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Heidi by Johanna Spyri

A warm and loving story, full of touching moments, Heidi, transports the listener from the fine air and freedom of the mountaintop, to the confines of the bustling city of Frankfurt, then back to the peaks again, bounding in flowered fields with goats at your heels and sky utterly surrounding you. We meet Heidi when she is 5, led up the mountain by her aunt who has raised the orphan, but must leave now for a position in Frankfurt. In a mountain cottage overlooking the valley Heidi meets, and is now to live with, her grandfather, thought to be a hard and eccentric man by the nearby villagers. It is Heidi and her sweet and free nature that touches and softens the heart of the old man, bringing about a deep and touching bond between the two. When Heidi is taken from the mountains and nearly doesn’t make it back again, the most humorous as well as most heart-wringing scenes occur. All she learns during her absence from the mountain she brings back as seeds that will grow to benefit everyone around her. The  story of Heidi is filled with the child’s wonder, devotion, and sometimes humorous good intentions, the endearing traits that have lead the book to become a favorite among classic children’s literature.

9 Hours and 34 Minutes.

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Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney

When Phronsie is kidnapped by an organ grinder, she is rescued by young Jasper King and his dog Prince, both of whom soon become fast friends with the Peppers. The family so charms Jasper and his father that soon they invite the family to live with them. Mr. King makes Mrs. Pepper his housekeeper and does everything in his power to entertain and educate the children. Though the Kings surround the Pepper children with luxury, the values of hard work, humility, and togetherness are still firmly enforced by their mother. Though they live with an upper-class father and son, the older children are aware they’ll someday work for their livings. The stories of the Pepper family have delighted children for generations!

6 Hours and 57 Minutes.

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At the Back of the North Wind by George Macdonald

Young Diamond, the gentle son of a poor London coachman, lives a humble yet happy life with his family. One night, he is visited by the mysterious and beautiful North Wind, a great lady with long flowing hair who sweeps him away on strange and wonderful adventures. Sometimes she carries him to distant lands filled with beauty and peace, while other times she brings him to witness sorrow, hardship, and loss. Through it all, Diamond learns to see the world with unusual courage, faith, and kindness, even when his own family faces poverty and illness. Though others think him odd or foolish, Diamond’s pure heart, cheerful spirit, and trust in the North Wind make him a light to those around him. George MacDonald weaves a tale that is both enchanting and deeply moving, blending fairy-tale fantasy with timeless lessons of love, sacrifice, and hope.

8 Hours and 49 Minutes.

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A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

In, A Little Princess, Seven-year-old Sara Crewe comes to London to attend Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies, where she must live apart from her adored father. Sara is a bright and imaginative child who is both loved (for her friendliness) and hated (for her father’s wealth) at Miss Minchin’s. After several years as Miss Minchin’s show pupil, news comes that Captain Crewe has died penniless, and left Sara destitute. Miss Minchin, no longer having the prospect of benefiting from the Captain’s wealth quickly changes her tune, and shows her true colors. Minchin keeps poor Sara, desperately grieving the loss of her beloved father, on as an unpaid drudge. The girl is starved, worked for long hours, sent out in all kinds of weather, poorly dressed in outgrown and worn-out clothes, and deprived of warmth or a decent bed, in the attic. True to her nature, she continues to be kind and polite to everyone, including those who treat her badly. In the end, a mysterious benefactor comes to her aid, and the story comes to a happy ending with a joyous discovery for Sara.

5 Hours and 39 Minutes.

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The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Mr Pickwick, founder of the Pickwick Club, sets out with his three friends, Tupman, Snodgrass, and Winkle, to observe the world. They intend to travel to places in England remote from London, and observe their findings which they send back to the Club. In their journeys, they continually get themselves into all sorts of difficult but comical situations, from which they must extricate themselves, often with the assistance of Mr Pickwick’s personal servant, Sam Weller.

29 Hours and 50 Minutes

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The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens

The tale of John Peerybingle, the good-hearted carrier, and his young wife Mary (‘Dot’), interwoven with the story of poor toymaker Caleb Plummer, his beloved blind daughter Bertha, and the harsh old toy merchant Tackleton, who is due to marry May Fielding, a childhood friend of Dot. Comic relief is provided by Tilly Slowboy, the disaster-prone nursemaid of John and Dot’s baby, and Boxer, the family dog. The cricket who chirps on the family hearth assumes fairy form to save the day when disaster looms in the form of a mysterious stranger. Sentimental? Certainly – but this, the third (1845) of Dickens’ short Christmas books, is as charming and irresistible as its predecessors A Christmas Carol (1843) and The Chimes (1844).

