish we had but I remember a distinct bored feeling. I also distinctly remember trying to skip a bit here or there to technically "finish" the story with Julia before she bucked and gave up on the whole book.
2.) Pinocchio is Swallowed by the Dogfish - from Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi - we both liked this story well enough. It's actually one of the better stories in the book I think.
3.) Rikki-tikki-tavi - from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - this is another that is one of the best in the book. Julia's never been a fan of the cartoon movie so when I told her the title of this she groaned. Once we started reading I thought the wording would get to her but the story was awesome enough that it didn't matter at all. I know she'd have liked this to be even longer and I could have kept reading it myself.
4.) The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf - by Joel Chandler Harris - Julia didn't like this one so much. It's a shorter one, we read it last night before bed and I think it fell flat after Rikki-tikki-tavi.
5.) The Spider and the Toad - from Wood Magic by Richard Jeffries - Julia and I both agreed that the beginning to this story was boring. I briefly thought about skipping it but since it's one of the shorter ones I figured we could get through it. We actually ended up liking it so I'm glad we kept on.
6.) The Circus - from The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit -
**I'll add in title and author links later.**
August 27, 2026
Classic Animal Stories is a collection of 26, as the book puts it, extracts from original works and other short stories. Many come from such great names as London, Kipling, Sewell just to name a few while others are cultural excerpts.
The book is divided into five sections with each containing four to five selections. Each of these selections are color coded while sharing the same background for one who may want to skim or just flip through the book instead of tackling it cover-to-covers, which would be a tall order for young readers.
From there each story is provided with a title followerd by the original work's title and author. And if taken from a full book there is an introductory blurb above this to provide readers with more information. The spirit of sharing is carried on in the back where the book includes the biographies of the seventeen included authors.
The book does include a bunch of childish and cartoonish illustrations, which was rather disappointing. Otherwise colored silhouettes were used and at times some more realistic illustrations.
Most of the selections chosen were known to me whether I had read the original work before and/or another version such as the tales based on mythoi. And for those that stayed true I have no complaints but in others the desecration was horrible.
In the telling of Gellert, the illustration shows a wolfhound, which has always been the consensus of that loyal dog so why would they choose a version that pits a dainty greyhound against a wolf? There is no way Gellert would have finished the way it did had that been the case.
And what monstrosity rears its ugly head in the retelling of Hercules. First they dumbed down the reason why Zeus likes him and Hera doesn't while setting the tasks as a means to a goal of divinity through the gods. That is surely not how that went down! Furthermore they made his cousin an uncle and provided his nephew who has the wrong name as an aide when in the original cycle it ended up adding an additional two tasks to the first ten. And the rest of any mythical stories following are given the same sloppy and infactual retelling, which is sad when you consider how many sources of that material you can get your hands on.
All in all the reader would just be better off reading these stories individually rather than from this collection where good is cut down and bad is allowed in.
The book is divided into five sections with each containing four to five selections. Each of these selections are color coded while sharing the same background for one who may want to skim or just flip through the book instead of tackling it cover-to-covers, which would be a tall order for young readers.
From there each story is provided with a title followerd by the original work's title and author. And if taken from a full book there is an introductory blurb above this to provide readers with more information. The spirit of sharing is carried on in the back where the book includes the biographies of the seventeen included authors.
The book does include a bunch of childish and cartoonish illustrations, which was rather disappointing. Otherwise colored silhouettes were used and at times some more realistic illustrations.
Most of the selections chosen were known to me whether I had read the original work before and/or another version such as the tales based on mythoi. And for those that stayed true I have no complaints but in others the desecration was horrible.
In the telling of Gellert, the illustration shows a wolfhound, which has always been the consensus of that loyal dog so why would they choose a version that pits a dainty greyhound against a wolf? There is no way Gellert would have finished the way it did had that been the case.
And what monstrosity rears its ugly head in the retelling of Hercules. First they dumbed down the reason why Zeus likes him and Hera doesn't while setting the tasks as a means to a goal of divinity through the gods. That is surely not how that went down! Furthermore they made his cousin an uncle and provided his nephew who has the wrong name as an aide when in the original cycle it ended up adding an additional two tasks to the first ten. And the rest of any mythical stories following are given the same sloppy and infactual retelling, which is sad when you consider how many sources of that material you can get your hands on.
All in all the reader would just be better off reading these stories individually rather than from this collection where good is cut down and bad is allowed in.
January 17, 2012
This was a gift to the family. The children did not seem to like the book or the stories very much. I found the book to be a decent read for younger children. Just getting them to sit still for it was a challenge.
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