Free summaries
Children & Young Adult Reading — page 29
1,392 public-domain children & young adult reading books, summarised. Page 29 of 29.

For the Honor of the School: A Story of School Life and Interscholastic Sport
Ralph Henry Barbour
HOOK Athletics are a crucible for character in this turn-of-the-century tale, where the true goal of competition is not the scoreboard, but the unwavering commitment to one's school and comrades.

Harper's Young People, May 23, 1882: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
This weekly publication offers a vibrant, immersive snapshot of 19th-century American youth culture, blending serialized fiction and historical accounts with interactive games, poetry, and intimate correspondence from young readers across the country.

Harper's Young People, October 19, 1880: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
This illustrated weekly offers a window into the late Victorian imagination, blending wholesome adventure fiction, natural history, and the earnest, puzzle-loving spirit of nineteenth-century American youth.

Jack of Both Sides: The Story of a School War
Florence Coombe
This story follows a group of schoolboys as their rigid social divisions—the boarders versus the day-boys—spiral into a chaotic and increasingly dangerous feud. It captures the petty rivalries and shifting allegiances of life at Brincliffe School with both humor and gravity.

Legendary Heroes of Ireland
Harold F. Hughes
The ancient legends of Ireland find new life here, painting a vivid portrait of a mythical age where honor, magic, and giants define the bounds of heroism.

A second reader
Frank E. (Frank Ellsworth) Spaulding
A foolish crow steals bright peacock feathers to masquerade as royalty, only to be stripped bare and cast out by the very birds he tried to copy.

Dan Carter and the Cub Honor
Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
A quiet neighborhood church basement turns into a battleground for young honor when a broken window and a missing set of ice cream freezers leave a Cub Scout den taking the blame for someone else’s malice.

Dorothy at Oak Knowe
Evelyn Raymond
When American teenager Dorothy Calvert arrives late to an elite Canadian boarding school, her impulsive warmth quickly shatters the rigid decorum of her new teachers and classmates.

Funny Big Socks: Being the Fifth Book of the Series
Sarah L. Barrow
A storm outside a window can bring unexpected stories into a quiet room, carrying readers away on four distinct journeys of imagination.

Nearly Bedtime: Five Short Stories for the Little Ones
H. Mary Wilson
Gentle home tales capture the quiet, generous impulses of childhood and the small, vital lessons that shape a young heart before sleep.

Our Gift
Teachers of the School Street Universalist Sunday School. Boston
This collection of moral lessons, poems, and anecdotes serves as a gentle guide for young readers, emphasizing the importance of faith, obedience, and the diligent pursuit of character in daily life.

Our Little Japanese Cousin
Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade
Two Japanese siblings navigate daily domestic life, seasonal festivals, and traditional schooling in a story designed to introduce early twentieth-century American children to Japan.

R. Caldecott's Picture Book (No. 2): The Three Jovial Huntsmen—Sing a Song for Sixpence—The Queen of Hearts—The Farmer's Boy
Randolph Caldecott
A vibrant collection of traditional English nursery rhymes and playful folk songs comes alive through rhythmic verse, absurdity, and countryside warmth.

Seven Xmas Eves
Unknown
A ragged London boy framed for a gent's pocket watch builds a life across ocean and empire to prove that honor outlasts the law.

The Secret of Toni
Molly Elliot Seawell
A boy’s quiet secret threatens to destroy the lives of those he loves unless he finds the courage to confront the past.

The tale of Chirpy Cricket
Arthur Scott Bailey
A relentless, tiny fiddler spends his summer leaping through the farmyard grass, convinced that a short life filled with music beats a long one spent in grumps.

Thoughts on a Pebble, or, A First Lesson in Geology
Gideon Algernon Mantell
A single stone, picked up from a rushing mountain stream, becomes a gateway into deep geological time, revealing ancient oceans, extinct marine creatures, and the dynamic forces shaping our earth.

Young Peoples' History of the War with Spain
Prescott Holmes
A nation intervenes in a neighbor's suffering, setting off a swift conflict across two oceans that reshapes global power.

By Honour Bound: A School Story for Girls
Bessie Marchant
A newcomer at an English boardingschool uncovers a rival's secret crime, only to find her own family's past threatening the honor she strives to defend.

Dorothy
Evelyn Raymond
A sudden arrival on a Baltimore doorstep transforms a childless household, sparking a tender journey of devotion, unexpected loss, and resilient love.

Evening Tales
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Ortoli
A magical encounter with a tar-built trap sets off fifteen whimsical stories where clever animals outwit foolish kings, modest youth conquer grand trials, and absurd simpletons meet astonishing fates.

Fairy Tales Told in the Bush
Sister Agnes
A young boy on the Australian frontier sells a magical shape-shifting trick to outsmart his parents, only to find that every deception brings him closer to a humiliating end.

Mamie's Watchword
Joanna H. (Joanna Hooe) Mathews
A young girl's willful disobedience leads her to test her limits, only to learn a terrifying lesson about consequences, faith, and redemption on the open water.

