My Science School

 

 

            This book tells the story of a hard hearted miser named Ebenezer Scrooge, whose only interest is making money. Scrooge cares nothing for anything from which he cannot make a profit. He hates Christmas in particular, considering it to be a con, or as he calls it, a humbug. He is unaware of the poverty in which his employee Bob Cratchit lives, and the difficulties he and his family face.

            Scrooge has a change of heart after he is visited by four spirits. On Christmas Eve, the ghost of his late business partner Jacob Marley warns him of the terrible fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Afterwards, Scrooge is intermittently visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come.

            ‘A Christmas Carol’ is an 1843 children’s book by Charles Dickens, loved equally by both children and grownups. It is divided into five chapters.

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               There is a naughty girl called Ramona. She is excited because she is starting kindergarten. Although Ramona does not mean to be a pest, she still manages to create trouble without trying to. Ms. Binney is her teacher, and Ramona likes her a lot, especially when she praises Ramona’s interesting drawing.

               Ramona tries to do her best in kindergarten but it isn’t easy, especially during seat work, when she has to sit quietly and keep her eyes on her own work. She’s just too interested in seeing what everyone else is doing.

               One day, Ramona decides to become cross with her new enemy Susan and pulls her hair. Ms. Binney sends her home until she can behave. Ramona decides that Ms. Binney doesn’t like her any more, and she refuses to go back. Finally she receives a letter from Ms. Binney.

               This is how the story of ‘Ramona the Pest’ goes. It is written by Beverly Cleary. The book was first published in 1968 and featured illustrations by Louis Darling.

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               Hugh Lofting’s ‘Doctor Dolittle series’ are stories about Doctor Dolittle.

               The first book ‘The Story of Doctor Dolittle’ narrates Dolittle’s love towards animals he kept. Polynesia the parrot taught him to talk to the animals. His love of animals grows over the years, and his house-hold eventually scares off his human clients, leading to loss of wealth. He was totally unconcerned by how much money he had, once going on a journey to Africa to escape the fact that he had no money.

               This much loved book was written and illustrated by Hugh Lofting. There are 13 books about Doctor Dolittle. Each book has him doing something different with his wonderful collection of animals. It was one of the books in this series that was adapted into the film Doctor Dolittle.

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               One of the most famous and memorable accounts of World War II and the Holocaust, is the story of a Dutch Jewish school girl, Anne Frank, living in Amsterdam. ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’, also known as ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’, is the journal by Anne Frank. In 1942, Anne was given a diary notebook for her 13th birthday, which is when the diary starts. By this time, Germany had already invaded, and occupied the Netherlands for two years.

               The book was first published in 1947, two years after Anne’s death in a concentration camp, and later became a classic. Anne called the diary Kitty. It was her true friend. She addressed many of the entries to “Dear Kitty”. The diary chronicles the next two years of Anne’s life in the cramped annexe, along with her seven co-prisoners. Anne’s last diary entry was written on August 1st, 1944. The work was eventually translated into more than 60 languages, and it was later adapted for the stage and screen.

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             After losing her family to a cholera epidemic, young Mary Lennox is sent to live with her uncle Archibald Craven and his on Colin.

               After discovering a hidden garden behind the mansion, Mary sets out to discover why it has remained closed from human eyes for so long. From the servant there, she heard the story of the garden that was locked ten years ago by her uncle after his wife’s death; Mary determines to find the key. In the end, Mary brings the garden back to life.

               ‘The Secret Garden’ is a children’s novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in 1911, after it was serialized in an American magazine in 1910.

               This magical story is an exaltation of the beauty of nature and its beneficial effects on the human spirit. ‘The Secret Garden’ attracts children around the globe.

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               Mrs. Rabbit had told her off-spring firmly that Mr. McGregor’s garden was out of bounds. She should know: her husband had been baked into a pie by Mrs. McGregor. But her son, Peter, was not about to heed his mother’s warning. He ventures into Mr. McGregor’s garden. The story of the book continues like this, chronicling the adventures of Peter.

               ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ is a children’s picture book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published in 1902. It was Potter’s first book, and was initially privately printed.

               Upon publication, however, it was immediately successful. It has since gone on to become one of the most famous British books ever written, and has sold 45 million copies. Peter Rabbit himself has become a British icon.

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            ‘Treasure Island’ is the story of Jim Hawkins, a boy who finds a map which leads to the buried treasure of the notorious pirate Captain Flint. Jim takes the map to two wealthy local men, Dr. Livesey, and Squire Trelawney, who buy a ship, hire a crew, and set sail in search of the treasure. However, most of the crew turns out to be pirates who once served under Captain Flint, led by Long John Silver, a one-legged man who constantly keeps his pet parrot on his shoulder. The pirates plan to murder those who oppose them, and to keep the treasure for themselves.

            Most of the book is narrated in the first person by Jim Hawkins.

            ‘Treasure Island’ is a children’s historical adventure novel of thirty-six chapters by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It was originally serialized in the magazine Young Folks between 1881 and 1882, Stevenson wrote it under the pseudonym Captain George North. the story was first published in book form in 1883.

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             Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old boy. As he travels by a plane to visit his father in the oil fields, the pilot suffers a massive heart attack, and dies. Brian tries to land the plane, but ends up crash-landing into a lake in the forest. He must learn to survive on his own, with nothing but his hatchet—a gift his mother gave him shortly before his plane departed.

               Throughout the summer, Brian learns how to survive in the vast wilderness with only his hatchet. He discovers how to make fire with the hatchet, and he eats whatever food he can find. He deals with various threats of nature, including wolves, mosquitoes, and even a tornado. Over time, Brian develops his survival skills and becomes a fine woodsman.

