 |
| The mouse frees the lion (Wikimedia) |
Note: Who doesn't know--and love--the fables of Aesop? These simple tales contain a wealth of wisdom. Plus, they're entertaining!
Get Ready: Do you believe that only "the great" can be useful to others? What about the humble people, with lowly positions in society?
 |
| "He took the little Creature in his Hand." (Wikisource) |
Note: Japanese literature is filled with old childless couples who find wonderful babies and grow rich as a result of their kindness. This is a good one.
Get Ready: Do you think generosity should be its own reward, or should people expect monetary return for their good deeds?
 |
| (Wikipedia) |
Note: The best learning happens in an atmosphere of fun! And this program from the 1990s managed to offer up heavy doses of both.
Get Ready: Do you like science? Would you learn it better if it was presented in a fun, exciting way?
 |
| Edward Bear is bumping down the stairs on the back of his head... (Gutenberg) |
Note: Winnie-the-Pooh--whose prototype lives today at the New York Public Library--is probably the world's most famous stuffed toy. Let's learn more about him.
Get Ready: Did you have a favorite toy (or other oject, like a blanket) that you dragged around when you were a kid?
 |
| Elsie Leslie Lyde as Little Lord Fauntleroy, painted by William Merritt Chase (Wikiart) |
Note: To a certain generation of Americans, "Little Lord Fauntleroy" inspired a way of dress; for the next, he inspired ridicule.
Get Ready: Is there a past fad in clothing or hairstyle that today is commonly made fun of?
 |
| "This is the Elephant's Child having his nose pulled by the Crocodile..." (Gutenberg) |
Note: Rudyard Kipling wrote a huge number of short stories, many of them for children. This one is from a collection that is one of his most famous.
Get Ready: Have you ever wondered why elephants' trunks are long? Here's the answer! 😉
 |
| Mary Poppins and the children by illustrator Mary Shepard in the first volume (1934) (Wikipedia) |
Note: The popular films about the "magical" Mary Poppins are based on a series of books about a woman who may actually be a witch!
Get Ready: How important is imagination (and fun!) in getting a job done, even a daily task like tidying up a room?
 |
| Cover of a Dick Tracy comic (Wikipedia) |
Note: The "Sunday funnies" were our favorite source of reading material when I was a kid, and are still around today.
Get Ready: Do you like comics, or comic books? Why or why not?
 |
| Rikki faces Nag (Gutenberg) |
Note: This story was included in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book; it is another example of the author's keen observations of interactions between the animals of India.
Get Ready: Have you ever had an unusual pet? Or do you know anyone who has? What was it like?
 |
| Lear's "Old Man with a Beard" (Wikipedia) |
Note: Many of us have heard "The Owl and the Pussycat," but the author wrote perhaps hundreds other fun "nonsense" poems.
Get Ready: Do you know any limericks? They often start, "There once was a man from..." and a place name. Recite some if you can!
 |
| Tom tricks friends into whitewashing the fence (from a U.S. Postage stamp) (Wikipedia) |
Note: Mark Twain introduced his character Huckleberry Finn in this previous book, about Huck's friend Tom Sawyer.
Get Ready: How did you spend your childhood? Were you able to run about the neighborhood freely, or did you mostly stay inside? Which would you prefer?
 |
| What's this? A worm? No, it's wheat! (Wikipedia) |
Note: This American fable teaches the importance of hard work and taking personal initiative.
Get Ready: What do you do when you ask others for help and they turn you down?
Note: My wife and I live with two large dogs: Buddy, a Belgian Malinois/Labrador mix, and Bella, a pure Golden Retriever. Both are around four years old. This has caused us to be interested in "all things dog," so I thought I'd share with you seven classic books about dogs.
Get Ready: Do you have a dog or other pet? How do you feel about her or him?
 |
| "Born and bred in a briar patch, Brer Fox! I was born and bred in a briar patch!" (Archive.org) |
Note: When Brer Fox put Brer Rabbit in the predicament of being stuck to a doll made of tar, it took all of Rabbit's cleverness to get loose again. This is perhaps the most famous of the "Uncle Remus" stories by the American writer Joel Chandler Harris.
Get Ready: Do you know the meaning of "reverse psychology"? It's the idea of suggesting to someone the opposite of what you really want them to do, so--being stubborn--they'll do exactly what you want! Can you think of examples?
 |
| Brer Rabbit attacking the Tar-Baby (Wikipedia) |
Note: The story we know as "The Tar Baby" has over 250 variants in cultures from all over the world; its antecedents go all the way back to ancient India. In 1881, American author Joel Chandler Harris published in his "Uncle Remus" stories this version he had collected in the American South.
Get Ready: Have you ever had a problem that, the harder you tried to fix it, the worse it got?
 |
| The giant and the child (Wikipedia) |
Note: The story of "The Selfish Giant" is a modern fairy tale written by the Irish author Oscar Wilde.
Get Ready: If you had a large yard and garden, would you allow the neighborhood children to play in it?
 |
| Hansel and Gretel meet the witch (Wikipedia) |
Note: "Hansel and Gretel" is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812.
Get Ready: If you did not have enough money to feed your children, what could you do?
 |
| Percy Jackson (Wikipedia) |
Note: Perseus "Percy" Jackson is, like Harry Potter, an unlikely hero. The son of a Greek god and a human mother, he's an "all-American boy" who does battle with gods--and wins!
Get Ready: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the young "Wart" who became King Arthur--many stories, new and old, feature young people who turned out to be much more than they seemed. Can you think of other examples? What do you think such stories are trying to tell us?
 |
| "The Badger said, 'Now then, follow me!'" (l to r, Rat, Mole, Toad, and Badger) (Wikipedia) |
Note: Read the adventures of four animal friends who enjoy "messing about in boats"--when they're not trying to get their friend Mr. Toad out the predicaments he keeps getting himself into!
Get Ready: What can you do with a friend who is "too much," always getting himself (and sometimes others) in trouble?
 |
| Mowgli made leader of the Bandar-log (Monkeys) (Wikipedia) |
Note: Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book stories explore the boundaries between law and freedom, nature and civilization. And they're darned good reading!
Get Ready: Who do you think has an easier life: humans in a town or city, or animals in the wild? Why do you think so?
.png){kind=link}
