Books for English as a Second Language Students and Others: Historical Fiction
Books in the ESL Collection, located at the Worthington Atlantic City library and in our Ebook Collections.
Found Something to Read? Here's How to Get It!
All books listed in this guide are either available in print on the ESL shelves in the Atlantic City Worthington Center Library at Atlantic Cape, or in the library's eBook collections from the vendor Ebsco. Look at the book's call number to determine where the books are.
Books with call numbers that start out with the location AC ESL can be found in the library. Copy the call number, or click on the link to see the catalog record for the book.
Books with a call number that starts out with the word EBSCO are digital. Click on the link to open the record for the book, then click on the link to the full text to begin reading.
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Count of Monte Cristo
by
Set against the turbulent years of the Napoleonic era, Alexandre Dumas's thrilling adventure story is one of the most widely read romantic novels of all time. In it the dashing young hero, Edmond Dant's, is betrayed by his enemies and thrown into a secret dungeon in the Chateau d'If- doomed to spend his life in a dank prison cell. The story of his long, intolerable years in captivity, his miraculous escape, and his carefully wrought revenge creates a dramatic tale of mystery and intrigue and paints a vision of France- a dazzling, dueling, exuberant France- that has become immortal.
Call Number: AC ESL PQ 2226 .A32 2003ISBN: 9780553213508Publication Date: 1984-12-01 Lexile 930 -
Count of Monte Cristo
by
One of the most exciting and best-loved novels of all time, The Count of Monte Cristo is a timeless tale of endurance, courage, and revenge. Falsely accused of treason, the young sailor Edmond Dant#65533;s is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned on an island fortress. After years of solitary confinement in a cramped, dank dungeon, he befriends an Italian prisoner who, with his dying breath, reveals the location of a vast treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. Dant#65533;s stages a daring and dramatic escape, retrieves this fabulous fortune, and returns to France to exact revenge on his enemies, posing as the Count of Monte Cristo. Dant#65533;s pursues his vengeance to the bitter end, only then realizing that he himself is a victim of fate. This newly revised, unabridged translation is as unputdownable now as it was when the novel first appeared. It thoroughly updates the classic translation based on the original serialization and includes a new bibliography and revised notes, plus a lively introduction by David Coward, a prize-winning translator and editor of nine Dumas novels. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780199219650Publication Date: 2008-05-11 Lexile 930 -
Ivanhoe
by
IVANHOE (1819) was the first of Scott's novels to adopt a purely English subject and was also his first attempt to combine history and romance, which later influenced Victorian medievalism. Set at the time of the Norman Conquest, Ivanhoe returns from the Crusades to claim his inheritance and the love of Rowena and becomes involved in the struggle between Richard Coeur de Lion and his Norman brother John. The gripping narrative is structured by a series of conflicts- Saxon versus Norman, Christian versus Jew, men versus women, played out against Scott's unflinching moral realism.
Call Number: AC ESL PR5318.A2 T85 2000ISBN: 9780140436587Publication Date: 2000-10-01 Lexile 1410 -
Ivanhoe
by
The first of Scott's Waverley novels burst upon an astonished world in 1814. Its publication marked the emergence of the modern novel in the western world, influencing all the great nineteenth-century writers. This handsome new edition of Sir Walter Scott's novels captures the original power and freshness of his best-loved novels.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780748605736Publication Date: 1997-12-01 Lexile 1210 -
House Divided
by
A House Divided, the third volume of the trilogy that began with The Good Earth and Sons, is a powerful portrayal of China in the midst of revolution. Wang Yuan is caught between the opposing ideas of different generations. After 6 years abroad, Yuan returns to China in the middle of a peasant uprising. His cousin is a captain in the revolutionary army, his sister has scandalized the family by her premarital pregnancy, and his warlord father continues to cling to his traditional ideals. It is through Yuan's efforts that a kind of peace is restored to the family.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3503.U198 H68 2012ISBN: 9781559210348Publication Date: 2006-01-01 Lexile 1380 -
Rabble in Arms
by
The second of Roberts's epic novels of the American Revolution, Rabble in Arms was hailed by one critic as the greatest historical novel written about America upon its publication in 1933. Love, treachery, ambition, and idealism motivate an unforgettable cast of characters in a magnificent novel renowned not only for the beauty and horror of its story but also for its historical accuracy.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3535.O176 R33 1996ISBN: 9780892723867Publication Date: 1996-01-01 -
Arundel
by
One of the greatest American historical novels follows young patriot Steven Nason from his blissful pre-Revolutionary life in the town of Arundel to his involvement with Benedict Arnold's ill-fated 1775 march on Quebec. Filled with vivid details of American colonial life, Arundel is at once a vindication of the oft-maligned Arnold & an enthralling story of one young man's coming of age. "One of the best of all novels of the Revolution, & one which will rank with anything ever written about that period." - Detroit News
Call Number: AC ESL PS3535.O176 A8 1995ISBN: 9780892723645Publication Date: 1995-01-01 -
Johnny Tremain
by
Get your A in gear They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes(TM) has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles. SparkNotes'(TM) motto is Smarter, Better, Faster because: - They feature the most current ideas and themes, written by experts. - They're easier to understand, because the same people who use them have also written them. - The clear writing style and edited content enables students to read through the material quickly, saving valuable time. And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else
Call Number: AC ESL PZ7 .F749 2004ISBN: 9780786270668Publication Date: 2004-12-01 Lexile 840 -
Suite Francaise
by
Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940, Suite Française tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy--in their town, their homes, even in their hearts. When Irène Némirovsky began working on Suite Française, she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she died. For sixty-four years, this novel remained hidden and unknown.
Call Number: AC ESL PQ2627.E4 S8513 2007ISBN: 9781400096275Publication Date: 2007-04-10 -
Separate Peace
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Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read. An American classic and great bestseller for over thirty years, A Separate Peace is timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to World War II. Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3561.N68 S4 1987ISBN: 9780684833668Publication Date: 1996-10-01 Lexile 1030 -
Cannery Row
by
Steinbeck's tough yet charming portrait of people on the margins of society, dependant on one another for both physical and emotional survival Unburdened by the material necessities of the more fortunate, the denizens of Cannery Row discover rewards unknown in more traditional society. Henry the painter sorts through junk lots for pieces of wood to incorporate into the boat he is building, while the girls from Dora Flood's bordello venture out now and then to enjoy a bit of sunshine. Lee Chong stocks his grocery with almost anything a man could want, and Doc, a young marine biologist who ministers to sick puppies and unhappy souls, unexpectedly finds true love. Cannery Row is just a few blocks long, but the story it harbors is suffused with warmth, understanding, and a great fund of human values. First published in 1945, Cannery Row focuses on the acceptance of life as it is--both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. John Steinbeck draws on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, and interweaves their stories in this world where only the fittest survive--creating what is at once one of his most humorous and poignant works. In Cannery Row, John Steinbeck returns to the setting of Tortilla Flat to create another evocative portrait of life as it is lived by those who unabashedly put the highest value on the intangibles--human warmth, camaraderie, and love. This Steinbeck Centennial Edition features French flaps and deckled pages. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3537.T3234 C3 2002ISBN: 9780142000687Publication Date: 2002-02-05 Lexile 930 -
Ox-Bow Incident
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Set in 1885, The Ox-Bow Incident is a searing and realistic portrait of frontier life and mob violence in the American West. First published in 1940, it focuses on the lynching of three innocent men and the tragedy that ensues when law and order are abandoned. The result is an emotionally powerful, vivid, and unforgettable re-creation of the Western novel, which Clark transmuted into a universal story about good and evil, individual and community, justice and human nature. As Wallace Stegner writes, Clark's theme was civilization, and he recorded, indelibly, its first steps in a new country.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3505.L376 O9 2004ISBN: 9780812972580Publication Date: 2004-04-27 Lexile 890 -
Crucible
by
A haunting examination of groupthink and mass hysteria in a rural community A Penguin Classic "I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history," Arthur Miller wrote in an introduction to The Crucible, his classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller's drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence. Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing: "Political opposition...is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence." For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3525.I5156 C9 2003ISBN: 9780142437339Publication Date: 2003-03-25 -
The Chosen
by
"Anyone who finds it is finding a jewel. Its themes are profound and universal."--The Wall Street Journal It is the now-classic story of two fathers and two sons and the pressures on all of them to pursue the religion they share in the way that is best suited to each. And as the boys grow into young men, they discover in the other a lost spiritual brother, and a link to an unexplored world that neither had ever considered before. In effect, they exchange places, and find the peace that neither will ever retreat from again. . . .
Call Number: AC ESL PS3566.O69 C54 2003ISBN: 9780449911549Publication Date: 1996-08-27 Lexile 900 -
Inherit the Wind
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A classic work of American theatre, based on the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, which pitted Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan in defense of a schoolteacher accused of teaching the theory of evolution The accused was a slight, frightened man who had deliberately broken the law. His trial was a Roman circus. The chief gladiators were two great legal giants of the century. Like two bull elephants locked in mortal combat, they bellowed and roared imprecations and abuse. The spectators sat uneasily in the sweltering heat with murder in their hearts, barely able to restrain themselves. At stake was the freedom of every American. One of the most moving and meaningful plays of our generation. Praise for Inherit the Wind "A tidal wave of a drama."--New York World-Telegram And Sun "Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee were classic Broadway scribes who knew how to crank out serious plays for thinking Americans. . . . Inherit the Wind is a perpetually prescient courtroom battle over the legality of teaching evolution. . . . We're still arguing this case-all the way to the White House."--Chicago Tribune "Powerful . . . a crackling good courtroom play . . . [that] provides two of the juiciest roles in American theater."--Copley News Service "[This] historical drama . . . deserves respect."--The Columbus Dispatch
Call Number: AC ESL PS3523.A934 I6 2007ISBN: 9780345501035Publication Date: 2007-03-20 -
Grapes of Wrath
by
The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized--and sometimes outraged--millions of readers. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read A Penguin Classic First published in 1939, Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads--driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man's fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman's stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck's powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics. This Penguin Classics edition contains an introduction and notes by Steinbeck scholar Robert Demott. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3537.T3234 G8 2006ISBN: 9780143039433Publication Date: 2006-03-28 Lexile 680 -
Things Fall Apart
by
"A true classic of world literature . . . A masterpiece that has inspired generations of writers in Nigeria, across Africa, and around the world." --Barack Obama "African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works of Chinua Achebe." --Toni Morrison Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read Things Fall Apart is the first of three novels in Chinua Achebe's critically acclaimed African Trilogy. It is a classic narrative about Africa's cataclysmic encounter with Europe as it establishes a colonial presence on the continent. Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man's futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political andreligious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order. With more than 20 million copies sold and translated into fifty-seven languages, Things Fall Apart provides one of the most illuminating and permanent monuments to African experience. Achebe does not only capture life in a pre-colonial African village, he conveys the tragedy of the loss of that world while broadening our understanding of our contemporary realities.
