My Science School

 

 

               ‘The Story of the Treasure Seekers’ is a story of six children, who really admire Kipling and Dickens, and go through various adventures to earn money. The reason behind their adventures is the poor financial condition of their family. Their mother died and their father’s business is not doing very well, so they have stopped going to school, though their father says he will send them back as soon as he can. The children come up with various ideas to assist their father and resurrect the fortunes of their family.

               ‘The Story of the Treasure Seekers’ is a novel by E. Nesbit. It was first published in 1899. It was the first novel for children by Nesbit. The story is told from a child’s point of view. The book has been made into a TV series three times. It was also made into a television movie known as The Treasure Seekers in 1996.

 

          ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, often shortened to ‘LWW’, was written by C. S. Lewis, and published in 1950.

          It records the adventure of four ordinary English children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie - who found their way into the magical land of Narnia through a wardrobe that they stumbled across in an old house.

          What happens next in the land of Narnia? To find out, read the much loved book ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. It is the first book of The Chronicles of Narnia to be written and published. It is also the best known among the seven - book series.

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              ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ is a children’s science fantasy novel by Madeleine L’Engle. It was first published in 1962. ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ tells the tale of Meg Murry, a high-school girl who is transported on an adventure through time and space with her younger brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin O’Keefe to rescue her father, a gifted scientist, from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet.

               The novel won a Newbery Medal in 1963. The sequels to the novel are ‘A Wind in the Door’, ‘A Swifty Tilting Planet’, and ‘Many Waters’. The book spawned two film adaptations, both by Disney.

 

 

          The title character of the book ‘Pollyanna’ is Pollyanna Whittier, a young orphan who goes to live with her Aunt Polly. Aunt Polly is not fond of children. She does not want to take Pollyanna in, but feels it is her duty to her late sister. Sending the servant, Nancy, to fetch Pollyanna from the station, and then banishing her to the hot attic room, Aunt Polly is always negative to Pollyanna. But good-hearted Nancy readies the room for Pollyanna and loves her.

            However, Pollyanna always finds a way to be positive and finds a way to be glad about her situation. Pollyanna’s cheerful ways begin to win over the neighborhood. Pollyanna’s philosophy of life centres on what she calls ‘the glad game’, the game involved always finding something to be glad about.

            ‘Pollyanna’ is a 1913 novel by the Eleanor H. Porter. The title character’s name became a popular term for someone with the same very optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, ‘Pollyanna Grows Up’ (1915).

 

            ‘Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm’ is a delightful children’s novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her two stern aunts in the village of Riverboro, Maine.

            Rebecca’s family has fallen upon hard times, and the story opens with her leaving her childhood home to live with her two aunts Miranda and Jane Sawyer. Despite her early hardships, Rebecca has an infectious joy for life that inspires her aunts, as she faces the trials and tribulations of growing up.

            The story was adapted for the theatrical stage, and was filmed three times, once with Shirley Temple in the title role.

 

               ‘Amelia Bedelia’, is the first book in the Amelia Bedelia children’s picture book series about a housekeeper who takes owner’s instructions literally. It was written by Peggy Parish and was published in 1963.

               Amelia Bedelia is hired as a maid for the wealthy Rogers family. Despite meaning well, Amelia cannot seem to do anything right, because she does not understand the vernacular used by her employers.

               Mrs. Rogers once gives her a list of chores to complete, while the family goes out. After choosing to make a pie to be nice, Amelia proceeds to take all the chores literally: she ‘dresses the chicken’ in clothes, ‘drawing the drapes’ on a piece of notebook paper, and ‘puts out the lights’ by hanging them on the clothesline.

               When the Rogers return home, Mrs. Rogers is bewildered that none of the chores are done. On the verge of firing Amelia, she has a bite of Amelia’s pie, and finds it so delicious. Mrs. Rogers forgives Amelia and vows to write down instructions explicitly in the future.

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            Anne Shirley is an orphan who dreams of being part of a family. She has many dreams that have helped her cope with a harsh life. She is part of a programme to place older orphans with families that can use a young person’s assistance. Anne is placed at Green Gables, a farm on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, the brother and sister, who run the farm where Anne is placed, are getting older, and thought a young orphan boy could be helpful.

            Instead, they get Anne. Matthew is alarmed initially at finding Anne instead of the desired boy to help out as a farmhand. Marilla has run the household on her own for years. Anne’s day-dreaming ways bump into Marilla’s practical habits, to the benefit of both.

            ‘Anne of Green Gables’ is a children’s novel by the Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in 1908. It is the first of eight books about Anne Shirley, her children, and the many people whose lives she changes.

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            ‘The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes’ tells the story of two orphans, Margery Meanwell and her brother Tommy, and their escape from the poverty into which the death of their parents has cast them.

            Dressed in rags and having only one shoe, Margery is given two shoes by a charitable gentleman.

            Through hard work she becomes a schoolmistress, before making a good impression on the local landowner and marrying him. This prosperity serves as proof that her virtuousness has been rewarded.

            ‘The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes’ is a children’s story published in 1765. The story was later attributed to the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, though this is disputed.