The novella is subdivided into chapters called ‘Chirps’, similar to the ‘Quarters’ of The Chimes or the ‘Staves’ of A Christmas Carol.

3 Hours and 53 Minutes

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Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen's first published novel, focuses on the lives and loves of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, two daughters of Mr. Dashwood, by his second wife. They have a younger sister, Margaret, and an older half-brother named John. When their father dies, the family estate passes to John, and the Dashwood women are left in reduced circumstances. The novel follows the Dashwood sisters to their new home, a cottage on a distant relative's property, where they experience both romance and heartbreak and, in turn, encounter the sense and sensibility of life and love. Sense and Sensibility includes a wonderful cast of colorful supporting characters, as well as of course, Austen's trademark dry wit and ironic narration.

10 Hours and 55 Minutes

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Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery

The eighth book in the Anne of Green Gables series, Rilla of Ingleside draws the focus once again to a singular heroine, now Anne and Gilbert’s youngest daughter Rilla, named after the beloved Marilla. Rilla, almost fifteen, is spirited, sweet, and full of life, with bright hazel eyes and dazzling smile, a most lovable and endearing character. On the cusp of heading out into the world, she can’t think any further ahead than going to her very first dance at the Four Winds lighthouse, and getting her first kiss from handsome Kenneth Ford, she hopes. But, there are much bigger things beyond her sight; there is a war going on, World War I, which will test the courage and maturity of the young, and change the lives of everyone forever.

Another great work from Montgomery, she successfully gives historical insight into what was done for the war efforts on the home front, how it affected those at home, and gives a view into how wartime affects the lives of all. Of course, as always, she draws you in with her characters and weaves a tale that is provoking, tearful, and delightful all at the same time.

8 Hours and 30 Minutes

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Rainbow Valley by Lucy Maud Montgomery

The seventh book in the Anne of Green Gables series, Rainbow Valley turns the focus to Anne and Gilbert’s children. Jem, sturdy and reliable, not a great talker but a good all-round student, he loves to investigate things, constantly experimenting and observing. Walter, has all his mother’s vivid imagination and love for beauty, he is thought of by the Glen St. Mary boys as girly because he never fights and rarely plays sports, preferring to read books alone, but his tender nature is endearing. Nan and Di, are the Ingleside twins. Nan has many friends, and is very lady-like, imitating her mother’s tricks, graces and poses. She also inherited her mother’s vivid imagination. Di, looks like her mother and favors her father in qualities and personality, having his practical bent and common sense, as well as his twinkling sense of humor. Shirley, is quiet and doesn’t like to be forced to talk, liking to play on his own. He is known as the little brown boy, because he has brown eyes, hair and skin. Rilla, the youngest, is very proud, hates to be teased or to be classed with lower people. She has silly beliefs and ideas, and a n overriding fear of being unladylike. The other main characters of the book are the four young Merediths, the somewhat neglected children of the new Presbyterian minister in town, as well as Mary Vance, an orphaned girl whom the children save from starvation and find a home for with Mrs. Marshall Elliott.

Rainbow Valley is sure to delight readers who love the works of L.M. Montgomery, as they come to know the  varied personalities and antics of the Blythe children and their friends!

7 Hours and 22 Minutes

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

One of the most universally loved and admired English novels, Pride and Prejudice, is easily a favorite amongst the works of Jane Austen. Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s five unmarried daughters and the parents’, especially the hovering, perpetually in a state of nerves mother’s attempt to marry their daughters well. Very soon into the book the rich and eligible Mr. Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr. Darcy, have moved into their neighborhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth, both of them suffering from their own forms of pride and prejudices. Darcy, against all his norms, difference in social standing, family wishes for him, etc. , falls in love with her, only to be rejected when he proposes, due to her vast misjudgment of his true character. Over time she begins to see where she has been wrong, but can she learn to love him, will he still love her, can they both overcome all that has previously stood against them to make a happy life together? Austen’s unbeatable skill at writing weaves a tale with many enjoyable characters, delightful humor, suspenseful moments, and true and unmitigated love.

10 Hours and 40 Minutes

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