Sixteen year old Leslie Crane has come to the New Jersey shore as a companion to ailing Aunt Marcia, whose doctor has sent her there for a some quiet rest and recuperation. While the beach is lovely in October, Leslie quickly finds herself getting lonely with no one her own age to talk to. Little does she realize that she will not only soon make a new friend, but that they will both end up in the midst of a puzzling mystery centered around the closed up bungalow next door. Augusta Huiell Seaman is the author of over 40 historical fiction and mystery novels for older children most of which are currently out of print. The Dragon’s Secret was originally published in 1921.

What is the secret of the old boarded up house? And what is the answer to the mystery of the long lost letter that is found in it? Best friends Joyce and Cynthia - along with their dog "Goliath", are determined to find out in this pre-Nancy Drew juvenile mystery for girls.Augusta Huiell Seaman was the author of over 40 historical fiction and mystery novels for older children.

The Story of a Stuffed Elephant is… well, the story of a Stuffed Elephant and the little boy who owns him, and his sister, and all their adventures. A delightful children’s book by the author of The Bobbsey Twins series.

The Bobbsey Twins are the principal characters of what was, for many years, the Stratemeyer Syndicate's longest-running series of children's novels, penned under the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope. The first of 72 books was published in 1904, the last in 1979. The books related the adventures of the children of the middle-class Bobbsey family, which included two sets of fraternal twins: Bert and Nan, who were 12 years old, and Flossie and Freddie, who were six.

In this third volume of the “Bobbsey Twin Series”, the twins – Nan and Bert and Freddie and Flossie – go with their family to visit relatives at the seashore. Excitement and adventure are sure to abound!

The second book in The Bobbsey Twins series finds the two sets of twins experiencing life in the country during the first part of their summer vacation from school. Their stay with their aunt, uncle and cousins on their farm in Meadow Brook is filled with new adventures for the 'city' Bobbseys. (Introduction by Lee Ann Howlett)

This book follows the adventures of Bunny Brown, a 6-year old lively little boy, and his Sister Sue, a happy 5-year old little girl. You will enjoy learning of their adorable antics and delightful chatter. The Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue series were published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate from 1916-1930. (Introduction by Abigail Rasmussen)

Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue were featured in a series of 20 books for young children published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate from 1916-1930. In this adventure, first published in 1920, Bunny and Sue lose a valuable possession belonging to their mother. They have many adventures and misadventures during a family boating vacation to Christmas Tree Cove. (Introduction by S. McGaughey)

The Candy Rabbit wakes up one morning to find his Destiny has arrived: he is part of a wonderful Easter display at the toy shop in which he lives -- and any moment now the customers will arrive! Follow this sweet chap as he has many little adventures, making new friends and catching up with old friends along the way.

The Bobbsey Twins are back at school after summer vacation, but Danny Rugg, the school bully, is up to mischief again--and this time he's trying to pin it onto Bert. Bert gets accused of freezing a giant snowball to the school steps, and all the evidence seems to point against him. Christmas is coming too, and the Bobbsey Twins are busy planning for their trip to Snow Lodge--where a lost treasure, a restored friendship, and exciting adventures await.

The Outdoor Girls of Deepdale was the first book in a long-running series centering around four girls: Betty Nelson, Mollie Billette, Amy Stonington, and Grace Ford. The girls go on many exciting adventures and solve mysteries. In this book the girls go on a long walking tour and in the process find a hundred dollar bill. Who owns the money and why is such a mysterious note attached? (Introduction by Elizabeth Wilcox)

Mary Mapes Dodge created an instant bestseller with “Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates.” She wanted the book to be partly a book of travels and partly a domestic story. It is a tale written for children that adults also find interesting and uplifting. Dodge writes as if she is sending a series of letters from Holland to children in America, and her you-are-there perspective is aided by a nice attention to detail and vivid imagery.The Brinkers are a poor but stoic family under a dark cloud – Raff, the man of the house, fell from the dikes while reinforcing them during a bad storm, and for ten years he has been in a vegetative state...

Many of these tales were published in English in 1909, the Brothers Grimm tales in this book were published separately in 1920 with illustrations by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939).

This is the story of seven incorrigible children living near Sydney in the 1880’s with their military-man father, and a stepmother who is scarcely older than the oldest child of the family. A favourite amongst generations of children for over a century, this story tells of the cheeky exploits of Meg, Pip, Judy, Bunty, Nell, Baby, and The General (who is the real baby of the family), as well as providing a fascinating insight into Australian family life in a bygone era.