Call Number: AC ESL PR9387.9.A3 T5 1994ISBN: 9780385474542Publication Date: 1994-09-01 Lexile 890 -
Poisonwood Bible
by
"A powerful new epic . . . [Kingsolver] has with infinitely steady hands worked the prickly threads of religion, politics, race, sin and redemption into a thing of terrible beauty." --Los Angeles Times Book Review The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it--from garden seeds to Scripture--is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa. The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, this ambitious novel establishes Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3561.I496 P65 1998ISBN: 9780060175405Publication Date: 1998-10-07 -
Fine Balance
by
With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India. The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future. As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state.
Call Number: AC ESL PR9199.3.M494 F56 1997ISBN: 9781400030651Publication Date: 2001-11-30 -
Out of the Dust
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Acclaimed author Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal-winning novel-in-verse explores the life of fourteen-year-old Billie Jo growing up in the dust bowls of Oklahoma."Dust piles up like snow across the prairie. . . ."A terrible accident has transformed Billie Jo's life, scarring her inside and out. Her mother is gone. Her father can't talk about it. And the one thing that might make her feel better -- playing the piano -- is impossible with her wounded hands.To make matters worse, dust storms are devastating the family farm and all the farms nearby. While others flee from the dust bowl, Billie Jo is left to find peace in the bleak landscape of Oklahoma -- and in the surprising landscape of her own heart.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3558.E79 O98 1997ISBN: 9780590360807Publication Date: 1997-10-01 -
Passing
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Larsen's status as a Harlem Renaissance woman writer was rivaled by only Zora Neale Hurston's. This Norton Critical Edition of her electrifying 1929 novel includes Carla Kaplan's detailed and thought-provoking introduction, thorough explanatory annotations, and a Note on the Text.An unusually rich "Background and Contexts" section connects the novel to the historical events of the day, most notably the sensational Rhinelander/Jones case of 1925. Fourteen contemporary reviews are reprinted, including those by Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Mary Griffin, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Published accounts from 1911 to 1935--by Langston Hughes, Juanita Ellsworth, and Caleb Johnson, among others--provide a nuanced view of the contemporary cultural dimensions of race and passing, both in America and abroad. Also included are Larsen's statements on the novel and on passing, as well as a generous selection of her letters and her central writings on "The Tragic Mulatto(a)" in American literature. Additional perspective is provided by related Harlem Renaissance works."Criticism" provides fifteen diverse critical interpretations, including those by Mary Helen Washington, Cheryl A. Wall, Deborah E. McDowell, David L. Blackmore, Kate Baldwin, and Catherine Rottenberg.A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3523.A7225 P37 2007ISBN: 9780393979169Publication Date: 2007-09-04 -
Passing
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Restless Classics presents the ninetieth anniversary edition of an undersung gem of the Harlem Renaissance: Nella Larsen's Passing, a captivating and prescient exploration of identity, sexuality, self-invention, class, and race set amidst the pealing boisterousness of the Jazz Age. When childhood friends Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry cross paths at a whites-only restaurant, it's been decades since they last met. Married to a bigoted white man who has no idea that she is African American, Clare has fully embraced her ability to "pass" as a white woman. Irene, also light-skinned and living in Harlem, is shocked by Clare's rejection of her heritage, though she too passes when it suits her needs. This encounter sparks an intense relationship between the two women who, as acclaimed critic and novelist Darryl Pinckney writes in his insightful introduction, reflect Larsen's own experience of being "between black and white, and culturally at home nowhere." In a culture intent on setting boundaries, Clare and Irene refuse to adhere to expectations of gender, race, or class, culminating in a tragic clash of identities, as their relationship swings between emotional hostility and intense attraction.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781632062024Publication Date: 2018-10-16 -
Anne of Green Gables
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Anne of Green Gables has been one of the world's most charming coming-of-age stories for more than a century. Best-selling Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published the first book in her charming series in 1908, making it a literary favorite for more than a hundred years. Published as a children's novel, the story of Anne Shirley, an orphan, was inspired by the author's childhood adventures on rural Prince Edward Island. It follows Anne's journey as she moves to a farm on Prince Edward Island to live with a middle-aged brother and sister who had intended to adopt a boy to help them with farming chores. The story follows Anne as she makes a home and comes of age on the island. This chic and inexpensive edition comes with a heat-burnished cover, foil stamping, luxurious endpapers, and a smaller trim size that's easy to hold. The widely popular novel has sold more than 50 million copies and has been translated into more than twenty languages since its first publication. About the Word Cloud Classics series: Classic works of literature with a clean, modern aesthetic! Perfect for both old and new literature fans, the Word Cloud Classics series from Canterbury Classics provides a chic and inexpensive introduction to timeless tales. With a higher production value, including heat burnished covers and foil stamping, these eye-catching, easy-to-hold editions are the perfect gift for students and fans of literature everywhere.
Call Number: AC ESL PZ7 .M768 2013ISBN: 9781607107286Publication Date: 2013-04-01 Lexile 990 -
Anne of Green Gables
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Anne of Green Gables has been one of the world's most charming coming-of-age stories for more than a century. Best-selling Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published the first book in her charming series in 1908, making it a literary favorite for more than a hundred years. Published as a children's novel, the story of Anne Shirley, an orphan, was inspired by the author's childhood adventures on rural Prince Edward Island. It follows Anne's journey as she moves to a farm on Prince Edward Island to live with a middle-aged brother and sister who had intended to adopt a boy to help them with farming chores. The story follows Anne as she makes a home and comes of age on the island. This chic and inexpensive edition comes with a heat-burnished cover, foil stamping, luxurious endpapers, and a smaller trim size that's easy to hold. The widely popular novel has sold more than 50 million copies and has been translated into more than twenty languages since its first publication. About the Word Cloud Classics series: Classic works of literature with a clean, modern aesthetic! Perfect for both old and new literature fans, the Word Cloud Classics series from Canterbury Classics provides a chic and inexpensive introduction to timeless tales. With a higher production value, including heat burnished covers and foil stamping, these eye-catching, easy-to-hold editions are the perfect gift for students and fans of literature everywhere.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781607107286Publication Date: 2013-04-01 Lexile 990
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Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
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New York Times Bestseller Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is an enchanting tale that captures the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening. An immediate international bestseller, it tells the story of two hapless city boys exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. There the two friends meet the daughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation. As they flirt with the seamstress and secretly devour these banned works, the two friends find transit from their grim surroundings to worlds they never imagined.
Call Number: AC ESL PQ2664.A44 B351 2002ISBN: 9780385722209Publication Date: 2002-10-29 -
Awakening
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Kate Chopin's riveting, daring story of one woman's search for personal freedom was so far ahead of its time that its publication in 1899 aroused a storm of controversy violent enough to end its author's career. With an effortless, sure-handed artistry, Chopin tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young mother and model wife, whose romantic involvement with a young man during a vacation at a seaside resort allows her for the first time to imagine a new, freer life. Upon her return to New Orleans, Edna leaves her husband's home for her own cottage and begins an affair, only to discover that the constraints of social custom may be more powerful than she thought. Contemporary readers and reviewers were shocked by the frank, unapologetic treatment of adultery in The Awakening. The fact that we have the book at all is the most convincing tribute to its enduring, irrepressible power. Introduction by Elaine Showalter (Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)
Call Number: AC ESL PS1294.C63 A64 1992ISBN: 9780679417217Publication Date: 1992-11-03 Lexile 1030 -
Bad Boy
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A classic memoir that's gripping, funny, and ultimately unforgettable from the bestselling former National Ambassador of Books for Young People. A strong choice for summer reading--an engaging and powerful autobiographical exploration of growing up a so-called "bad boy" in Harlem in the 1940s. As a boy, Myers was quick-tempered and physically strong, always ready for a fight. He also read voraciously--he would check out books from the library and carry them home, hidden in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to be a writer (and he eventually succeeded). But as his hope for a successful future diminished, the values he had been taught at home, in school, and in his community seemed worthless, and he turned to the streets and to his books for comfort. Don't miss this memoir by New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers, one of the most important voices of our time.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3563.Y48 Z47 2002ISBN: 9780064472883Publication Date: 2020-05-12 Lexile 970 -
Caddie Woodlawn
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This Newbery Award winning book . . . has been reprinted with a charming reminiscence by the author about her grandmother Caddie . . . Told with style and grace and teamed with . . . fresh new illustrations, the story of Wisconsin frontier life in the 1860s will continue to attract readers today.--School Library Journal, starred review.
Call Number: AC ESL PZ7 .B78 2006ISBN: 9780689713705Publication Date: 1990-02-28 Lexile 890 -
Little House in the Big Woods:
by
Immerse yourself in Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved Little House series, now featuring Garth Williams' classic art in vibrant full-color! Little House in the Big Woods, the first book in the Little House series, takes place in 1871 and introduces us to four-year-old Laura, who lives in a log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. She shares the cabin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their lovable dog, Jack. Pioneer life isn't easy for the Ingalls family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But they make the best of every tough situation. They celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do their spring planting, bring in the harvest in the fall, and make their first trip into town. And every night, safe and warm in their little house, the sound of Pa's fiddle lulls Laura and her sisters into sleep. The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura's real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.
Call Number: AC ESL PZ7.W646 L5 2004ISBN: 9780060581800Publication Date: 2004-05-11 Lexile 930 -
Red Scarf Girl
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Publishers Weekly Best Book * ALA Best Book for Young Adults * ALA Notable Children's Book * ALA Booklist Editors' Choice In the tradition of The Diary of Anne Frank and I Am Malala, this is the incredible true story of one girl's courage and determination during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century. This edition includes a detailed glossary, pronunciation guide, discussion questions, and a Q&A with the author. It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want: brains, popularity, and a bright future in Communist China. But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution--and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. And when Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life. Written in an accessible and engaging style, this page-turning, honest, and deeply personal autobiography will appeal to readers of all ages.
