Thornton W. Burgess (1874–1965)

Month of January 2022: Young Reader’s Classics

Not listed in the Accelerated Reader’s Program (ages 8-14 yrs, 2nd-8th grade)
A children’s classic originally published in 1922.

Thornton Burgess grew up in Sandwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where he spent his time exploring around the water and woods and fell in love with nature. He started telling these stories to his one and only son. Then, he began a daily column in the New York Tribune. Finally, they were published in book form. His first novel, “Old Mother West Wind”, was published in 1910. They are stories that teach.

After reading this adventure story, kids will love envisioning what the crows may be thinking and doing next time they are out playing in the woods and hear them cawing. Burgess combines real characteristics of the crows behaviors with teachable moments for children…and the child may not even realize they are being taught because it’s the animals talking.

Blacky the Crow has two adventures. First, he has to decide just how important it is to satisfy his hunger for a couple of owl eggs. Does he risk his life and the lives of his friends? Second, is it worth risking his own life to warn his duck friends of the hunter who is hiding out nearby and coercing them into the area by putting out corn every morning, giving them a false sense of security?

I loved it! This would be a really good bedtime story to read to your young kids. Maybe a chapter or two a night. I’m thinking my two young hunter grandsons would love this. They have very imaginative minds. But I don’t think it will turn them off from deer hunting in the least. They love it too much.

READ IT FREE

Can be downloaded for free to your Kindle or read online at Project Gutenberg:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4979… (more)

The Adventures of Peter Cottontail and His Green Forest Friends comprises three classic Thornton W. Burgess books from the early twentieth century: [b:The Adventures of Reddy Fox|752997|The Adventures of Reddy Fox|Thornton W. Burgess|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348999595s/752997.jpg|739124] (1913), [b:The Adventures of Peter Cottontail|753035|The Adventures of Peter Cottontail|Thornton W. Burgess|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328868136s/753035.jpg|1790581] (1914), and [b:The Adventures of Grandfather Frog|8806|The Adventures of Grandfather Frog|Thornton W. Burgess|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328868312s/8806.jpg|1027514] (1915). Each of those books, in turn, is a collection of stories starring the animals of the Green Forest and its surrounding area. Although each book focuses on a different main character, the general cast of characters is the same throughout. The stories are accompanied by vintage black-and-white illustrations, six per character book for a total of 18 illustrations throughout the collection.

My digital copy had a page count of only 185, but that's a deceptive number that doesn't accurately reflect the true length of the book. It's more akin to a 300 page book, with each of the three segments equating to roughly 100 pages. The shorter format of the individual stories makes them ideal for bedtime reading; the heft of the collection ensures bedtime stories for at least a few weeks.

The animals' antics are amusing and will have kids wondering what the animals in their own gardens and woods might be up to. As with most classic stories, there are some lessons to be learned as well, including to be careful, to listen to your elders, and to not show off or be full of yourself.

Note: I received a digital copy of this book through NetGalley.… (more)