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            After having found gold with his friend Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn goes to live at the home of the widow Douglas.

            Her sister, Miss Watson, and the widow’s slave, Jim, also live there. Huck and Jim run away together, travelling on the Mississippi.

            ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884, and in the United States in February 1885.

            It is told in the first person by Huckleberry Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer and narrator of two other Twain novels (‘Tom Sawyer Abroad’ and ‘Tom Sawyer, Detective’). It is a sequel to ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’.

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            ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ is a children’s adventure novel, and modern fairy tale by Norton Juster. It was published in 1961, with illustrations by Jule Feiffer.

            It tells the story of a boy named Milo who unexpectedly receives a magic tollbooth one afternoon. He decides to drive through it in his toy car.

            The tollbooth transports him to a land called the Kingdom of Wisdom. There, he acquires two faithful companions, has many adventures, and goes on a quest to rescue the two princesses of the kingdom (Rhyme and Reason) from the castle of air.

            ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ is undoubtedly one much-loved book. It is translated into many languages.

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               This book is the story about a deer named Bambi, and tells the story of his entire life. Bambi is a roe deer fawn born in a thicket. From the beginning, the story follows the fawn, through his childish playfulness, youth, temptation, love, and fear all the way until his adulthood. It also narrates how he struggles to survive against his chief enemy, Man, the hunter.

               It was published in 1923, and was written by Felix Salten. ‘Bambi’ is a beautiful story that is engaging both to children and to adults. Author Felix Salten really loved nature and animals, and because of that, this story is really magical. The character Bambi is better known as the cartoon hero of Walt Disney’s full-length animated film Bambi.

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            The story follows a young orphaned girl named Sophie, living in a girl’s orphanage. One night, Sophie sees a cloaked giant blowing something via a trumpet-like object into a bedroom window down the street. Subsequently, the giant carries her to his homeland of Giant Country. There, he identifies himself as the Big Friendly Giant (BFG), who blows bottled dreams into the bedrooms of children every night. He tells her about the other type of giants that eat humans, mostly children. He also warns her not to leave him as the other giants are dangerous. But Sophie does escape from there. Do you want to know how?

            Then, read the book ‘The BFG’ written by one of the most famous writers for children-Roald Dahl. It was published in the year 1982. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl’s 1975 book ‘Danny, the Champion of the World’.

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               One Christmas Eve, a boy is lying quietly in his bed, listening for the ringing bells of Santa’s sleigh, despite having been told by a friend that Santa does not exist.

               He suddenly hears the sounds of, not Santa’s sleigh, but a train stopping in front of his house. A conductor steps outside and looks at the boy’s window, prompting the boy to put on his bath robe and slippers and go outside.

               The conductor explains to him that the train, called the Polar Express, is going to the North Pole. The boy puts out his hand, and he is pulled aboard. The train is filled with children on their way to the North Pole. The train takes the children to Santa. The boy is chosen to receive the first Christmas gift by Santa. He asks for a silver bell from Santa’s sleigh.

                Santa immediately gave him one. The Boy slips it into his pocket, but much to his disappointment, the bell just fell through a hole in his pocket. Heartbroken, he returns to his home. In the morning, his little sister finds a small box with the boy’s name on it among the presents. Inside is the silver bell!

               ‘The Polar Express’ is the classic work of Chris Van Alls-burg in 1985.

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               Many of you might be familiar with the name Stuart Little because of the animated movie Stuart Little. But, did you know that the character Stuart Little first appeared in a book of the same name? It is a 1945 children’s book by E. B. White. The book was his first book for children, and is widely recognized as a classic in children’s literature. ‘Stuart Little’ was illustrated by the subsequently award-winning artist Garth Williams, also his first work for children.

               ‘Stuart Little’ begins with the protagonist’s unusual birth. His parents must adapt in many ways at home to accommodate a two-inch-tall son who resembles a mouse. Stuart has a brother named George. Their family cat Snowbell, does not like Stuart. When Margalo, a bird, is adopted by the Littles, Stuart intervenes to keep her safe from Snowbell. In return for Stuart’s protection, Margalo saves Stuart when he gets stuck in a trash can.

               Some of Snowbell’s friends want to eat Margalo, and when the bird finds out, she leaves the Little house-hold. Stuart follows, hoping to find her. At the end of ‘Stuart Little’, Stuart still hasn’t found Margalo, but he’s not giving up. He decides to continue his journey to seek her out.

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               Once there was a small duckling. Due to his strange appearance, he is not accepted by the other ducks or by other animals on the farm where he lives. He suffers constant verbal and physical abuse. The unhappy bird finally leaves home. He fails to find happiness anywhere else but briefly becomes excited when he sees some swans flying overhead, considering them to be the most beautiful birds he has ever seen. After suffering a miserable winter, in the spring, the ugly duckling finds that he has grown up to be a swan himself.

               ‘The Ugly Duckling’ is a short story for children by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published in 1843 in the fourth volume of Andersen’s fairy tales. Hans Christian Andersen considered the story to be autobiographical. As a child, he was mocked for his big nose, and large feet.

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