Call Number: AC ESL DS 778.7 .J53 2008ISBN: 9780064462082Publication Date: 2018-01-30 Lexile 780 -
Turn of the Screw and Other Short Novels
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THE INSPIRATION FOR THE UPCOMING NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES, THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR By turns chilling, funny, tragic, and profound, this collection of six Henry James short novels allows readers to experience the full range of his skills and vision. The title story, "The Turn of the Screw," is a chilling masterpiece of psychological terror that mixes the phantoms of the mind with those of the supernatural. "Daisy Miller," the tale of a provincial American girl in Rome that established James's literary reputation, and "An International Episode" are superb examples of his focus on the clash between American and European values. And in "The Aspern Papers," "The Alter of the Dead," and "The Beast in the Jungle," the author's remarkable sense of irony, his love of plot twists, and his view of male-female relationships find exquisite expression. With an Introduction by Fred Kaplan
Call Number: AC ESL PS 2116 .T8 2007ISBN: 9780451530677Publication Date: 2007-09-04 Lexile 1140 -
Turn of the Screw
by
The Turn of the Screw is s ghostly Gothic tale by Henry James. A masterpiece in ambivalence and the uncanny, The Turn of the Screw tells the story of a young woman who is hired as governess to two seemingly innocent children in an isolated country house. As the tale progresses she begins to see the ghost of her dead predecessor. Or does she? The story is so ambivalent and eerie, such a psychological thriller, that few can agree on exactly what takes place. James masters "the strange and sinister embroidered on the very type of the normal and easy" in this chilling Victorian classic.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775410737Publication Date: 2009-05-01 Lexile 1090 -
Call of the Wild
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The Call of the Wild is Jack London's most popular book and is considered by many to be his best. Telling the story of Buck, a domesticated dog whose wild instincts begin to kick-in while serving as a sled dog in the treacherous Yukon. The novel's tone is often dark, and despite being considered juvenile literature by some, it portrays much violence and cruelty. The Call of the Wild was followed in 1906 by White Fang with its mirroring plot of a wild wolf becoming domesticated by a miner.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775413448Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 1120 -
Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books
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A Christmas Carol has gripped the public imagination since it was first published in 1843, and it is now as much a part of the holiday season as is mistletoe or Santa's reindeer. Here is a wonderful collection of Dickens' Christmas stories, graced with many of the original drawings that appeared in the first edition. Pride of place goes to A Christmas Carol, of course, but the book also includes four other marvelous tales: The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man. All five stories show Dickens at his unpredictable best, jumbling together comedy and melodrama, genial romance and urgent social satire. The volume also features an excellent introduction by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, who offers invaluable background to the Christmas stories, illuminating the social questions they address, outlining their reception and the enduring popularity of "A Christmas Carol," and highlighting how their style and themes resonate in more complex ways in his major fictions. In addition, the book includes two appendices containing Dickens's article, "What Christmas Is As We Grow Older," and facsimile pages from Dickens's reading version of A Christmas Carol.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780192806949Publication Date: 2007-11-01 Lexile 900 -
Eight Cousins
by
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781781664827Publication Date: 2012-06-15 Lexile 1150 -
Great Expectations
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One of Dickens's finest novels, Great Expectations chronicles the fortunes of its young protagonist Pip as he is unexpectedly endowed by a mysterious benefactor with the life of a gentleman, enabling him to escape to London from the prospect of a humble blacksmith's career in rural Kent. In the bustling, unforgiving capital he must learn for himself the pitfalls of love and wealth, and how to sort his friends from his enemies. Through the lives of its unforgettable and iconic characters - such as Magwitch, Miss Havisham and Estella - Great Expectations charts the course of an England undergoing rapid social and economic change, and tells a tale that is among the foremost classics of the English language.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781847493811Publication Date: 2014-10-15 Lexile 1200 -
King Solomon's Mines
by
H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines tells of a group of adventurers journeying into unexplored Africa in order to find the missing brother of one of the party. The book became an immediate bestseller after publication in 1885. At the time large parts of Africa remained unexplored by Europeans and the book captured the imagination of the public.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775414049Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 1150 -
Man in the Iron Mask
by
The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is the final book in Dumas' d'Artagnon Romances trilogy. The book is in four parts, of which this is the fourth. According to French academic Jean-Yves Tadie, the real subject of the book is the beginning of King Louis XIV's rule.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775410218Publication Date: 2009-05-01 Lexile 950 -
Old-Fashioned Girl
by
First serialized in a magazine, this classic tale of a country-raised girl whose whole world is turned upside down when she is sent to live with her sophisticated, wealthy relatives is brimming with the charms that have made Alcott's work, including the novel Little Women, so abidingly popular. A must-read for fans of classic children's literature, young and old alike.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775419631Publication Date: 2010-10-01 Lexile 1290 -
O Pioneers!
by
O Pioneers!, Willa Cather's second novel, tells the story of an immigrant family's struggle to save their Nebraska farm. Cather's placement of a strong and capable woman at the center of the story, her realistic depiction of life on the midwestern prairie, and her vivid portrayal of the immigrant experience at the turn of the century make O Pioneers! a true American classic.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780192832160Publication Date: 1999-05-27 Lexile 930 -
Prisoner of Zenda
by
If historically tinged action-adventure is your genre of choice, hang on to your hat -- you're in for a wild ride. In The Prisoner of Zenda, Anthony Hope relates the misadventures that befall the soon-to-be-crowned king of the fictional country of Ruritania in the days leading up to his coronation. An English tourist who just happens to be a dead ringer for the king is called into service as a decoy, and a string of increasingly perilous scrapes follow.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775419693Publication Date: 2010-10-01 -
Red Badge of Courage
by
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title--offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords. This edition ofThe Red Badge of Courage includes an Introduction, Biographical Note, and Afterword by Joe Haldeman. Henry Fleming had no idea how horrible war really was. Attacks come from all sides, bullets fly, bombs crash. Men everywhere are wounded, bleeding, and dying. Now, Henry's fighting for his life and he's scared. He must make a decision, perhaps the most difficult decision he will ever make in his life: save himself-run from the enemy and desert his friends-or fight, be brave, and risk his life. If he stays to fight, he may die with his regiment. If he runs, he'll have to live with knowing he was a coward. Can Henry find the strength within himself to earn his red badge of courage?
Call Number: AC ESL Audiokit PS1449.C85 R3 1990ISBN: 0812504798Publication Date: 1990-11-15 Lexile 890 -
Red Badge of Courage
by
Stephen Crane's weirdly impressionistic The Red Badge of Courage is one of the first non-romantic novels of the Civil War?and the first non?romantic account to gain wide popularity. Paul Sorrentino introduces Red Badge to a new generation of readers for a fuller appreciation of the novel and its effects. He has selected as his text the first edition, published by D. Appleton & Co. in 1895.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780674033993Publication Date: 2009-04-15 Lexile 890 -
Sea-Wolf
by
Jack London's thrilling narrative of the seven seas remains just as gripping today as it was 100 years ago A classic tale of adventure at sea, this is the story of the naïve young Humphrey van Weyden, whose ship is wrecked in a terrible storm. He is rescued by the mysterious Captain Wolf Larsen of the ship Ghost. Humphrey's new life aboard Ghost will test him to the limits of his endurance but also bring him the greatest happiness he has ever known. Captain Wolf Larsen is a powerful, brutal man with a razor sharp intelligence. When there is an attempted mutiny on board he shows no mercy to the would-be mutineers, and when his brother Death Larsen attempts to take over the Ghost by force, there is no love lost between them in their vicious battle. Wolf's cruel manner is thrown into sharp relief by the gentle spirit of the beautiful poetess also rescued, Maud Brewster, who charms both Wolf and Humphrey. As Humphrey falls in love with Maud, he must contend not only with the dangers of being at sea but with competition from his cruel and scheming captain. This dramatic tale of mutiny and shipwreck is at its heart the story of a love that flourishes in the unlikeliest of places.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781843914709Publication Date: 2013-12-01 Lexile 1020 -
Sweeney Todd
by
The gruesome tale of the murderous barber of Fleet Street has thrilled readers for centuries. Whether or not Todd was a real person has been heavily debated, but the urban legend he spawned is still as horrifying and fascinating today.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781781667682.Publication Date: 2012-06-19 -
Young Goodman Brown and Other Stories
by
Described by Herman Melville as being "as deep as Dante", 'Young Goodman Brown' is set during the Salem witch trials and features the sort of narrative ambiguities and troubling uncertainties over the reality of events that Hawthorne was known for, leading readers to ponder what they have read long after the last page has been turned. Rich in allegory and symbolism, and suffused with darkness, tragedy, satire and the supernatural, the tales in this collection, written by a master of the short-story genre, delve into the conflict between good and evil, explore the concept of Original Sin and bring to life the moralistic and superstitious early days of the New England colonies.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781847496522Publication Date: 2018-08-23 Lexile 1130
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Jane Eyre
by
&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RJane Eyre&&L/I&&R, by &&LB&&RCharlotte Bronte&&L/B&&R, is part of the&&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&Rseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R: &&LDIV&&R New introductions commissioned from today''s top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader''s viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/I&&Rpulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader''s understanding of these enduring works.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&RImmediately recognized as a masterpiece when it was first published in 1847, &&LB&&RCharlotte Brontë&&L/B&&R''s &&LI&&RJane Eyre&&L/I&&R is an extraordinary coming-of-age story featuring one of the most independent and strong-willed female protagonists in all of literature. Poor and plain, Jane Eyre begins life as a lonely orphan in the household of her hateful aunt. Despite the oppression she endures at home, and the later torture of boarding school, Jane manages to emerge with her spirit and integrity unbroken. She becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she finds herself falling in love with her employer--the dark, impassioned Mr. Rochester. But an explosive secret tears apart their relationship, forcing Jane to face poverty and isolation once again. &&LP&&ROne of the world''s most beloved novels, &&LI&&RJane Eyre&&L/I&&R is a startlingly modern blend of passion, romance, mystery, and suspense. &&L/P&&R&&LP&&R&&LB&&RSusan Ostrov Weisser&&L/B&&R is a Professor of English at Adelphi University, where she specializes in nineteenth-century literature and women''s studies. Her research centers on women and romantic love in nineteenth-century literature, as well as on contemporary popular culture. Weisser also wrote the introduction to the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of &&LI&&RPersuasion&&L/I&&R. &&L/P&&R&&L/DIV&&R
Call Number: AC ESL PR 4167 .J3 2003ISBN: 9781593080075Publication Date: 2003-04-01 Lexile 840 -
Jane Eyre
by
Jane Eyre endures a harsh childhood as an orphan living first with her cruel aunt and later at a boarding school run by a callous headmaster. After completing school, Jane accepts a governess job taking care of a spirited young girl, and she secretly falls in love with her employer, the dark and brooding Mr. Rochester. But after he proposes, she discovers he has a secret with the power to destroy their relationship--and maybe even his life. Struggle, heartbreak, and redemption all play into this unabridged version of Charlotte Brontë's classic English novel, taken from the 1897 copyright edition and featuring original illustrations by F. H. Townsend.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781467732413Publication Date: 2014-01-03 Lexile 840 -
Northanger Abbey
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The earliest of her six major novels, NorthangerAbbey remained unpublished until after Jane Austen's death. A deliciously witty satire of popular Gothic romances, it is perhaps Austen's lightest, most delightful excursion into a young woman's world. Catherine Morland, an unlikely heroine--unlikely because she is so ordinary--forsakes her English village for the pleasures and perils of Bath. There, among a circle of Austen's wonderfully vain, dissembling, and fashionable characters, she meets a potential suitor, Henry Tilney. But with her imagination fueled by melodramatic novels, Catherine turns a visit to his home, Northanger Abbey, into a hunt for dark family secrets. The result is a series of hilarious social gaffes and harsh awakenings that for all of Austen's youthful exuberance nevertheless conveys her mature vision of literature and life--and the consequences of mistaking one for the other.
Call Number: AC ESL PR 4034 .N7 2007ISBN: 9780553211979Publication Date: 1999 Lexile 1120 -
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
by
Call Number: PR6011.O56 M7 1998ISBN: 9780316290609Publication Date: 1998-06-01 -
Tale of Two Cities
by
With his sublime parting words, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done..." Sidney Carton joins that exhalted group of Dickensian characters who have earned a permanent place in the popular literary imagination. His dramatic story, set against the volcanic fury of the French Revolution and pervaded by the ominous rumble of the death carts trundling toward the guillotine, is the heart-stirring tale of a heroic soul in an age gone mad. A masterful pageant of idealism, love, and adventure -- in a Paris bursting with revolutionary frenzy, and a London alive with anxious anticipation -- A TALE OF TWO CITIES is one of Dickens's most energetic and exciting works.