Selma Lagerlöf was born in Vaermland, Sweden, in 1858 and enjoyed a long and very successful career as a writer, receiving the Nobel-Price in Literature in 1909. She died in Vaermland in 1940. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (Orig. Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige) is a famous work of fiction by Selma Lagerlöf, published in two parts in 1906 and 1907. The background for publication was a commission from the National Teachers Association in 1902 to write a geography reader for the public schools...

Five short delightful stories for children, told in the voice of "the papa" to "the girl" and "the boy." William Dean Howells (March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own prolific writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of Silas Lapham. (Reader’s Note for story 3: A pony engine is a small locomotive for switching cars from one track to another.)

Carl Sandburg is beloved by generations of children for his Rootabaga Stories and Rootabaga Pigeons (which is not in the public domain), a series of whimsical, sometimes melancholy stories he originally created for his own daughters. The Rootabaga Stories were born of Sandburg’s desire for “American fairy tales” to match American childhood. He felt that the European stories involving royalty and knights were inappropriate, and so populated his stories with animals, skyscrapers, trains, corn fairies, and other colorful characters.

Mary Godolphin was the pseudonym of Lucy Aikin who undertook translating great literature into single-syllable words so that young readers could enjoy plots that were considerably more interesting than, say, the McGuffey readers of the 1880’s or the “Dick and Jane” primers of the 1950s (still around today as “decodable readers” in elementary schools). She produced this volume based on Daniel Defoe’s most famous work, considered by many to be the first English novel (1719). She also rendered Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and Wyss’ Swiss Family Robinson, which she translated as well.

The novel carries forward the continuing story of the three cousins Louise Merrick, Beth De Graf, and Patsy Doyle, and their circle. The title is somewhat misleading; it could more accurately have been called Aunt Jane's Nieces in Politics. (Uncle John Merrick tells his nieces that politics is "work," which yields the title.)The story begins three days after the end of the previous book, Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville; the freckled and red-haired Patsy still sports a sunburn from her summer in the Adirondacks...

Three children sent to stay the night with their Aunt Jane find themselves sharing an enormous bed. So enormous is it, that when they make a tent of the bedsheets and crawl in, they never make it to the foot of the bed, crawling instead into a dreamworld of caves and pirates and adventures.

This is a selection of the fairy tales (in English) written by Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm and Wilhelm Karl Grimm in the early 19th Century. These stories are fantastical and although aimed squarely at the flexible mind of a child which can assimilate much stranger concepts than an adult they are quite dark and occasionally brutal. The stakes can be quite high as in Rumpelstiltskin where a terrible bargain is made without due regard to possible future consequences and Tom Thumb who seems forever about to be imprisoned or sliced in two...

The novel is set in a fishing village in Dorset during the mid 18th century. The story concerns a 15 year old orphan boy, John Trenchard, who becomes friends with an older man who turns out to be the leader of a gang of smugglers.One night John chances on the smugglers’ store in the crypt beneath the church. He explores but hides behind a coffin when he hears voices. He finds a locket which contains a parchment, in the coffin belonging to Colonel Mohune. Unfortunately after the visitors leave,...

Richard of Jamestown by James Otis was written for children with the purpose to show them the daily home life of the Virginia colonists. It is written from the viewpoint of a young boy named Richard Mutton.

Toby Tyler tells the story of a ten year-old orphan who runs away from a foster home to join the traveling circus only to discover his new employer is a cruel taskmaster. The difference between the romance of the circus from the outside and the reality as seen from the inside is graphically depicted. Toby's friend, Mr. Stubbs the chimpanzee, reinforces the consequences of what happens when one follows one's natural instincts rather than one's intellect and conscience, a central theme of the novel.

To the millions of children and grown-ups who have loved a Rag Doll, the author dedicated these stories. Now listen as Shannon reads to you Raggedy Ann’s exciting adventures; as gentle and charming today, as they were when first published in 1918. Find out what is written on her candy heart, what was the gift the fairies brought, and all about Raggedy Ann’s new sisters.

The Goody-Naughty Book was originally published as two books back to back. Opening the book from one end, the reader experiences “The Goody Side” where the children are polite and thoughtful. However, turning the book over and beginning from the other side, one reads “The Naughty Side” where the children are lazy and irritable. These short, moral stories teach children the proper way to behave and that there are consequences if they don’t.