               Later, he finds a transmitter, but not knowing how to use it, he thinks it is damaged and throws it aside. Finally however, he is rescued.

               ‘Hatchet’ is a 1987 Newbery Honour-winning novel written by American author Gary Paulsen. It is the first novel of five in the Hatchet series.

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               The story in this book opens in the year 1866. Everyone in Europe and America is talking about a mysterious creature that has been sinking ships. Finally, the government decides to intervene and commissions a ship named The Abraham Lincoln to capture and identify the creature.

               On board the ship are Pierre Aronnax, a renowned scientist along with his manservant, Conseil, and Ned Land the king of harpooners. The search ship was attacked by the creature. The three men find themselves on top of the mysterious creature, which is actually a submarine vessel. They are taken on board and placed in a cell. The men meet Captain Nemo, who in order to escape repression in his homeland, built a submarine called The Nautilus and roams freely through the world’s oceans in it. The ‘twenty thousand leagues’ in the title refers to the distance travelled; six times the diameter of the Earth.

               ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ is a science fiction children’s book written by Jules Verne. It was first published in 1870. The novel was first published in English in 1872, in an abbreviated translation by Lewis Page Mercier, a British clergyman.

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               Little Otto’s mother died during childbirth, and his father, a warlord, left him in a monastery for a proper and safe upbringing. Otto’s father returns for him when he is an older boy, at which time Otto discovers the truth about his father’s past, particularly about his part in the murder of Baron Frederick. As a result of a feud, Otto was captured by his father’s enemies and they cut off his right hand. Later, Otto’s father returns and rescues him with the help of a few remaining loyal followers. However, he dies during the fight. Otto flees to the monastery where he grew up, and is given refuge there. Later, he becomes a statesman.

               ‘Otto of the Silver Hand’ is a children’s thriller book written and illustrated by Howard Pyle.

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               Do you want to get lost in a time when there were no cars to get you around, and real help came from majestic horses? Well, ‘Black Beauty’ will take you there.

               ‘Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse’ is a popular children’s novel by the British author Anna Sewell. It was first published in 1877, and became an immediate success. The novel has been widely translated.

               The novel’s title character is the horse Black Beauty. The story is told from the point of view of Black Beauty, who lives in 19th century England. Over the course of the book, Black Beauty has a series of owners and caretakers, some good and some bad. Although he experiences many hardships, the gentle and intelligent Black Beauty remembers his mother’s wise advice, and always gives his best. The story was written before the invention of automobiles when society depended on horses for nearly everything.

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               ‘Harriet the Spy’ is a 1964 book by Louise Fitzhugh about a girl named Harriet who likes to spy on people. The book is considered as a classic.

               The title character of the book is Harriet, a precocious eleven-year-old who writes down everything because she wants to be a writer when she grows up. She keeps a composition book with her at all times, writing down her observations, and general thoughts that pop into her mind. After school, she goes on her spy route. One thing about Harriet, though: she’s extremely secretive about the contents of her notebook. One day Harriet loses her notebook. Her classmates find it and are appalled at her brutally honest documentation of her opinions of them. They try to trouble Harriet. Thus the story goes.

               In the US, this is ranked number 12 as the best children’s book, and number 17 all time children’s book on two lists generated in 2012. Fitzhugh wrote two sequels to the book- ‘The Long Secret’ and ‘Sport’.

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          Roald Dahl’s ‘James and the Giant Peach’ tells the tale of a young boy called James, who is packed off to live with his two really horrible aunts after his parents were killed by a rhinoceros that escaped from London Zoo. The aunts Spiker and Sponge, who treat him like a slave, keep him in the attic, and only feed him fish heads.

          One afternoon, when he is crying in the woods, James stumbles across a friendly wizard, who mysteriously understands his situation, and gives him some magic crystals that he promises will bring happiness.

          On the way back to the house, James spills the crystals onto a peach tree, which grows a peach of a giant size. When entering into the peach James has a wild and surreal cross-world adventure with seven magically-altered garden bugs he meets. They set off on a journey to escape from James’ two mean and cruel aunts. The adventures of James thus begin.

          The book ‘James and the Giant Peach’ was a great success. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1996.

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               ‘Goodnight Moon’ is an American children’s novel written by Margaret Wise Brown, and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It is a classic children’s book in the form of a simple picture book which shows a small bunny getting ready for bed. It first lists the items in the bunny’s nursery, and then, he says goodnight to each in turn. By the end of the story, the bunny is asleep in the darkened nursery.

               It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story. ‘Goodnight Moon’ has sold more than 48 million copies since it was first published.

               Many parents around the world have read the book to their sleepy children. This book is the second in Brown and Hurd’s “classic series”, which also include ‘The Runaway Bunny’ and ‘My World’.

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              This wonderful story book, published by Harper in 1972, with illustrations by John Schoenherr is set on the Alaska North Slope. It features Julie or Miyax. She is a young Eskimo girl.

               After Julie’s mother’s death, she is raised by her father, Kapugen. Later, Julie is sent to live with Aunt Martha, a distant and cold woman. She attempts to escape from there, and ends up getting lost on the Arctic tundra.

               She runs into a pack of wolves, and rather than devouring her, she is adopted by them. The book deals with her struggle to learn how to communicate with wolves, and her reasons for leaving.

               ‘Julie of the Wolves’ was written by Jean Craighead George in 1972, and two sequels, ‘Julie’ and ‘Julie’s Wolf Pack’, followed. The novel ‘Julie of the Wolves’ is undoubtedly one of the all-time favourite books of children.

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