Call Number: AC ESL PR4571.A2 M39 2003ISBN: 9780553211764Publication Date: 1989-05-01 Lexile 1130 -
Tale of Two Cities
by
After rescuing her father from prison in Paris, Lucie Manette brings him back home to London. There, she is wooed by two similar-looking men: Charles Darney is a Frenchman recently acquitted of being a spy, while Sydney Carton is a drunken lawyer's assistant. Eventually, Lucie and Charles marry. Not long after the French Revolution begins, Charles is called back to Paris to help someone in prison. Unfortunately, Charles is the nephew of a cruel nobleman, and the revolutionaries sentence him to death for his uncle's crimes. Sydney's love for Lucie may be the only thing that can save Charles's life. This unabridged version of Charles Dickens's classic tale, first published in England in 1859, explores the best and worst in human nature.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781467768290Publication Date: 2014-08-01 Lexile 1130 -
Scaramouche
by
Once he was Andre-Louis Moreau, a lawyer raised by nobility, unconcerned with the growing discontent among France's lower class - until his best friend was mercilessly struck down by a member of the aristocracy. Now, he is Scaramouche. Speaking out against the unjust French government, he takes refuge with a nomadic band of acting improvisers and assumes the role of the clown Scaramouche - a comic figure with a very serious message... Set during the French Revolution, this novel of swashbuckling romance is also a thought-provoking commentary on class, inequality, and the individual's role in society - a story that has become Rafael Sabatini's enduring legacy.
Call Number: AC ESL PR6037.A2 S35 2001ISBN: 9780451527974Publication Date: 2001-06-01 -
Cold Mountain
by
In 1997, Charles Frazier’s debut novel Cold Mountain made publishing history when it sailed to the top of The New York Times best-seller list for sixty-one weeks, won numerous literary awards, including the National Book Award, and went on to sell over three million copies. Now, the beloved American epic returns, reissued by Grove Press to coincide with the publication of Frazier’s eagerly-anticipated second novel, Thirteen Moons. Sorely wounded and fatally disillusioned in the fighting at Petersburg, a Confederate soldier named Inman decides to walk back to his home in the Blue Ridge mountains to Ada, the woman he loves. His trek across the disintegrating South brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign. At the same time, the intrepid Ada is trying to revive her father’s derelict farm and learning to survive in a world where the old certainties have been swept away. As it interweaves their stories, Cold Mountain asserts itself as an authentic odyssey, hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3556.R3599 C6 1997ISBN: 9780802142849Publication Date: 2006-08-31 Lexile 1140 -
Innocents Abroad
by
The Innocents Abroad sold over 70,000 copies in its first year and remained the bestselling of Twain's works throughout his lifetime. This classic records Twain's keen wit and amusing observations during his trip through Europe and the Holy Land in 1867. This edition also includes all of the original work's charming illustrations. 234 black-and-white illustrations.
Call Number: AC ESL PS 1312 .A1 2003ISBN: 9780486428321Publication Date: 2003-08-11 -
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by
Winner of the Newbery Medal, this remarkably moving novel has impressed the hearts and minds of millions of readers. Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And it is also Cassie's story--Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of dignity and self-respect. * "[A] vivid story.... Entirely through its own internal development, the novel shows the rich inner rewards of black pride, love, and independence."--Booklist, starred review
Call Number: AC ESL PS3570.A94 R6 2004ISBN: 9780142401125Publication Date: 2004-04-12 Lexile 920 -
Rebecca
by
Now a Netflix film starring Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas "Last Night I Dreamt I went to Manderley Again..." With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten--a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife--the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca. This special edition of Rebecca includes excerpts from Daphne du Maurier's The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories, an essay on the real Manderley, du Maurier's original epilogue to the book, and more. A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick
Call Number: AC ESL PR6007.U47 R4 2006ISBN: 9780380730407Publication Date: 2006-09-05 Lexile 880 -
Oliver Twist
by
The story of the orphan Oliver, who runs away from the workhouse only to be taken in by a den of thieves, shocked readers when it was first published. Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. The story of the orphan Oliver, who runs away from the workhouse only to be taken in by a den of thieves, shocked readers when it was first published. Dickens's tale of childhood innocence beset by evil depicts the dark criminal underworld of a London peopled by vivid and memorable characters - the arch-villain Fagin, the artful Dodger, the menacing Bill Sikes and the prostitute Nancy. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely newkind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery.
Call Number: AC ESL PR4567.A2 H67 2009ISBN: 9780141192499Publication Date: 2010-09-28 Lexile 1060 -
Oliver Twist
by
Oliver Twist is a classic tale of a boy of unknown parentage born in a workhouse and brought up under the cruel conditions to which pauper children were exposed in the Victorian England. With this novel, Dickens did not merely write a topical satire on the workhouse system and the role of the 1834 New Poor Law in fostering criminality. He created a moral fable about the survival of good, a romance, and a gripping story in which he exploited suspense and violence more effectively than any of his contemporaries. The new Oxford World's Classics edition of Oliver Twist is based on the authoritative Clarendon edition, which uses Dickens's revised text of 1846. It includes his preface of 1841 in which he defended himself against hostile criticism, and includes all twenty-four original illustrations by George Cruikshank. Stephen Gill's groundbreaking introduction gives a fascinating new account of the novel. He also provides appendices on Dickens and Cruikshank, on Dickens's Preface and the Newgate Novel Controversy, on Oliver Twist and the New Poor Law and on thieves' slang.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780192833396Publication Date: 1999-10-28 Lexile 1060 -
Promise
by
In a passionate, energetic narrative, The Promise brilliantly dramatizes what it is to master and use knowledge to make one's own way in the world. Reuven Malter lives in Brooklyn, he's in love, and he's studying to be a rabbi. He also keeps challenging the strict interpretations of his teachers, and if he keeps it up, his dream of becoming a rabbi may die. One day, worried about a disturbed, unhappy boy named Michael, Reuven takes him sailing and cloud-watching. Reuven also introduces him to an old friend, Danny Saunders--now a psychologist with a growing reputation. Reconnected by their shared concern for Michael, Reuven and Danny each learns what it is to take on life--whether sacred truths or a troubled child--according to his own lights, not just established authority.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3566.O69 P7 2005ISBN: 9781400095414Publication Date: 2005-11-08 -
Treasure Island
by
Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work. Climb aboard for the swashbuckling adventure of a lifetime. Treasure Island has enthralled (and caused slight seasickness) for decades. The names Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins are destined to remain pieces of folklore for as long as children want to read Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous book. With its dastardly plot and motley crew of rogues and villains, it seems unlikely that children will ever say no to this timeless classic. Enriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author's personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research. Read with confidence.
Call Number: AC ESL PZ 7 .S8482 2005ISBN: 9781416500292Publication Date: 2005-06-01 Lexile 1070 -
Treasure Island
by
Jim Hawkins thinks his life is rather dull...until he discovers a treasure map belonging to the infamous pirate Captain Flint. Jim sets off with a crew to search for the buried gold. But not all of the crew members have the best of intentions, and Jim soon finds himself in the middle of a battle between honest men, mutineers, and pirates. This quintessential adventure story by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson was first published in book form in 1883. This unabridged edition includes illustrations by English-born American artist Louis Rhead, which were first published in 1915.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781467778220Publication Date: 2015-01-01 Lexile 1070 -
Prince and the Pauper
by
Tom Canty and Edward Tudor could have been identical twins. Their birthdays match, their faces match, but there the likeness stops. For Edward is a prince, heir to King Henry VIII, whilst Tom is a miserable pauper. But when fate intervenes, Edward is thrown out of the palace in rags, leaving ignorant Tom to play the part of a royal prince. Even those who have never read the novel will be familiar with Twain's classic tale of mistaken identity- at once an adventure story and a fantasy of timeless appeal.
