Arts & Crafts, Language Arts, Literature, Nature Studies, Reading

A Beatrix Potter Treasury

Today we feature a wonderful treasure chest of books, audios, videos and lessons about the stories of Beatrix Potter. Her classic artwork and stories are utterly delightful and should be known by every child. What better stories than these to share with your littles?

CLICK HERE to read almost all Beatrix Potter’s original picture books online or download them in kindle and mobi format at Project Gutenberg.

CLICK HERE to listen to almost all Beatrix Potter’s books online or to download them in mp3 format or to iTunes. There are three massive collections on this Librivox page, and you’ll just have to pick and choose which narrators you enjoy best. You can follow along the readings using the picture books from the Project Gutenberg link above.

CLICK HERE to go to a youtube page which offers up a couple dozen Beatrix Potter stories and related videos, including all the episodes of “The World of Peter Rabbit and His Friends”. (As always with youtube, parental oversight is recommended.)

Resources from PeterRabbit.com:  CLICK HERE to go to the download page — and don’t miss the 39 page PDF of Beatrix Potter Teaching Resources!

Audio, Literature

Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp – Audio Dramatization

Here’s another wonderful “Living Book for the Ears” audio dramatization for you, from the CBS Radio Adventure Theater, originally broadcast in 1977. Tom Bosley (the father from “Happy Days” is the host and narrator). This dramatization is quite faithful to the original story, and is adapted from “The Arabian Nights”.

To listen to this 40 minute audio dramatization online, just click the link below. To download the mp3 file to your computer, “right click” the link and “save link” to your computer. Mac users, press the “control” key, then click the link and save to your mac.

ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP

Audio, Literature

The Jungle Book – Audio Dramatization Part 2

Here’s the conclusion to this wonderful full-cast audio dramatization of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, as originally broadcast on CBS Adventure Theater in 1977. This is much closer to the original story than the Disney movies, and has excellent sound quality. Tom Bosley (the father from “Happy Days” is the host and narrator). It’s 40 minutes of pure audio theater magic. Enjoy!

To listen online, just click the link below. To download the MP3 program to your computer, RIGHT CLICK the link, then “save link” to your computer. Mac users, press the “control” key, then click the link and save to your mac.

THE JUNGLE BOOK, PART TWO – “TIGER, TIGER”

Audio, Literature

The Jungle Book – Audio Dramatization, Part 1

Here’s a wonderful full-cast audio dramatization of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, as originally broadcast on CBS Adventure Theater in 1977. This is much closer to the original story than the Disney movies, and has excellent sound quality. Tom Bosley (the father from “Happy Days” is the host and narrator). Today we feature part one of this two part story: “Mowgli” is a fantastic 40 minute audio story your kids will love. Look for the conclusion, “Tiger, Tiger” tomorrow!

To listen online, just click the link below. To download the MP3 program to your computer, RIGHT CLICK the link, then “save link” to your computer. Mac users, press the “control” key, then click the link and save to your mac.

THE JUNGLE BOOK, PART ONE – “MOWGLI”

Audio, Literature, Reading

Dozens of Public Domain AUDIOBOOKS for Ambleside Online/ Charlotte Mason Education

These pages show all the Ambleside Online Booklist books that have been recorded as audiobooks by Librivox, with links to all their respective download pages. These are unabridged audio book readings, done by volunteer readers, so their quality varies but is mostly quite good. Only the public domain titles from their list are included here… Hundreds of audios, from grades 1 – 8. This is a wonderful index & collection, even if you aren’t doing Ambleside Online or Charlotte Mason-style learning.

Links to Audiobooks for Grades 1-4

Links to Audiobooks for Grades 5-8

Literature, Living Books

Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress – Illustrated

Today we are featuring “The Pilgrim’s Progress” — like you’ve never seen it before. This is just awesome.

Laurie Bluedorn of Trivium Pursuit has combined the unforgettable text of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress with hundreds of magnificent illustrations from dozens of editions of this book over the past two centuries, and has created an truly enchanting version of this classic book for children of all ages. When the book describes such scenes as Christian wounding Apollyon, or trapped in the net of the Flatterer; or Faithful before Lord Hate-good in Vanity Fair; or Hopeful languishing in Giant Despair’s dungeon; or Atheist laughing at Christian, you will have dozens of imaginative illustrations to enhance the experience.

The full book contains 525 illustrations, many in color, chosen from dozens of sources over the span of 250 years. (This freebie sample edition contains the text of the first five chapters of the book, with the accompanying illustrations.)

The text of The Pilgrim’s Progress used is in modern English while preserving John Bunyan’s original meaning, his doctrine, and his quaint, charming, and most memorable style of expression.

Pilgrim’s Progress is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, and has been cited as the first novel written in English. This version with all its amazing illustrations (even including versions from several different cultures!) has our HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION for anyone who wants to introduce or re-introduce this true classic to their family!

To download this 120 page sampler ebook, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save link” to your computer. Mac users, press the “control” key then click the link and save to your Mac.

If you like this sampler, click here to purchase the full ebook (over 600 pages with 525 illustrations!) from the Trivium Pursuit website. (It is also available for kindle on Amazon.)