Dream Days
Read by Catharine Eastman
Running Time:4:51:43
Genre(s): Children's Fiction
Dream Days is a collection of children's fiction and reminiscences of childhood written by Kenneth Grahame. A sequel to Grahame's 1895 collection The Golden Age (some of its selections feature the same family of five children), Dream Days was first published in 1898 under the imprint John Lane: The Bodley Head. (The first six selections in the book had been previously published in periodicals of the day—in the Yellow Book, the New Review, and in Scribner's Magazine in the United States.) The book is best known for its inclusion of Grahame's classic story The Reluctant Dragon.
Like its precursor volume, Dream Days received strong approval from the literary critics of the day. In the decades since, the book has perhaps suffered a reputation as a thinner and weaker sequel to The Golden Age—except for its single hit story. In one modern estimation, both books "paint a convincingly unsentimental picture of childhood, with the adults in these sketches totally out of touch with the real concerns of the young people around them, including their griefs and rages." Its concern is chiefly with the lands of imagination, ranging from a reconnaissance of men of solitude, a disastrous introduction of a girl to the narrator's private castle in the clouds, derring-do on the high seas, and, of course, an encounter with a dragon. Its concluding bittersweet story bids a reluctant farewell to the dream days of childhood.
The Twenty-First of October
Dies Irae
Mutabile Semper
The Magic Ring
It's Walls Were as of Jasper
A Saga of the Seas
The Reluctant Dragon
A Departure
Pagan Papers
Read in English by Will Cooper; JudyDerby; Lynne Thompson; Steve Britton; Lisa Reichert; Brian Darby; Kathrine Engan; Fenman; Alimay; Joseph Tabler; Diana Schmidt
Running Time:02:28:31
Genre(s): Essays & Short Works, Humor
We join our thoughtful author on a dreamy stroll at dusk through the English countryside, and listen to his nonchalant, slightly scattered musings on the human condition...everything from loafing about and old book collecting, to heavier topics like what is more valuable: memory or forgetfulness and can we connect back to nature, or is it too late to do so. All these ponderings, and more, are explored within.
Published in 1898, this collection of essays is Kenneth Grahame's first complied work. His wry and witty humor, which later would be celebrated in his famous novel, The Wind in the Willows, shines through here.
01 - The Romance of the Road
02 - The Romance of the Rail
03 - Non Libri Sed Liberi
04 - Loafing
05 - Cheap Knowledge
06 - The Rural Pan: An April Essay
07 - Marginalia
08 - The Eternal Whither
09 - Deus Terminus
10 - Of Smoking
11 - An Autumn Encounter
12 - The White Poppy
13 - A Bohemian in Exile: A Reminiscence
14 - Justifiable Homicide
15 - The Fairy Wicket
16 - Aboard the Galley
17 - The Lost Centaur
18 - Orion
The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children
Read by Leonard Wilson; BettyB; RecordingPerson; Damla Ozdemir; Phil Schempf; Lynne T; Jude; Vittoria Conn; Patrick Saville
Running Time:02:17:43
Genre(s): Anthologies
A collection of poems, many well-known or by famous writers for children, celebrating the joys of life for children and avoiding the all-too-common subject of death. Selected and edited by Kenneth Grahame.