Call Number: AC ESL PS 1316 .A1 1997ISBN: 9780140436693Publication Date: 1997-12-01 Lexile 1170 -
Prince and the Pauper
by
"What am I writing? A historical tale of 300 years ago, simply for the love of it." Mark Twain's "tale" became his first historical novel, The Prince and the Pauper, published in 1881. Intricately plotted, it was intended to have the feel of history even though it was only the stuff of legend. In sixteenth-century England, young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and Tom Canty, a pauper boy who looks exactly like him, are suddenly forced to change places. The prince endures "rags & hardships" while the pauper suffers the "horrible miseries of princedom." Mark Twain called his book a "tale for young people of all ages," and it has become a classic of American literature. The first edition in 1881 was fully illustrated by Frank Merrill, John Harley, and L. S. Ipsen. The boys in these illustrations, Mark Twain said, "look and dress exactly as I used to see them cast in my mind. . . . It is a vast pleasure to see them cast in the flesh, so to speak." This Mark Twain Library edition exactly reproduces the text of the California scholarly edition, including all of the 192 illustrations that so pleased the author.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780520270015Publication Date: 2011-04-05 Lexile 1170 -
Catch-22
by
Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a new term to the dictionary. At the heart of Catch-22 resides the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero endlessly inventive in his schemes to save his skin from the horrible chances of war. His efforts are perfectly understandable because as he furiously scrambles, thousands of people he hasn't even met are trying to kill him. His problem is Colonel Cathcart, who keeps raising the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempts to excuse himself from the perilous missions that he is committed to flying, he is trapped by the Great Loyalty Oath Crusade, the hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule from which the book takes its title: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes the necessary formal request to be relieved of such missions, the very act of making the request proves that he is sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. Catch-22 is a microcosm of the twentieth-century world as it might look to some one dangerously sane -- a masterpiece of our time.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3558.E476 C3 2004ISBN: 9780684833392Publication Date: 1996-09-04 Lexile 1140 -
July's People
by
A startling, imaginative novel from the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature For years, it had been what is called a "deteriorating situation." Now all over South Africa the cities are battlegrounds. The members of the Smales family--liberal whites--are rescued from the terror by their servant, July, who leads them to refuge in his village. What happens to the Smaleses and to July--the shifts in character and relationships--gives us an unforgettable look into the terrifying, tacit understandings and misunderstandings between blacks and whites. "So flawlessly written that every one of its events seems chillingly, ominously possible."--Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review
Call Number: AC ESL PR9369.3.G6 J8 1982ISBN: 9780140061406Publication Date: 1982-07-29 Lexile 970 -
Caucasia
by
Birdie and Cole are the daughters of a black father and a white mother, intellectuals and activists in the Civil Rights Movement in 1970s Boston. The sisters are so close that they have created a private language, yet to the outside world they can't be sisters: Birdie appears to be white, while Cole is dark enough to fit in with the other kids at the Afrocentric school they attend. For Birdie, Cole is the mirror in which she can see her own blackness.Then their parents' marriage falls apart. Their father's new black girlfriend won't even look at Birdie, while their mother gives her life over to the Movement: at night the sisters watch mysterious men arrive with bundles shaped like rifles.One night Birdie watches her father and his girlfriend drive away with Cole-they have gone to Brazil, she will later learn, where her father hopes for a racial equality he will never find in the States. The next morning-in the belief that the Feds are after them-Birdie and her mother leave everything behind: their house and possessions, their friends, and-most disturbing of all-their identity. Passing as the daughter and wife of a deceased Jewish professor, Birdie and her mother finally make their home in New Hampshire. Desperate to find Cole, yet afraid of betraying her mother and herself to some unknown danger, Birdie must learn to navigate the white world-so that when she sets off in search of her sister, she is ready for what she will find.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3569.E618 C3 1998ISBN: 9781573220910Publication Date: 1998-02-02 -
Picture Bride
by
Carrying a photograph of the man she is to marry but has yet to meet, young Hana Omiya arrives in San Francisco, California, in 1917, one of several hundred Japanese "picture brides" whose arranged marriages brought them to America in the early 1900s. Her story is intertwined with others: her husband, Taro Takeda, an Oakland shopkeeper; Kiku and her husband Henry, who reject demeaning city work to become farmers; Dr. Kaneda, a respected community leader who is destroyed by the adopted land he loves. All are caught up in the cruel turmoil of World War II, when West Coast Japanese Americans are uprooted from their homes and imprisoned in desert detention camps. Although tragedy strikes each of them, the same strength that brought her to America enable Hana to survive.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3571.C247 P5 1997ISBN: 9780295976167Publication Date: 2003-12-01 Lexile 910 -
Midaq Alley
by
Call Number: AC ESL PJ7846.A46 Z4813 1992ISBN: 9780385264754Publication Date: 1992-01-01 -
No-No Boy
by
"No-No Boy has the honor of being among the first of what has become an entire literary canon of Asian American literature,? writes novelist Ruth Ozeki in her new foreword. First published in 1957, No-No Boy was virtually ignored by a public eager to put World War II and the Japanese internment behind them. It was not until the mid-1970s that a new generation of Japanese American writers and scholars recognized the novel's importance and popularized it as one of literature's most powerful testaments to the Asian American experience. No-No Boy tells the story of Ichiro Yamada, a fictional version of the real-life ?no-no boys.' Yamada answered ?no? twice in a compulsory government questionnaire as to whether he would serve in the armed forces and swear loyalty to the United States. Unwilling to pledge himself to the country that interned him and his family, Ichiro earns two years in prison and the hostility of his family and community when he returns home to Seattle. As Ozeki writes, Ichiro's ?obsessive, tormented? voice subverts Japanese postwar ?model-minority? stereotypes, showing a fractured community and one man's ?threnody of guilt, rage, and blame as he tries to negotiate his reentry into a shattered world.' The first edition of No-No Boy since 1979 presents this important work to new generations of readers.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3565.K33 N6 1979ISBN: 9780295955254Publication Date: 1981-01-01 Lexile 900 -
Raisin in the Sun
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"Never before, the entire history of the American theater, has so much of the truth of black people's lives been seen on the stage," observed James Baldwin shortly before A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway in 1959. Indeed Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama about the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class family living on the South Side of Chicago connected profoundly with the psyche of black America--and changed American theater forever. The play's title comes from a line in Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem," which warns that a dream deferred might "dry up/like a raisin in the sun." "The events of every passing year add resonance to A Raisin in the Sun," said The New York Times. "It is as if history is conspiring to make the play a classic." This Modern Library edition presents the fully restored, uncut version of Hansberry's landmark work with an introduction by Robert Nemiroff.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3515.A515 R3 1994ISBN: 9780679755333Publication Date: 2004-11-29 -
Wish You Well
by
Following a family tragedy, siblings Lou and Oz must leave New York and adjust to life in the Virginia mountains--but just as the farm begins to feel like home, they'll have to defend it from a dark threat in this New York Times bestselling coming-of-age story. Precocious twelve-year-old Louisa Mae Cardinal lives in the hectic New York City of 1940 with her family. Then tragedy strikes--and Lou and her younger brother, Oz, must go with their invalid mother to live on their great-grandmother's farm in the Virginia mountains. Suddenly Lou finds herself growing up in a new landscape, making her first true friend, and experiencing adventures tragic, comic, and audacious. When a dark, destructive force encroaches on her new home, her struggle will play out in a crowded Virginia courtroom...and determine the future of two children, an entire town, and the mountains they love.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3552.A446 W574 2007ISBN: 9780446699488Publication Date: 2007-04-03 Lexile 840 -
Abeng
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Ever since Abeng was first published in 1984, Michelle Cliff has steadily become a literary force. Her novels evoke both the clearly delineated hierarchies of colonial Jamaica and the subtleties of present-day island life. Nowhere is her power felt more than in Clare Savage, her Jamaican heroine, who appeared, already grown, in No Telephone to Heaven. Abeng is a kind of prequel to that highly-acclaimed novel and is a small masterpiece in its own right. Here Clare is twelve years old, the light-skinned daughter of a middle-class family, growing up among the complex contradictions of class versus color, blood versus history, harsh reality versus delusion, in a colonized country. In language that surrounds us with a richness of meaning and voices, the several strands of young Clare's heritage are explored: the Maroons, who used the conch shell--the abengmdash;to pass messages as they fought a guerilla struggle against their English enslavers; and the legacy of Clare's white great-great-grandfater, Judge Savage, who burned his hundred slaves on the eve of their emancipation. A lyrical, explosive coming-of-age story combined with a provocative retelling of the colonial history of Jamaica, this novel is a triumph.
Call Number: AC ESL PR9265.9.C55 A63 1995ISBN: 9780452274839Publication Date: 1995-09-01 -
Bastard Out of Carolina
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A profound portrait of family dynamics in the rural South and "an essential novel" (The New Yorker) "As close to flawless as any reader could ask for . . . The living language [Allison] has created is as exact and innovative as the language of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye." --The New York Times Book Review The publication of Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina was a landmark event that won the author a National Book Award nomination and launched her into the literary spotlight. Critics have likened Allison to Harper Lee, naming her the first writer of her generation to dramatize the lives and language of poor whites in the South. Since its appearance, the novel has inspired an award-winning film and has been banned from libraries and classrooms, championed by fans, and defended by critics. Greenville County, South Carolina, is a wild, lush place that is home to the Boatwright family--a tight-knit clan of rough-hewn, hard-drinking men who shoot up each other's trucks, and indomitable women who get married young and age too quickly. At the heart of this story is Ruth Anne Boatwright, known simply as Bone, a bastard child who observes the world around her with a mercilessly keen perspective. When her stepfather Daddy Glen, "cold as death, mean as a snake," becomes increasingly more vicious toward her, Bone finds herself caught in a family triangle that tests the loyalty of her mother, Anney--and leads to a final, harrowing encounter from which there can be no turning back.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3551.L453 B37 2012ISBN: 9780452297753Publication Date: 2012-02-01 Lexile 900 -
Little House on the Prairie
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Based on the real-life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie is the third book in the award-winning Little House series, which has captivated generations of readers. This edition features the classic black-and-white artwork from Garth Williams. Laura Ingalls and her family are heading to Kansas! Leaving behind their home in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, they travel by covered wagon until they find the perfect spot to build a little house on the prairie. Laura and her sister Mary love exploring the rolling hills around their new home, but the family must soon get to work, farming and hunting and gathering food for themselves and for their livestock. Just when the Ingalls family starts to settle into their new home, they find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict. Will they have to move again? The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura's real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.
Call Number: AC ESL Audiokit PZ7 .W6461 1971ISBN: 9780064400022Publication Date: 2008-04-08 Lexile 760 -
Cellist of Sarajevo
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A spare and haunting, wise and beautiful novel about the endurance of the human spirit and the subtle ways individuals reclaim their humanity in a city ravaged by war. In a city under siege, four people whose lives have been upended are ultimately reminded of what it is to be human. From his window, a musician sees twenty-two of his friends and neighbors waiting in a breadline. Then, in a flash, they are killed by a mortar attack. In an act of defiance, the man picks up his cello and decides to play at the site of the shelling for twenty-two days, honoring their memory. Elsewhere, a young man leaves home to collect drinking water for his family and, in the face of danger, must weigh the value of generosity against selfish survivalism. A third man, older, sets off in search of bread and distraction and instead runs into a long-ago friend who reminds him of the city he thought he had lost, and the man he once was. As both men are drawn into the orbit of cello music, a fourth characteraa young woman, a sniperaholds the fate of the cellist in her hands. As she protects him with her life, her own army prepares to challenge the kind of person she has become. A novel of great intensity and power, and inspired by a true story, The Cellist of Sarajevo poignantly explores how war can change oneas definition of humanity, the effect of music on our emotional endurance, and how a romance with the rituals of daily life can itself be a form of resistance.
Call Number: AC ESL PR9199.3.G265 C45 2008ISBN: 9781594489860Publication Date: 2008-05-15 -
Sold
by
The powerful, poignant, bestselling National Book Award Finalist gives voice to a young girl robbed of her childhood yet determined to find the strength to triumph Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though she is desperately poor, her life is full of simple pleasures, like playing hopscotch with her best friend from school, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family's crops, Lakshmi's stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family. He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at "Happiness House" full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution. An old woman named Mumtaz rules the brothel with cruelty and cunning. She tells Lakshmi that she is trapped there until she can pay off her family's debt-then cheats Lakshmi of her meager earnings so that she can never leave. Lakshmi's life becomes a nightmare from which she cannot escape. Still, she lives by her mother's words-Simply to endure is to triumph-and gradually, she forms friendships with the other girls that enable her to survive in this terrifying new world. Then the day comes when she must make a decision-will she risk everything for a chance to reclaim her life? Written in spare and evocative vignettes by the co-author of I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition), this powerful novel renders a world that is as unimaginable as it is real, and a girl who not only survives but triumphs.
