With sports and other extra-curricular activities cancelled, children
have more time to read for fun. This is a good chance for them to explore some
of the old classics that their parents and grandparents read at their age.
But the libraries are closed and money is tight, you say. I can’t
afford to buy them any more books.
While it is true that physical library locations are closed, some
libraries are still “open” for patrons who want to borrow ebooks or audiobooks.
Check yours out.
Another option is to “purchase” Kindle books that are offered for free,
which is often the case with older publications that are in the public domain.
If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the free Kindle app for your other
devices.
A few cautions, however. Free versions may have typos or formatting
errors, and some of them are abridged from the original. They are generally
worth the price, although you may want to look at the one-and-two-star reviews first.
Collections can be the exception, however. Before downloading a free
collection, make sure the table of contents has links to locations within the
book. I downloaded a Mark Twain collection, only to discover that I had to
“guess” at the location of a particular book. The trial and error was
frustrating and more trouble than it was worth.
Here are a few suggestions for free Kindle books you can get for your
children or grandchildren on Amazon. (Another caution: they were free when I
looked them up, but that could change.)
·
Hans Brinker or
the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
·
The Wind in the
Willows by Kenneth Grahame
·
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
·
Heidi (Gift
Edition) by Johanna Spyri
·
Black Beauty (Young
Folks’ Edition) by Anna Sewell
·
Five Little
Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sydney. This is
the first in a series, and the others may also be available for free.
·
A Little Maid of
Old Maine by Alice Turner Curtis. Many of her other Little
Maid books are also available for free.
Then there are the lesser-known books written by well-known authors.
For example, some middle-grade girls have read Anne
of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery and Little Women by Louisa May
Alcott but nothing else by those authors. The following are available as free
Kindle books.
·
The Story Girl by Lucy Maud Montgomery
·
Chronicles of
Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery
·
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
·
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
But maybe you would rather print off a paper copy or don’t want a
Kindle version for some other reason. Next week’s post will provide additional
resources.
__________
Frank
T. Merrill drew the picture for the original edition of Little Women.
First published in 1868, the illustration is in the public domain because of
its age.
