Family Life Classics

E.M. Forster's Howards End is a vivid portrait of London's golden age, before World War I forever changed its values and culture. Forster brings the great city's upper classes to life, detailing their grandiose spending habits, popular fads, Monet and Debussy, the rise of feminism, and the beginnings of urbanization. More than a mere idealization of pre-war London, Howards End provides insightful commentary on the rapid societal changes that occurred at the onset of the 20th century. Masterfully blending the stories of three vastly different groups of people - the independently wealthy, educated Schlegels; the nouveau riche Wilcoxes; and the ambitious but struggling Leonard Bast - Forster weaves a wonderfully rich, unforgettably poignant novel.

The Glass Menagerie is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his histrionic mother, and his mentally fragile sister, Laura.

Historic Prince Edward Island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence is the scene of this charming romance, which has captivated generations of readers young and old. Anne, the orphan child who brings happiness and love into the lives of her foster parents, is one of the most beloved heroines in all literature. But life was not kind to her at the start of her great adventure. For when Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, living alone, decided to adopt a child from the local orphanage, they asked for a boy.

One of American literature's most loved novels, this is a story of family, of hope, of dreams, and of growing up as four devoted sisters search for romance and find maturity in the Civil War-era 19th century New England.

Emily Starr is now seventeen years old and a high school graduate. With her newfound freedom, she grows as a writer and waits day in and day out for the return of her friend Teddy Kent, who went on to continue his education away from the town of New Moon. As her life unfurls, Emily is faced with heartache and newfound opportunities.

Edgewood Rectory may be set in an ancient landscape, but the Grantly family are very much of their time. Caught up in the uncertain world that has emerged since the outbreak of peace, the Rector and Mrs Grantly are bewildered by the challenges facing their eldest children: Eleanor, longing for more excitement than can be found in the Red Cross Library; and Tom, struggling to readjust to student life at Oxford after his military service.

A little bunny keeps running away from his mother in this imaginary game of hide-and-seek. Children will be profoundly comforted by this lovingly steadfast mother who finds her child every time. The Runaway Bunny, first published in 1942 and never out of print, has indeed become a classic. Generations have fallen in love with the gentle magic of its reassuring words.

In 1914, when Nicandra is eight, all is well in the grand Irish estate, Deer Forest. Maman is beautiful and adored. Dada, silent and small, mooches contentedly around the stables. Aunt Tossie, of the giant heart and bosom, is widowed but looks splendid in weeds. The butler, the groom, the land-steward, the maids, the men - each as a place and knows it. Then, astonishingly, the perfect surface is shattered; Maman does something too dreadful ever to be spoken of.

Ramona's life changes the moment Howie Kemp's mysterious uncle arrives from Saudi Arabia. Howie and his sister, Willa Jean, talk only about Uncle Hobart. Ramona's mother makes secret phone calls and stops eating dessert, and Aunt Bea is hiding something, too. Whatever surprises are in store, Ramona is determined to be happy and helpful. Whether she's pleasant or pesty, brave or blunderful, she's always wonderful Ramona - forever!

Lady Charlotte French-McGrath has successfully ruled over her family with a rod of iron until the arrival of Cynthia: beautiful, young, talented, selfish - and engaged to her son, Desmond. When Cynthia enters the Jazz Age, on the surface her life passes in a whirl of hunting, drinking and romance. But the ghosts of Garonlea are only biding their time: they know the source of their power, a secret handed on from one generation to the next.

The dreams, pranks, misfortunes, and courtships of the March girls form a charming family portrait.

Six children decide that the only way to restore the fortunes of their family is to go out and do it themselves. They produce a series of madcap schemes and one after another try them out with varying degrees of success, most resulting in trouble rather than riches. But then one scheme begins to look more promising than the rest.

Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, and their cousin, Eustace Scrubb, return to Narnia to accompany King Caspian on a voyage in search of the seven lords who were banished when Caspian's evil uncle stole the throne. They encounter many wonders on this perilous journey on the ship Dawn Treader, which takes them to the island of Galma, the pirate-infested Seven Isles, through seas inhabited by merpeople, and south toward the Lone Islands, Duffers Island, and the Dark Island.

Grandma's house was a magical place, and in this vivid memoir, Donald Davis makes it possible for each of us to go back to our own grandma's kitchen, clutter room, living room, and to that immeasurable bed that seemed to swallow us whole. This selection also contains a traditional story Davis learned from his grandmother, one handed down through his family from generations who once lived in Scotland before coming to the Appalachian mountains, about the time that fortune-seeker named Jack made the king mad.

A traveling prospector wandering around California looking for gold spends a few peaceful days with a man hiding a sad story.

Classic Starts: The stories are abridged; the quality is complete. The discovery of a neglected garden transforms the life of a sullen and unloved little girl-and everyone around her, too. When the newly orphaned Mary Lennox leaves her native India and arrives at her uncle's mansion in Yorkshire, everything seems strange to her. Then Mary hears of a mysterious garden where no one has set foot in 10 years. With the help of some new friends, she plans to uncover its secrets...and make it blossom once again.

While riding in their homemade iceboat on the frozen surface of Barmet Bay, Frank and Joe Hardy and Chet Morton discuss their plans for the upcoming Christmas holiday break. They visit Cabin Island but a mysterious stranger chases them off the island. The boys are invited to the home of Elroy Jefferson, a man whose car they returned in The Shore Road Mystery. They overhear an argument between Jefferson, the owner of Cabin Island, and Hanleigh, who is trying to buy the island. Mr. Jefferson rewards the boys and grants them permission to use the cabin for Christmas

Hollis Woods has been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. When Hollis is sent to Josie, she'll do everything in her power to make sure they stay together.

A Nebraska native, Claude Wheeler wants to attend the State University but instead lives a typical college life as a Temple College student. However, when his successful father decides to expand the family farm, Claude's reality is changed forever as he's forced to drop out to help realize his father's dream. Later, as war wages on in Europe, he enlists, hoping to escape his dreary fate and find purpose.

This is the story of a boy's adventures growing up in a small town on the banks of the Mississippi river over 100 years ago. The cheerful, adventurous hero plays truant to form a pirate band and, together with his best friend, Huckleberry Finn, finds fun, excitement, and buried treasure along the shores of the great river.