Call Number: AC ESL HQ 281 .M43 2008ISBN: 9780786851720Publication Date: 2008-04-01 Lexile 820 -
Black Arrow
by
Richard Shelton is a young knight during the Wars of the Roses. We see him ascend and rescue his lady love. He then seeks revenge against his father's murderer, but when the evidence points towards his guardian he is forced to go into hiding. He joins the band of outlaws known as the Black Arrow.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775417538Publication Date: 2010-02-01 Lexile 980 -
Captain Blood
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Captain Blood is an adventure story set during the end of the seventeenth century. Dr. Peter Blood is an ex-soldier and sailor whose work as a physician on the battlefield sees him convicted for treason and sent as a slave to the Caribbean. Blood's talents are soon recognized, though he doesn't remain on the plantation for long. When the Spanish attack, Blood is among a group of ex-slaves who capture their ship and become some of the most feared buccaneers of the Caribbean.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775416562Publication Date: 2009-10-01 -
Cranford
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The novel Cranford grew out of a short story (now the first two chapters) and it reads like a series of episodes in the fictional town of Cranford. The central characters are Mary Smith and her friends, the spinster sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah. It is a quaint, comedic ode to small town life, and remains Gaskell's most famous work.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775416456Publication Date: 2009-08-01 -
Daddy-Long-Legs
by
At the age of eighteen, the orphan Jerusha Abbott is plucked from the institution and put through college by a mysterious benefactor. His only condition is that she write him a letter every month, to practice the writers' craft. Her colorful letters about college life are accompanied by drawings from Webster's own pen.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775417163Publication Date: 2009-12-01 Lexile 920 -
Emma
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Emma Woodhouse is sure she'll never marry, and she's proud of it. However, that doesn't stop her from considering herself the village matchmaker. Though her friend, Harriet Smith, is already in love with a man who loves her back, Emma is positive she can find Harriet a better match. Through a set of embarrassing mishaps, unrequited love, and a secret relationship, Emma may find that her matchmaking skills need a little work. And, just maybe, there is someone on the horizon for her after all. Originally published in 1816 in the UK, this unabridged version of Jane Austen's classic comedy of manners illustrates the hazards of messing with others' relationships.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781467775342Publication Date: 2014-08-01 Lexile 990 -
Allan Quatermain
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The character Allan Quatermain is the hero of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines. In this adventure novel named after him, Quatermain longs for a return to the wilderness after losing his son. He talks a number of companions into joining him and they journey inland from Africa's east coast, where they are attacked by Masai warriors.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775414025Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 1360 -
House of the Seven Gables
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The sins of one generation are visited upon another in a haunted New England mansion until the arrival of a young woman from the country breathes new air into mouldering lives and rooms. Written shortly after The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables re-addresses the theme of human guilt in a style remarkable in both its descriptive virtuosity and its truly modern mix of fantasy and realism.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780192836458Publication Date: 1998-11-19 Lexile 1290 -
Kim
by
The orphan Kim, whose father was an Irish soldier, makes his living by begging on the streets of Lahore and running errands. An aged Tibetan Lama is on a journey to find the mythical "River of the Arrow" and in doing so free himself from the Wheel of Things. Becoming his disciple, Kim joins the Lama to travel along the Grand Trunk Road. But Kim also gets himself involved in the Great Game, Russia and Britain's political conflict in Central Asia, and is given a task by the British - to carry a message to Umballa's British commander.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775414384Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 940 -
Mansfield Park
by
Fanny Price is born to a poor family, but is sent to her mother's rich relations to be brought up with her cousins. There she is treated as an inferior by all except her cousin Edmund, whose kindness towards her earns him her steadfast love. Fanny is quiet and obedient and does not come into her own until her elder cousins leave the estate following a scandalous play put on in their father's absence. Fanny's loyalty and love is tested by the beautiful Crawford siblings. But their essentially weak natures and morals show them for what they really are, and allow Fanny to gain the one thing she truly desires.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775412304Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 1180 -
My Antonia
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My Ántonia is one of eight classic American novels featured in the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read initiative, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities and is supported by expansive outreach and publicity campaigns. Over one hundred communities will participate in 2007, each with a program lasting approximately one month. A kick-off event is followed by panel discussions, film screenings, and lectures or public readings devoted to the book. Willa Cather's heartfelt novel is the unforgettable story of an immigrant woman's life on the hardscrabble Nebraska plains. Through Jim Burden's affectionate reminiscence of his childhood friend, the free-spirited Ántonia Shimerda, a larger, uniquely American portrait emerges, both of a community struggling with unforgiving terrain and of a woman who, amid great hardship, stands as a timeless inspiration.
Call Number: AC ESL Audiokit PS3505.A87 M8 1995ISBN: 9780395755143Publication Date: 1995-09-21 Lexile 1010 -
My Antonia
by
My Antonia is a classic tale of pioneer life in the American Midwest. The novel details daily life in the newly settled plains of Nebraska through the eyes of Jim Burden, who recounts memories of a childhood shared with a girl named Antonia Shimerda, the daughter of a family who have emigrated from Bohemia. As adults, Jim leaves the prairie for college and a career in the east, while Antonia devotes herself to her large family and productive farm. When he returns Jim sees that although Antonia is careworn, she remains "a rich mine of life, like the founders of early races,". Full of stirring descriptions of the prairie's beautiful yet terrifying landscape, and the rich ethnic mix of immigrants and native-born Americans who chose to restart their lives there, My Antonia mythologized a period of American history that was lost before its value could be understood. This new edition provides a critically up-to-date introduction and detail notes which put the events and themes of the book in full historical context. Also included are Cather's original and revised introductions to her novel.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780192832009Publication Date: 2006-03-09 Lexile 1010 -
Robinson Crusoe
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Robinson Crusoe is the fictional autobiography of the title character. As a young man, Crusoe sets out from England on a disastrous sea voyage. His passion for seafaring remains undiminished and so he sets out again, only to be shipwrecked a third time. His journey takes him to Brazil where he becomes a plantation owner. A third and final shipwrecking, however, leaves him stranded for 28 years on a remote island. There he becomes a devout Christian and believes his life lacks nothing but society. The work is sometimes credited with being the first English novel.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775412335Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 1360 -
Scarlet Letter
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Introduction by Kathryn Harrison Commentary by Nathaniel Hawthorne, W. D. Howells, and Carl Van Doren nbsp; A stark tale of adultery, guilt, and social repression in Puritan New England, The Scarlet Letter is a foundational work of American literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne's exploration of the dichotomy between the public and private self, internal passion and external convention, gives us the unforgettable Hester Prynne, who discovers strength in the face of ostracism and emerges as a heroine ahead of her time. As Kathryn Harrison points out in her Introduction, Hester is "the herald of the modern heroine." nbsp; Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide
Call Number: AC ESL Audiokit PS1868 .A1 2000ISBN: 9780679783381Publication Date: 2000-09-19 lEXILE 1280 -
Scarlet Letter
by
Hester Prynne has committed one of the worst crimes in seventeenth-century Puritan Boston: adultery. To make matter worse, she is pregnant. As punishment, she is shamed and forced to wear a large red "A" on her chest at all times. Despite interrogations from the villagers, Hester refuses to reveal the father's identity. As raising an unruly child, dealing with her husband's thirst for revenge, and watching her lover's increasing guilt begin to take their toll, Hester must decide whether keeping her secret is worth the price. This unabridged version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic American novel is taken from the 1878 copyright edition, featuring original illustrations drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A. V. S. Anthony, as well as ornamental pieces illustrated by L. S. Ipsen.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781467732437Publication Date: 2014-01-03 Lexile 1280 -
Jack and Jill
by
A delightful read for Alcott fans young and old, Jack and Jill: A Village Story was one of the many books that the famed author of Little Women wrote for juvenile readers. The story follows the travails of Jack and Jill, two children who are the best of friends and who together are tragically injured in a sledding accident. With the help of their mothers and a group of neighborhood pals, the two eventually recover from their injuries -- and learn a thing or two about life along the way.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775451754Publication Date: 2011-03-01
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Treasure of the Sierra Madre
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A CULT MASTERPIECE--THE ADVENTURE NOVEL THAT INSPIRED JOHN HUSTON'S CLASSIC FILM, BY THE ELUSIVE AUTHOR WHO WAS A MODEL FOR THE HERO OF ROBERTO BOLAÃ'O'S2666 Little is known for certain about B. Traven. Evidence suggests that he was born Otto Feige in Schlewsig-Holstein and that he escaped a death sentence for his involvement with the anarchist underground in Bavaria. Traven spent most of his adult life in Mexico, where, under various names, he wrote several bestsellers and was an outspoken defender of the rights of Mexico's indigenous people. First published in 1935,The Treasure of the Sierra Madreis Traven's most famous and enduring work, the dark, savagely ironic, and riveting story of three down-and-out Americans hunting for gold in Sonora.
Call Number: AC ESL PT3919.T7 S43 2010ISBN: 9780809092970Publication Date: 2010-03-02 -
Wuthering Heights
by
"My greatest thought in living is Heathcliff. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be... Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind- not as a pleasure... but as my own being." WUTHERING HEIGHTS is the only novel of Emily Bronte, who died a year after its publication, at the age of thirty. A brooding Yorkshire tale of a love that is stronger than death, it is also a fierce vision of metaphysical passion, in which heaven and hell, nature and society, are powerfully juxtaposed. Unique, mystical, with a timeless appeal, it has become a classic of English literature.
Call Number: AC ESL PR4172 .W8 2003ISBN: 9780553212587Publication Date: 1983-10-01 Lexile 870 -
Persian Boy
by
The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander's life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas. Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas was sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but found freedom with Alexander after the Macedon army conquered his homeland. Their relationship sustains Alexander as he weathers assassination plots, the demands of two foreign wives, a sometimes-mutinous army, and his own ferocious temper. After Alexander's mysterious death, we are left wondering if this Persian boy understood the great warrior and his ambitions better than anyone.
Call Number: AC ESL PR6035.E55 P4 1988ISBN: 9780394751016Publication Date: 1988-02-12 Lexile 710 -
Three Musketeers
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Populated by some of the most famous names in literary and actual history -- D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIII -- Dumas's peerless adventure offers a rousing read. It traces an aspiring Musketeer's path to 17th-century Paris, where he encounters intrigue, romance, and, of course, thrilling swordplay.
Call Number: AC ESL PQ 2228 .A31 2007ISBN: 9780486456812Publication Date: 2007-05-11 Lexile 960 -
Three Musketeers
by
When young d'Artagnan travels to Paris to join the ranks of the Musketeers, he soon finds himself challenged to three duals with Athos, Porthos and Aramis. However, the foursome is abruptly attacked by the evil Cardinal Richelieu's guards, and d'Artagnan fights alongside them, proving his skills with a sword and his honour. The three Musketeers enfold d'Artagnan into their ranks, and what follows is a swashbuckling tale full of intrigue, friendship and revenge. Alexandre Dumas got the idea for The Three Musketeers from Courtilz de Sandras' 1700 novel Memoires de Monsieur d'Artagnan, which was based on real events surrounding the lives of d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Dumas made them human, gave them colour, and made them more real than even the truth itself. Since then the term 'Three Musketeers' has been used to describe a trio of individuals who support each other including Supreme Court Justices, engineers and Japanese wrestlers.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781926606514Publication Date: 2011-06-01 Lexile 960 -
Jungle
by
Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work. Upton Sinclair's unflinching chronicle of crushing poverty and oppression set in Chicago in the early 1900s. A landmark work of social commentary, Sinclair's work diligently exposes the inhumane and brutal sides of capitalism. Enriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author's personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research. Read with confidence.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3537.I85 J85 2009ISBN: 9780743487627Publication Date: 2004-05-01 Lexile 1170 -
Jungle
by
Jurgis and his family move to Chicago from Lithuania to find a better life. But what they find instead are abysmal working conditions, corrupt legal systems, and chronic poverty. The family gets jobs in Chicago's meatpacking district, Packingtown, and works long hours for low pay. Jurgis is injured on the job and isn't given workers' compensation. His wife is raped by her boss and forced into prostitution. As his family suffers through hardship after hardship, Jurgis wonders if bringing them to America was a huge mistake. First published in 1906, this is an unabridged version of Upton Sinclair's muckraking novel criticizing the exploitation of Chicago's immigrants. The horrifying descriptions of the health violations of the early 20th century meatpacking industry inspired the groundwork legislation for today's Food and Drug Administration.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781512402360Publication Date: 2016-01-01 Lexile 1170 -
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by
Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person -- no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3515.U789 T6 2006ISBN: 9780060931414Publication Date: 1998-12-01 Lexile 890 -
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by
Scott O'Dell's Newbery Medal-winning classic is a gripping tale of survival, strength, and courage. Based on the true story of a Nicoleño Indian girl living alone on an island off the coast of California, Island of the Blue Dolphins has captivated readers for generations. On San Nicolas Island, dolphins flash in the surrounding blue waters, sea otter play in the vast kelp beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, a girl named Karana spent eighteen years alone. Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that killed her younger brother, constantly guard against Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply. Her courage, self-reliance, and grit has inspired millions of readers in this breathtaking adventure.
