Nature Stories to Read Aloud
by Thornton W. Burgess, Adrianna Mazza (Illustrator)
Wonder Read Aloud Books (17), Chronological list of Thornton W. Burgess’s Works (1959)
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These nature stories are divided into chapters, each chapter headed with a couple of lines of advice, usually by Old Mother Nature.
The first story is about Grouchy, one of three half-grown children of Bobby and Mrs. Coon. Grouchy is a little jerk and is foolish enough to be rude to Jimmy Skunk. That takes up 11 chapters.
The second story is about Buster Bear, a happy-go-lucky character who steals a bunch of acorns and beechnuts that Chatterer the Red Squirrel had stored. Buster isn't willing to hibernate. He wanders around, causing some damage before he finally goes to sleep. The other animals had no idea he came back. Some animals figure out where Buster is.
The third story comes with spring and concerns Blacky the Crow and his wife, show more Hooty the Great Horned Owl and his wife, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, and the Black Gang, Blacky's friends.
The last story concerns Jimmy Skunk, Snapper & Mrs. Snapper Turtle, and Bobby Coon. Each story teaches a lesson that's good for children to learn. show less
The first story is about Grouchy, one of three half-grown children of Bobby and Mrs. Coon. Grouchy is a little jerk and is foolish enough to be rude to Jimmy Skunk. That takes up 11 chapters.
The second story is about Buster Bear, a happy-go-lucky character who steals a bunch of acorns and beechnuts that Chatterer the Red Squirrel had stored. Buster isn't willing to hibernate. He wanders around, causing some damage before he finally goes to sleep. The other animals had no idea he came back. Some animals figure out where Buster is.
The third story comes with spring and concerns Blacky the Crow and his wife, show more Hooty the Great Horned Owl and his wife, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, and the Black Gang, Blacky's friends.
The last story concerns Jimmy Skunk, Snapper & Mrs. Snapper Turtle, and Bobby Coon. Each story teaches a lesson that's good for children to learn. show less
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Thornton W. Burgess’s Works
129 works; 3 members
Author Information
344+ Works 29,262 Members
Thornton Waldo Burgess was born in Sandwich on January 14, 1874. Burgess graduated from Sandwich High School in 1891, and went on to attend a Business College in Boston from 1892-93. At the age of 17, Burgess briefly lived in Boston and then moved to Springfield, Massachusetts. He bought a place in Hampden, Massachusetts in 1925 and made it his show more permanent home in 1957. He published his first book, Old Mother West Wind, in 1910 Burgess was a naturalist and conservationist, and loved loved nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for daily columns in newspapers. Burgess was also actively involved with conservation efforts. Some of his projects over his lifetime included: The Green Meadow Club for land conservation programs. The Bedtime Stories Club for wildlife protection programs, the Happy Jack Squirrel Saving Club for War Savings Stamps & Bonds, the Radio Nature League broadcast from WBZA Springfield, MA., as well as helping to pass laws protecting migrant wildlife. For his efforts, an Honorary Literary Degree was bestowed upon Burgess in 1938 from Northeastern University. The Boston Museum of Science awarded him a gold medal for "leading children down the path to the wide wonderful world of the outdoors." He was also awarded the distinguished Service Medal of the Permanent Wildlife Protection Fund. In 1960, Burgess published his last book, Now I Remember, an autobiography. That same year, Burgess at the age of 83, had published his 15,000th story. From 1912 to 1960, without interruption, Burgess wrote a syndicated daily newspaper column titled "Bedtime Stories". Thornton Burgess died June 5, 1965, at the age of 91. The Thornton W. Burgess Society was incorporated in 1976. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Nature Stories to Read Aloud
- Original publication date
- 1959
- People/Characters
- Bobby Coon (raccoon); Mother Coon (raccoon); Grouchy (Bobby & Mother Coon's half-grown son); Jimmy Skunk; Old Mother Nature; Grouchy's brother (show all 30); Grouchy's sister; Buster Bear; Chatterer the Red Squirrel; Reddy Fox; Mrs. Reddy Fox; Jumper the Hare; Mrs. Bear (also known as Mother Bear, with her two cubs); Old Mother West Wind; the Merry Little Breezes (Old Mother West Wind's children); Rough Brother North Wind; Old Man Winter; Jack Frost; Gray Fox (Reddy's cousin, also known as 'Cousin Gray' and 'Tree Fox'); Croaker the Raven (Black the Crow's cousin); Gentle Sister South Wind; Hooty the Great Horned Owl; Blacky the Crow; Mrs. Blacky; Mrs. Hooty the Owl; the Black gang (other crows, friends of Blacky); Snapper the Turtle; Mrs. Snapper; Rattles the Kingfisher; Mrs. Rattles
- Important places
- the Old Pasture; the Green Forest at the foot of the Great Mountain; the Green Meadows; the Smiling Pool; the Old Orchard; the Crooked Little Path (show all 10); the Laughing Brook; Farmer Brown's cornfield; Farmer Brown's Sugar House; the Lone Little Path through the Green Forest
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Children's Books, Kids
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ10.3 .B8 — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
Statistics
- Members
- 61
- Popularity
- 504,669
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
