A SUMMER IN A CAÑON & POLLY OLIVER'S PROBLEM (Children's Book Classics) - Illustrated
Two Classic Tales of Girlhood, Self-Reliance, and Moral AdventureBy Kate Douglas Wiggin
Length10h 31m
About this audiobook
Kate Douglas Wiggin's A Summer in a Cañon follows a group of children spending an expansive, formative holiday in California's wilderness, where outdoor adventure, observation, friendship, and moral education develop together. Its episodic structure, lively dialogue, and affectionate attention to landscape place it within the late-nineteenth-century tradition of domestic and educational children's fiction, while its communal storytelling and emphasis on self-government give it unusual social breadth. Polly Oliver's Problem complements the volume with a more focused narrative of childhood difficulty, examining the emotional and ethical pressures that test a young protagonist. The illustrations reinforce the books' visual appeal and their imaginative invitation to younger readers. Wiggin (1856–1923), an American educator, reformer, and bestselling children's author, brought to her fiction a practical knowledge of childhood gained through teaching and pioneering kindergarten work. Her educational convictions shaped her preference for stories that respect children's intelligence while cultivating sympathy, independence, responsibility, and delight in the natural world. Written during an era when children's literature was moving beyond stern instruction toward literary entertainment, these works reveal Wiggin's talent for combining humor and sentiment with humane pedagogy. This edition is recommended to readers interested in the history of children's literature, American regional writing, and the cultural ideals of childhood in the Gilded Age. Young readers will find adventure, warmth, and recognizable emotional conflicts, while adult readers can appreciate Wiggin's elegant craft, progressive educational imagination, and richly observed portrait of communal life. Together, the stories offer both pleasurable reading and a valuable document of American literary culture.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (20)
Includes Amazon, Goodreads
GenreChildren's Literature
Length10 hrs 31 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJun 24, 2016
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1A Little Princess (Annotated)
2A SUMMER IN A CAÑON: A California Story
3I. Preparation and Departure
4II. The Journey
5III. Life in the Cañon—The Heir Apparent Loses Himself
Show all chaptersShow less
6IV. Rhyme and Reason
7I. From the Countess Paulina Olivera to Her Friend and Confidante, The Lady Elsie Howard
8II. From Philip to Elsie
9III. The Knight of the Spectacles Takes the Quill
10IV. Margery’s Contribution
11V. The Camp Poetess Adds Her Store of Mental Riches to the General Fund
12VI
13V. The Forest of Arden—Good News
14VI. Queen Elsie Visits the Court
15VII. Polly’s Birthday: First Half in Which She Rejoices at the Mere Fact of Her Existence
16VIII. Polly’s Birthday: Second Half
17IX. Round the Camp-Fire
18X. More Camp-Fire Stories
19XI. Breaking Camp
20POLLY OLIVER'S PROBLEM: A Story for Girls
21I. A Declaration of Independence
22II. Forecasting the Future
23III. The Doctor Gives Polly a Prescription
24IV. The Boarders Stay, and the Olivers Go
25V. Told in Letters
26VI. Polly Tries a Little Missionary Work
27VII. “Where Ignorance Is Bliss.”
28VIII. Two Fireside Chats
29IX. Hard Times
30X. Edgar Goes to Confession
31XI. The Lady in Black
32XII. The Great Silence
33XIII. A Garden Flower, or a Banian-Tree
34XIV. Edgar Discourses of Scarlet Runners
35XV. Life in the Birds’ Nest
36XVI. The Candle Called Patience
37XVII. Polly Launches Her Ships
38XVIII. The Children’s Hour: Reported in a Letter by an Eye-Witness
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