Minnie
C. S. (Caroline Snowden) Guild
A headstrong little girl wishes to escape the constraints of childhood, only to discover that shrinking down to the size of forest creatures brings far more peril than freedom.

Our Little Turkish Cousin
Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade
A gentle introduction to turn-of-the-century Ottoman life follows a young boy through the sights, rituals, and stories of old Constantinople.

Snap-Dragons
Juliana Horatia Ewing
A family’s relentless habit of bickering invites a fiery supernatural intervention, while an old sailor recalls the childhood magic of mistaking a local villager for Father Christmas.

The cats' Arabian nights, or, King Grimalkum
Abby Morton Diaz
The framing device of this collection mimics the Arabian Nights, featuring a captive storyteller pleading for the lives of her kind. It serves as an imaginative sanctuary where domestic cats reclaim their dignity through folklore and personal testimony.

The Fox That Wanted Nine Golden Tails
Kathleen Gray Nelson
The quest for status can be a heavy burden, as one vain creature learns when his long-awaited transformation brings only isolation and physical decay.

The Little Indian Weaver
Madeline Brandeis
An orphaned corn ear doll, a missed composition prize, and an unexpected radio bridge the gap between a young Navajo weaver and an inquisitive white boy in 1920s Arizona.

The Nursery, February 1873, Vol. XIII.: A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers
Various
A charming window into nineteenth-century childhood, this monthly periodical uses gentle stories, rhymes, and direct addresses to teach kindness, curiosity, and generosity to early readers.

The Nursery, February 1881, Vol. XXIX: A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers
Various
Softly tinted woodcuts, domestic vignettes, and rhyming nursery verses come together to form an intimate snapshot of Victorian childhood.

The Playwork Book
Ann Macbeth
A child’s creative impulse can transform discarded scraps into a world of vibrant, independent play.

The tale of Mrs. Ladybug
Arthur Scott Bailey
An industrious beetle works tirelessly to protect an orchard, only to find her vanity, gossip, and pride challenged by every neighbor on the farm.

Little Homespun
Ruth Ogden
A young boy, a former slave, and an open-hearted woman weave a summer of unexpected healing along the Potomac River.

Marjorie's Maytime
Carolyn Wells
Youth shines brightest when shared across a sparkling spring season filled with family journeys.

More Seeds of Knowledge
Miss (Julia) Corner
Education shapes a young boy's worldview as he explores geography, history, and moral questions with his parents through lively household conversations and London outings.

Our Little Hindu Cousin
Blanche McManus
In an Indian garden framed by broad verandas, two young cousins embark on daily adventures that take them from city bazaars to sacred riverbank pilgrimages.

Our Little Persian Cousin
E. Cutler (Ephraim Cutler) Shedd
Growing up in an early twentieth-century Persian village, a young boy navigates rigid Islamic traditions, harsh domestic discipline, and the colorful world of local government service.

Rollo in Society: A Guide for Youth
George S. (George Shepard) Chappell
A pious country boy encounters the dizzying, decadent nightlife of 1920s Manhattan in this sharp, affectionate satire of jazz-age urban sophistication.

The Children of France: A Book of Stories of the Heroism and Self-sacrifice of Youthful Patriots of France During the Great War
Ruth Royce
Across the shattered landscapes of World War I, young boys and girls step forward to defend their homeland with startling bravery.

The Pansy Magazine, May 1886
Various
A child’s forgotten duty leads to a day of rough-dried clothes, while a snowbound kitchen turns emergency into an unexpected feast. Moral lessons and vivid scenes meet in a Victorian magazine designed to build character.

The Summers readers: first reader
Maud Summers
A gentle, structured introduction to reading that weaves together beloved fables, nature studies, and folk tales using a carefully built vocabulary.

Tom, Dot and Talking Mouse and Other Bedtime Stories
J. G. Kernahan
A bitter, heart-broken miller finds redemption through the quiet trust of a tiny mouse and an abandoned child.

Two Little Waifs
Mrs. Molesworth
Two young children cross the English Channel to meet their father in Paris, only to find themselves stranded and left to navigate an unfamiliar foreign city alone.

Bird Stories and Dog Stories
Anonymous
Even the smallest creature holds a mirror up to human conscience, offering quiet lessons on how duty, kindness, and patience frame a good life.

Grace Harlowe's First Year at Overton College
Josephine Chase
Friendship, fair play, and campus rivalries shape a young woman’s start at a storied college.

The Merriweather Girls and the Mystery of the Queen's Fan
Lizette M. (Lizette McCully) Edholm
Three young women on a Hudson River estate form a club that leads them into local mysteries, small-town rivalries, and the frantic search for a stolen heirloom.

The Story of the Red Cross as told to The Little Colonel
Annie F. (Annie Fellows) Johnston
A chance encounter in Geneva between a young Kentucky girl and a wounded Swiss Major opens a vivid window into international mercy and service.