00 - Preface
01 - Merry are the Bells
02 - Safe in Bed
03 - Jenny Wren
04 - Curly Locks
05 - Pussy-Cat Mew
06 - Draw a Pail of Water
07 - I Saw a Ship A-Sailing
08 - The Nut-Tree
09 - My Maid Mary
10 - The Wind and the Fisherman
11 - Blow, Wind, Blow
12 - All Busy
13 - Winter Has Come
14 - Poor Robin
15 - I Have a Little Sister
16 - In Marble Walls
17 - The Moon by Eliza Lee Follen
18 - The Star by A. and J. Taylor
19 - Kitty by Mrs. E. Prentiss
20 - Kitty: How to Treat Her
21 - Kitty: What She Thinks of Herself by W.B. Rands
22 - The Sea Shell by Amy Lowell
23 - The Cuckoo
24 - The Bird-Scarer's Song
25 - Cradle Son
26 - Good-Night! by A. and J. Taylor
27 - Daffodils by W. Shakespeare
28 - To Daffodils by R. Herrick
29 - Daffodils by W. Wordsworth
30 - The Months by Sara Coleridge
31 - The Wind in a Frolic by William Howitt
32 - The Four Sweet Months by R. Herrick
33 - Glad Day by W.G. Robertson
34 - Buttercups and Daisies by Mary Howitt
35 - The Merry Month of March by W. Wordsworth
36 - What the Birds Say by S.T. Coleridge
37 - Spring's Procession by Sydney Dobell
38 - The Call of the Woods by W. Shakespeare
39 - A Prescription for a Spring Morning by John Davidson
40 - The Country Faith by Norman Gale
41 - The Butterfly's Ball by W. Roscoe
42 - A Wish by Samuel Rogers
43 - Wishing by W. Allingham
44 - Bunches of Grapes by Walter Ramal
45 - Contentment by Eugene Field
46 - The Land of Story-Books by R.L. Stevenson
47 - Sand Castles by W.G. Robertson
48 - Ring o' Roses by W.G. Robertson
49 - Wynken, Blynken and Nod by Eugene Field
50 - The Drummer-Boy and the Shepherdess by W.B. Rands
51 - The Land of Dreams by William Blake
52 - Sweet and Low by Lord Tennyson
53 - Cradle Song by Sir Walter Scott
54 - Mother and I by Eugene Field
55 - The Fairies by W. Allingham
56 - Shakespeare's Fairies by W. Shakespeare
57 - The Lavender Beds by W.B. Rands
58 - Farewell to the Fairies by Richard Corbet
59 - Death of Oberon by G.W. Thornbury
60 - Kilmeny by James Hogg
61 - A Boy's Song by James Hogg
62 - A Girl's Song by Thomas Moore
63 - Three Things to Remember by William Blake
64 - The Knight of Bethlehem by H.N. Maugham
65 - The Lamb by William Blake
66 - The Tiger by William Blake
67 - I Had a Dove by J. Keats
68 - Robin Redbreast by W. Allingham
69 - Black Bunny by W.B. Rands
70 - The Cow by A. and J. Taylor
71 - The Skylark by James Hogg
72 - Christmas Eve by John Davidson
73 - A Christmas Carol by R. Herrick
74 - A Child's Present by R. Herrick
75 - The Peace-Giver by A.C. Swinburne
76 - To a Singer by P.B. Shelley
77 - The Happy Piper by William Blake
78 - The Destruction of Sennacherib by Lord Byron
79 - Sheridan's Ride by T. Buchanan Read
80 - Columbus by Joaquin Miller
81 - Horatius by Lord Macaulay
The Golden Age
Read by Erin Hastings, Sarah Kerrison, Kara Shallenberg, Catharine Eastman, Esther, Kristin Hughes, Van Rose, Mark F. Smith, Peter Eastman, Muhammad Mussnoon
Genre(s): Children's Fiction
The Golden Age is a collection of reminiscences of childhood, written by Kenneth Grahame and originally published in book form in 1895, in London by The Bodley Head, and in Chicago by Stone & Kimball. (The Prologue and six of the stories had previously appeared in the National Observer, the journal then edited by William Ernest Henley.) Widely praised upon its first appearance—Algernon Charles Swinburne, writing in the Daily Chronicle, called it “one of the few books which are well-nigh too praiseworthy for praise”—the book has come to be regarded as a classic in its genre.
Typical of his culture and his era, Grahame casts his reminiscences in imagery and metaphor rooted in the culture of Ancient Greece; to the children whose impressions are recorded in the book, the adults in their lives are “Olympians,” while the chapter titled “The Argonauts” refers to Perseus, Apollo, Psyche, and similar figures of Greek mythology. Grahame’s reminiscences, in The Golden Age and in the later Dream Days (1898), were notable for their conception “of a world where children are locked in perpetual warfare with the adult ‘Olympians’ who have wholly forgotten how it feels to be young”—a theme later explored by J. M. Barrie and other authors.
