During one of his several adventurous voyages in the 1600s, an Englishman becomes the sole survivor of a shipwreck and lives for nearly thirty years on a deserted island. Illustrated notes throughout the text explain the historical background of the story.

A Dutch brother and sister work toward two goals--finding the doctor who can restore their father's memory and winning the competition for the silver skates.

Orphaned Rose Campbell finds it difficult to fit in when she goes to live with her six aunts and seven mischievous boy cousins.

A lawyer in Victorian London tries to understand the nature of the strange relationship between his physician friend and the cruel and violent man he seems to protect. Illustrated sidebar notes provide historical background to the text.

What begins as a friendly visit to Aunt Sally's and Uncle Silas' farm in Arkansas turns into a baffling mystery for Tom Sawyer and his good friend, Huck Finn. It's and exciting case, complete with stolen diamonds and a mysterious murder.

For sheer storytelling delight and pure adventure, Treasure Island has never been surpassed. From the moment young Jim Hawkins first encounters the sinister Blind Pew at the Admiral Benbow Inn until the climactic battle for treasure on a tropic isle, the novel creates scenes and characters that have fired the imaginations of generations of readers. Written by a superb prose stylist, a master of both action and atmosphere, the story centers upon the...

Twelve stories about animals, insects, and other subjects include "How the Whale Got His Throat, " "The Elephant's Child, " "How the Alphabet Was Made, " and "The Butterfly that Stamped."

As a detachment of Union soldiers trains and prepares for their first Civil War battle, a young private worries about his ability to endure the horror of the battlefield. His fellow soldiers seem to him to be fearless in the face of the coming conflict. He does indeed lose his courage in his first action and flees in panic, only to recover himself and return to his regiment to fight bravely.

When the kind and imaginative seven-year-old Sara Crewe reaches Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies with her papa, she doesn't quite like it. "'I don't like it, papa," she said. "But then I dare say soldiers--even brave ones-- don't really like going into battle." The apple of her father's eye, Sara has all the privileges at the seminary and is treated with special care. Soon enough, she befriends her classmates and is nicknamed a 'princess',...

A horse in nineteenth-century England recounts his experiences with both good and bad masters. Illustrated notes throughout the text explain the historical background of the story.