Call Number: AC ESL PZ7 .O237 1988ISBN: 9780547328614Publication Date: 2010-02-08 Lexile 1000 -
Your Blues Ain't Like Mine
by
"ABSORBING...COMPELLING...HIGHLY SATISFYING." --San Francisco Chronicle "TRULY ENGAGING...Campbell has a storyteller's ear for dialogue and the visual sense of painting a picture and a place....There's a steam that keeps the story moving as the characters, and later their children, wrestle through racial, personal and cultural crisis." --Los Angeles Times Book Review "REMARKABLE...POWERFUL." --Time "YOUR BLUES AIN'T LIKE MINE is rich, lush fiction set in rural Mississippi beginning in the mid-'50s. It is also a haunting reality flowing through Anywhere, U.S.A., in the '90s....There's love, rage and hatred, winning and losing, honor, abuse; in other words, humanity....Campbell now deserves recognition as the best of storytellers. Her writing sings." --The Indianapolis News "EXTRAORDINDARY." --The Seattle Times "A COMPELLING NARRATIVE...Campbell is a master when it comes to telling a story." --Entertainment Weekly YOUR BLUES AIN'T LIKE MINE won the NAACP Image Award for Best Literary Work of Fiction
Call Number: AC ESL PS3553.A5599 Y68 2007ISBN: 9780345401120Publication Date: 1995-06-27 Lexile 880 -
Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century. From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for growing up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn, New York demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her family's erratic and eccentric behavior--such as her father Johnny's taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissy's habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorce--no one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolans' life lacked drama. By turns overwhelming, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans' daily experiences are raw with honestly and tenderly threaded with family connectedness. Betty Smith has captured the joys of humble Williamsburg life--from "junk day" on Saturdays, when the children traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Smith has created a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as deeply resonant moments of universal experience. Here is an American classic that "cuts right to the heart of life," hails the New York Times. "If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you will deny yourself a rich experience."
Call Number: AC ESL PS3537.M2895 T7 2006ISBN: 9780061120077Publication Date: 2006-05-30 Lexile 810 -
Cry, the Beloved Country
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"The greatest novel to emerge out of the tragedy of South Africa, and one of the best novels of our time." --The New Republic "A beautiful novel...its writing is so fresh, its projection of character so immediate and full, its events so compelling, and its understanding so compassionate that to read the book is to share intimately, even to the point of catharsis, in the grave human experience." --The New York Times An Oprah Book Club selection, Cry, the Beloved Country, was an immediate worldwide bestseller when it was published in 1948. Alan Paton's impassioned novel about a black man's country under white man's law is a work of searing beauty. Cry, the Beloved Country, is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.
Call Number: AC ESL PR9369.3.P37 C7 2003ISBN: 9780743261951Publication Date: 2003-11-25 Lexile 860 -
Half Broke Horses
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Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly). Now she brings us the story of her grandmother -- told in a voice so authentic and compelling that the book is destined to become an instant classic. "Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls's magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, all alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane, and, with her husband, ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle. Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. It will transfix readers everywhere.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3623.A3644 H35 2009ISBN: 9781416586289Publication Date: 2009-10-06 -
Little Women
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One of the best loved books of all time. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read Lovely Meg, talented Jo, frail Beth, spoiled Amy: these are hard lessons of poverty and of growing up in New England during the Civil War. Through their dreams, plays, pranks, letters, illnesses, and courtships, women of all ages have become a part of this remarkable family and have felt the deep sadness when Meg leaves the circle of sisters to be married at the end of Part I. Part II, chronicles Meg's joys and mishaps as a young wife and mother, Jo's struggle to become a writer, Beth's tragedy, and Amy's artistic pursuits and unexpected romance. Based on Louisa May Alcott's childhood, this lively portrait of nineteenth- century family life possesses a lasting vitality that has endeared it to generations of readers. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Call Number: AC ESL PS 1017 .L5 1989ISBN: 9780140390698Publication Date: 1989-01-01 Lexile 1300 -
Number the Stars
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1990 Newbery Medal Winner As the German troops begin their campaign to "relocate" all the Jews of Denmark, Annemarie Johansen's family takes in Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her as part of the family. Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war. Winner of the 1990 Newbery Medal.
Call Number: AC ESL PS 3562.O923 N86 1989ISBN: 9780395510605Publication Date: 1989-04-24 Lexile 670 -
Fever 1793
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From Fever 1793 "Where's Polly?" I asked as I dropped the bucket down the well. "Did you pass by the blacksmith's? "I spoke with her mother, with Mistress Logan," Mother answered softly, looking at her neat rows of carrots. "And?" I waved a mosquito away from my face. "It happened quickly. Polly sewed by candlelight after dinner. Her mother repeated that over and over, 'she sewed by candlelight after dinner.' And then she collapsed." I released the handle and the bucket splashed, a distant sound. "Matilda, Polly's dead." August 1793. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is ambitious, adventurous, and sick to death of listening to her mother. Mattie has plans of her own. She wants to turn the Cook Coffeehouse into the finest business in Philadelphia, the capital of the new United States. But the waterfront is abuzz with reports of disease. "Fever" spreads from the docks and creeps toward Mattie's home, threatening everything she holds dear. As the cemeteries fill with fever victims, fear turns to panic, and thousands flee the city. Then tragedy strikes the coffeehouse, and Mattie is trapped in a living nightmare. Suddenly, her struggle to build a better life must give way to something even more important -- the fight to stay alive.
Call Number: AC ESL PZ 7 .A54 2000ISBN: 9780689838583Publication Date: 2000-09-01 Lexile 580 -
Fever 1793
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An epidemic of fever sweeps through the streets of 1793 Philadelphia in this novel from Laurie Halse Anderson where "the plot rages like the epidemic itself" (The New York Times Book Review). During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out. Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9780689848919Publication Date: 2002-03-01Lexile 580 -
Of Mice and Men
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A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression, in a deluxe centennial edition Over seventy-five years since its first publication, Steinbeck's tale of commitment, loneliness, hope, and loss remains one of America's most widely read and taught novels. An unlikely pair, George and Lennie, two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression, grasp for their American Dream. They hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations, nor predict the consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George taught him. Of Mice and Men represents an experiment in form, which Steinbeck described as "a kind of playable novel, written in a novel form but so scened and set that it can be played as it stands." A rarity in American letters, it achieved remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films. This Centennial edition, specially designed to commemorate one hundred years of Steinbeck, features french flaps and deckle-edged pages. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3537.T3234 O2 2002ISBN: 9780142000670Publication Date: 2002-01-08 Lexile 630 -
My Friend Flicka
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A timeless favorite of adults and children alike, this resides in “that borderland where some of the best-loved books in the English tongue hold their immortality.”--New York Herald Tribune Set on the Goose Bar Ranch in Wyoming--with its dramatic landscapes, its wild beauty, and its overwhelming spaciousness--this is the simple, moving story of Ken McLaughlin, and his chesnut filly, Flicka. Ken, a daydreamer and chronic time-waster is an enigma to his brusque, practical father. And although his mother is filled with sympathy for the boy, she is powerless to bring father and son closer together. Ken's fierce devotion to Flicka will at one point nearly cost him his life. But it is this same devotion that eventually causes the boy to assume the responsibilities of growing up, and he finally wins his father's acceptance.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3537.T3234 M9 2006ISBN: 9780060512620Publication Date: 2005-12-27 Lexile 960 -
Brokeback Mountain
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Brokeback Mountain is the story of Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two cowboys who share a small cabin while working as herders and camp tenders during a summer spent on a range far above the tree line. They fall into a relationship that at first seems solely sexual-but then reveals itself to be something more. Both men marry and have families, but over the course of many years and frequent separations they find their relation- ship becomes the most important thing in both their lives, and they do anything they can to maintain it. Proulx's description of their bond is beautiful and haunting-and often brutal in its portrayal of the hardships, and ultimately the violence, they face. Perfect for both moviegoers and Proulx's already well-established legions of readers, this volume is a handsome and timely edition of one of the most talked-about stories of recent years.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3566.R697 B76 2005ISBN: 9780743275309Publication Date: 2005-11-01 -
Bread Givers
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This masterwork of American immigrant literature is set in the 1920s on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and tells the story of Sara Smolinsky, the youngest daughter of an Orthodox rabbi, who rebels against her father's rigid conception of Jewish womanhood. Sarah's struggle towards independence and self-fulfillment resonates with a passion all can share. Beautifully redesigned page for page with the previous editions, Bread Givers is an essential historical work with enduring relevance.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3547.E95 B74 2003ISBN: 9780892552900Publication Date: 2003-08-01 -
The Black Tulip
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A deceptively simple story and the shortest of Dumas's most famous novels, The Black Tulip (1850) weaves historical events surrounding a brutal murder into a tale of romantic love. Set in Holland in 1672, this timeless political allegory draws on the violence and crimes of history, making a case against tyranny and creating a symbol of justice and tolerance: the fateful tulipa negra.
Call Number: AC ESL PQ2229.T8 E5 2000ISBN: 9780192837509Publication Date: 2000-08-10 Lexile 1160 -
Black Tulip
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A deceptively simple story and the shortest of Dumas's most famous novels, The Black Tulip (1850) weaves historical events surrounding a brutal murder into a tale of romantic love. Set in Holland in 1672, this timeless political allegory draws on the violence and crimes of history, making a case against tyranny and creating a symbol of justice and tolerance: the fateful tulipa negra.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780192837509Publication Date: 2000-08-10 Lexile 1160
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American Read Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South--and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred One of the most cherished stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father--a crusading local lawyer--risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3562.E33 L43 1982ISBN: 9780060935467Publication Date: 2005-07-05 Lexile 790 -
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Called "the veriest trash" by a member of the Concord, Massachusetts Library Board that banned the novel when it was first published, Huckleberry Finn has come to be viewed, as H.L. Mencken put it, as "one of the great masterpieces of the world." Ernest Hemingway wrote that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn....There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since." A daringly ironic attack on racism American-style, Twain's story of what he once called a "sound heart" triumphing over a "deformed conscience" is poignant, powerful, and fresh. It is no wonder that this extraordinary book continues to captivate readers around the world. This handsome Oxford World's Classic edition uses the reliable 1885 text and includes in-depth, up-to-date editorial apparatus.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780192824417Publication Date: 1999-05-06 Lexile 980 -
Before We Were Free
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890 Lexile.
Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship. Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind. From renowned author Julia Alvarez comes an unforgettable story about adolescence, perseverance, and one girl’s struggle to be free.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3551.L845 B44 2004ISBN: 9780440237846Publication Date: 2004-04-13 Lexile 890 -
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
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Hank Morgan finds himself transported back to England's Dark Ages -- where he is immediately captured and sentenced to death at Camelot. Fortunately, he's quick-witted, and in the process of saving his life he turns himself into a celebrity -- winning himself the position of prime minister as well as the lasting enmity of Merlin.
Call Number: AC ESL PS 1308 .A1 2001ISBN: 9780486415918Publication Date: 2001-06-14 Lexile 1080 -
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
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A Connecticut Yankee is Mark Twain's most ambitious work, a tour de force with a science-fiction plot told in the racy slang of a Hartford workingman, sparkling with literary hijinks as well as social and political satire. Mark Twain characterized his novel as "one vast sardonic laugh at the trivialities, the servilities of our poor human race." The Yankee, suddenly transported from his native nineteenth-century America to the sleepy sixth-century Britain of King Arthur and the Round Table, vows brashly to "boss the whole country inside of three weeks." And so he does. Emerging as "The Boss," he embarks on an ambitious plan to modernize Camelot--with unexpected results.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780520268166Publication Date: 2011-02-14 Lexile 1080 -
Farmer Boy
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The second book in the treasured Little House series, Farmer Boy is Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved story of how her husband, Almanzo, grew up as a farmer boy far from the little house where Laura lived. This edition features the classic black-and-white artwork from Garth Williams. The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America's frontier history and as heartwarming, unforgettable stories. The Little House series has captivated millions of readers with its depiction of life on the American frontier. While Laura Ingalls grows up on the prairie, Almanzo Wilder is living on a big farm in New York State. Here Almanzo and his brother and sisters help with the summer planting and fall harvest. In winter there is wood to be chopped and great slabs of ice to be cut from the river and stored. Time for fun comes when the jolly tin peddler visits, or best of all, when the fair comes to town. Almanzo wishes for just one thing--his very own horse--and he must prove that he is ready for such a big responsibility.
Call Number: AC ESL PZ 7 .W646 1971ISBN: 9780064400039Publication Date: 2008-04-08 Lexile 820 -
Tortilla Flat
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"Steinbeck is an artists; and he tells the stories of these lovable thieves and adulterers with a gentle and poetic purity of heart and of prose." --New York Herald Tribune A Penguin Classic Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, John Steinbeck created a "Camelot" on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur's castle, becomes a gathering place for men looking for adventure, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging--men who fiercely resist the corrupting tide of honest toil and civil rectitude. As Nobel Prize winner Steinbeck chronicles their deeds--their multiple lovers, their wonderful brawls, their Rabelaisian wine-drinking--he spins a tale as compelling and ultimately as touched by sorrow as the famous legends of the Round Table, which inspired him. This edition features an introduction by Thomas Fensch. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Call Number: AC ESL PS3537.T3234 T68 1997ISBN: 9780140187403Publication Date: 1997-06-01 Lexile 930 -
Ben-Hur
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Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781849892841Publication Date: 2011-01-11 Lexile 990 -
Children of the New Forest
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This children's classic, set in the period of civil unrest that shook England to its core in the seventeenth century, follows the travails that befall a group of children after their father, an officer, is slain in battle. When the family home is burned to the ground by enemy soldiers, the children escape to the modest forest cottage of a local gamekeeper and set about the task of putting their lives back together.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775417347Publication Date: 2010-02-01 -
David Copperfield
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One of Dickens's best-loved and most personal novels, David Copperfield is the embodiment of Dickens's own boyhood experience recalling his employment as a child in a London warehouse. This edition, which has the accurate Clarendon text, includes Dickens's trial titles and working notes, and eight original illustrations by "Phiz."
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780192835789Publication Date: 1999-06-10 Lexile 1070 -
Kidnapped
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Set against the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, the gripping drama of Kidnapped--originally published in 1886--takes readers to the danger and intrigue of a Scotland sundered by revolution. The story is told by David Balfour, a young Whig and Lowlander whose odyssey is a microcosm of the struggles besetting his country. Tricked by a miserly uncle, he survives attempted murder, kidnap, and shipwreck, only to escape through the Highlands in the company of Alan Breck--a Jacobite adamantly opposed to Whigs like Balfour. Running for their lives, the two fugitives must rely on each other even as the ancient misunderstandings between them force tensions to the breaking point. A riveting page-turner and work of social commentary, Kidnapped is one of Robert Louis Stevenson's greatest works. Includes an introduction that explores the social and political background to the novel, notes, and a glossary
Call Number: AC ESL PR 5484 .K5 2005ISBN: 9780143039402Publication Date: 2005-08-30 Lexile 950 -
Kidnapped
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Originally written as a boys' adventure novel, Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped has received praise from a range of writers, including Henry James and Jorge Luis Borges. Set around events in eighteenth century Scotland, such as the "Appin Murder" that happened in the wake of the Jacobite Rising, it skillfully and sympathetically portrays the political situation of the time. A sequel, titled Catriona, was published in 1893.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775414193Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 950 -
Moll Flanders
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Daniel Defoe wrote Moll Flanders in 1722, after the highly successful Robinson Crusoe. Defoe's political work was ceasing at the time, though his experience with the Whigs shines through in the novel. The full title of the novel gives a brief overview of its contents: The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Etc. Who Was Born In Newgate, and During a Life of Continu'd Variety For Threescore Years, Besides Her Childhood, Was Twelve Year a Whore, Five Times a Wife [Whereof Once To Her Own Brother], Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon In Virginia, At Last Grew Rich, Liv'd Honest, and Died a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775412526Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 1390 -
Penrod
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Pulitzer Prize-winning author Booth Tarkington, creator of the beloved novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams, also created the lovable character of Penrod Schofield, who is at the center of several collections of tales, short stories, and humorous anecdotes. Penrod, the first title in the series, will appeal to fans of Tom Sawyer and other classic children's literature.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775453260Publication Date: 2011-06-01 -
Phantom of the Opera
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The original novel from 1911 that tells the tale of the brilliant but disfigured man Erik, who is driven mad by love for the beautiful Christine.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781781669020Publication Date: 2012-06-22 Lexile 910 -
Pride and Prejudice
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Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters need husbands, according to their mother. When Mr. Bingley, a handsome, wealthy bachelor, moves in nearby and his equally suitable friends come for visits, Mrs. Bennet's hope soars. Yet Elizabeth finds one of the friends, Mr. Darcy, arrogant and conceited, and her opinion of him worsens when she discovers he has thwarted the relationship between Mr. Bingley and her sister Jane. Romance, heartbreak, and satire weave throughout the story to show the dangers of judging by first impressions and being too prideful to follow one's heart. This is an unabridged version of Jane Austen's delightful comedy, which was first published in 1813 and has remained a popular English novel for more than 200 years.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781467732390Publication Date: 2014-01-03 Lexile 1190 -
Pudd'nhead Wilson
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When a murder takes place in Dawson's Landing, Missouri, the lives of twin Italian noblemen, the courageous slave Roxy, her 1/32nd "black" son who has been raised "white," and a failing lawyer with an intense interest in the science of fingerprinting become tangled. The unsolved riddle at the heart of Pudd'nhead Wilson is less the identity of the murderer than it is the question of whether nature or nurture makes the man. In his introduction, Werner Sollors illuminates the complex web of uncertainty that is the switched-and-doubled-identity world of Twain's novel. This edition follows the text of the 1899 De Luxe edition and for the first time reprints all the E. W. Kemble illustrations that accompanied it. Since 1959 The John Harvard Library has been instrumental in publishing essential American writings in authoritative editions.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9780674059832Publication Date: 2015-02-09 Lexile 1150 -
Scarlet Pimpernel
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The Scarlet Pimpernel is the original masked hero adventure story. During the French Revolution a secret society of English gentlemen is formed by the enigmatic Scarlet Pimpernel, to rescue their fellow French nobility. Marguerite's brother is threatened by a Frenchman, who demands information on the Scarlet Pimpernel in return for her brother's safety. Marguerite makes the exchange only to discover that her boring fop of a husband is the Pimpernel himself! She follows him to France and so each proves themselves to the other what they really are.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775413479Publication Date: 2009-01-01 Lexile 1140 -
Sea Hawk
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The Sea Hawk is a seafaring adventure set at the end of the sixteenth century. A retired Cornish gentleman is betrayed by his jealous half-brother and ends up a slave on a Spanish galley. He is freed by Barbary pirates and he joins their crew, swearing vengeance on his brother. The pirates name him "Sakr-el-Bahr": the hawk of the sea.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775416555Publication Date: 2009-10-01 -
Siddhartha
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Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse's most lauded book: The enchanting story of one man's journey in search of enlightenment Born into the privileged life of a Brahmin, young Siddhartha came of age surrounded by the teachings of the Buddha. But despite his earnest pursuit of enlightenment, Siddhartha is left unfulfilled. Determined to find his own path to the nirvana, Siddhartha leaves home to embark on a spiritual voyage, spurning the comforts of his caste and leaving behind all loved ones save for his best friend, Govinda. Homeless, without food, and dedicated to their austere lifestyle, the friends diverge along two separate paths. Govinda grows ever more dedicated to Buddhist teachings while Siddhartha travels a more meandering road--through asceticism, into an embrace of the joys of the flesh, and finally to an understanding of the nature of time, truth, and the ultimate path to self-realization. First published in Germany in 1922, Siddhartha grew in popularity through the 1960s, when it became a touchstone of the American counterculture movement. The book endures today as a stirring and lyrical exploration of self-discovery. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781497684348Publication Date: 2015-01-27 Lexile 1010 -
The Swiss Family Robinson
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The Swiss Family Robinson tells the story of a Swiss family who are shipwrecked in the East Indies. First published in 1812, Johann David Wyss intended the novel to teach his sons family values and and self-reliance. The adventures in the book contain lessons in natural history and moral guidance, and include an impossible array of flora and fauna on a single island that the children use for their survival. The "Robinson" of the title refers not to the name of the family but to Robinson Crusoe, implying that they are a Swiss version of the Crusoe story.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic CollectionISBN: 9781775413981Publication Date: 2009-01-01Lexile 1180 -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
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Uncle Tom, a slave on a farm in Kentucky, is sold by his owner Arthur Shelby and forced to travel south down the Mississippi River. As he is sold from one owner to another, his strong faith in God and his loyalty to fellow slaves sustain him. When Tom ends up on a plantation owned by a cruel, abusive man named Simon Legree, a final act of defiance sends Legree over the edge. This unabridged version of Harriet Beecher Stowe's American classic, first published in 1852, exposes the brutality of slavery and stresses the value of faith and the significance of self-sacrifice.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook CollectionISBN: 9781467751957Publication Date: 2014-02-01 Lexile 1050