1 - Prologue: The Olympians
2 - A Holiday
3 - A Whitewashed Uncle
4 - Alarums and Excursions
5 - The Finding of the Princess
6 - Sawdust and Sin
7 - 'Young Adam Cupid'
8 - The Burglars
9 - A Harvesting
10 - Snowbound
11 - What They Talked About
12 - The Argonauts
13 - The Roman Road
14 - The Secret Drawer
15 - 'Exit Tyrannus'
16 - The Blue Room
17 - A Falling Out
18 - 'Lusisti Satis'
The Reluctant Dragon
Read by Mark F. Smith
Running Time:00:56:42
Genre(s): Action & Adventure
What would you do if you discovered a dragon living in a cave on a hill above your home? Make friends, read poetry together? It turns out that not all dragons are intent on pillaging the countryside. Some might actually enjoy peace, quiet, and the occasional banquet. The Boy of this story knows how to handle dragons, and life is good… until a knight in shining armor arrives in town to exterminate his friend! It doesn’t matter that it’s a “good” dragon — rules are rules, you know!
The Wind in the Willows
Read by Mark F. Smith
Running Time:6:47:04
Genre(s): Animals & Nature
This much-loved story follows a group of animal friends in the English countryside as they pursue adventure ... and as adventure pursues them! The chief characters - Mole, Rat, and Toad - generally lead upbeat and happy lives, but their tales are leavened with moments of terror, homesickness, awe, madcap antics, and derring-do.
Although classed as children's literature, The Wind in the Willows holds a gentle fascination for adults too. The vocabulary is decidedly not "Dick and Jane", and a reader with a love of words will find new ones to treasure, even if well-equipped for the journey. Parents will appreciate the themes of loyalty, manners, self-restraint, and comradeship which are evident throughout the book. When the characters err, they are prompt to acknowledge it, and so a reading of this book can model good behavior to children, who will otherwise be enchanted with the many ways in which the lives of these bucolic characters differ from modern life.
This book was so successful that it enabled the author to retire from banking and take up a country life somewhat like that of his creations. It has been adapted for screen, stage, and even a ride at the original Disneyland.
The Wind in the Willows (Dramatic Reading)
Running Time:06:35:27
Genre(s): Children's Fiction, Action & Adventure, Animals & Nature
Join Mole and Water Rat for terrifically fun romps along a river and through burrows and forests . . . visiting with Otter and Mr. Badger, and witnessing crazy adventures by Mr. Toad as he evades the authorities and meets various interesting individuals. Kenneth Grahame's classic was first published in 1908, but continues to delight young and old folks today.
Cast List:
Narrator: Lynette Caulkins
Badger: Scott Caulkins
Mole: Shelly
Toad: Estelle
Otter: Marissa Siobhan
Wayfarer/Sea Rat: J. Schumacher
Water Rat/Elderly Rabbit: Jim Hedrick
Girl: Jasmin Salma
Engineer: Rich Brown
Barge Woman: Vonna
Gentleman: Larry Wilson
Gypsy: Wayne Cook
Rabbit 2: Mira Williams
Rabbit 3: Joanna Michal Hoyt
Conscience: Sandra
Hedgehog: Little Peanut
Fieldmouse 1: Andrea Attwood
Fieldmouse 2: Robin Lamb
Fieldmouse 3: Starling Reader
Chairman/Caroler: Mozart Jr.
Clerk: Marie Christian
Sergeant: Amanda Chandler
Detective 1: David Purdy
Detective 2/Caroler: Therese Lindholm
Detective 3: Glehnmarc Hibburt
Fox/Caroler: Jenn Broda
Sparrow 1: Diane Alailima
Sparrow 2/Caroler: Fiona Wilson
Sparrow 3/Caroler: Meredith Wilson
Sparrow 4: Medorakay
Sparrow 5: Jonny117
Ferret: Scarbo
Stoat/Motor Car: Jack Ball
Caroler: Diane
Caroler: Mira Williams