Books with author Burgess Thornton W. (Thornto 1874-1965

Even in the peaceful, sun-splashed world of the Green Forest, the Laughing Brook, and the Smiling Pool, trouble sometimes makes an appearance and disturbs the lives of the animals living there. And so it is in this charming story about Jerry Muskrat and his friends Little Joe Otter, Spotty the Turtle, Grandfather Frog, and Billy Mink. First, Farmer Brown's boy has set nasty traps all around the Smiling Pool and that spells trouble for Jerry and the other creatures who live in and around the Pool. Wise old Grandfather Frog must think long and hard to come up with a solution for that problem. Then, suddenly, the water in the Laughing Brook stops flowing and before long, the Smiling Pool drops to alarming levels. Something must be done, but what? Children will love finding out as they read or listen to this classic Thornton W. Burgess fable, which combines the fun of a good story with important lessons about kindness, stick-to-itiveness, cooperation, and other virtues. Six full-page illustrations, based on originals by Harrison Cady, enhance the text, newly reset in large, easy-to-read type.

Thornton Waldo Burgess (1874-1965) was a conservationist and author of children's stories. Burgess loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, "Bedtime Stories." Lightfoot the Deer is one of Burgess's Green Forest Series of books for children. lightfoot, a young deer, has adventures with many of his forest friends, including Danny Meadow Mouse, Peter Rabbit, Jumper the Hare, and many others.

When Jenny Wren learns that Peter Rabbit would like to know more about the four-footed friends who share the Green Meadows and Green Forest with him, she encourages him to speak with Old Mother Nature who is only too happy to help. During their "classroom" chats, she not only teaches Peter about Arctic Hare and Antelope Jack but also tells him about such creatures as Flying Squirrel, Mountain Beaver, Pocket Gopher, Grasshopper Mouse, Silvery Bat, Mule Deer, and Grizzly Bear.Told with all the warmth and whimsy of Burgess's stories, this engaging book acquaints youngsters with many forms of wildlife and the animals' relationships with one another. The charming collection of entertaining tales is sure to transport today's young readers to the same captivating world of nature that delighted generations of children before them.

Join Billy Mink, Bobby Raccoon, and Jumper the Hare as they battle the Rats, a crew of robbers that takes over the Big Barn and makes life miserable for the peaceful creatures of the Green Forest. These farmyard fables by a beloved storyteller offer readers, young and old, timeless lessons about the value of friendship and the importance of cooperation.

DREAMS are such queer things, so very real when all the time they are unreal, that sometimes I think they must be the work of fairies,—happy dreams the work of good fairies and bad dreams the work of bad fairies. I guess you've had both kinds. I know I have many times. However, Bobby Coon says that fairies have nothing to do with dreams. Bobby ought to know, for be spends most of the winter asleep, and it is only when you are asleep that you have real dreams.Bobby had kept awake as long as there was anything to eat, but when Jack Frost froze everything bard, and rough Brother North Wind brought the storm-clouds that covered the Green Forest with snow, Bobby climbed into his warm bed inside the big hollow chestnut tree which he called his, curled up comfortably, and went to sleep. He didn't care a hair of his ringed tail how cold it was or how Brother North Wind howled and shrieked and blustered. He was so fat that it made him wheeze and puff whenever he tried to hurry during the last few days he was abroad, and this fat helped to keep him warm while he slept, and also kept him from waking from hunger.

When Peter Rabbit joins in with Old Mother Nature's "classroom" chats he learns all about the animals who share the Green Meadows and Forest with him. In these lessons Peter learns about animals both big and small, from near and far, like the Hare, but also creatures like the Flying Squirrel, Grizzly Bear, Otter, Fox, Armadillo and many more.This collection of stories has thrilled generations of readers. It is not only a charming introduction to the animals, but also a great study in how they relate to each other.

Blacky the Crow is always watching for things not intended for his sharp eyes. The result is that he gets into no end of trouble which he could avoid. In this respect he is just like his cousin, Sammy Jay. Between them they see a great deal with which they have no business and which it would be better for them not to see. Now Blacky the Crow finds it no easy matter to pick up a living when snow covers the Green Meadows and the Green Forest, and ice binds the Big River and the Smiling Pool. He has to use his sharp eyes for all they are worth in order to find enough to fill his stomach, and he will eat anything in the way of food that he can swallow. Often he travels long distances looking for food, but at night he always comes back to the same place in the Green Forest, to sleep in company with others of his family. Blacky dearly loves company, particularly at night, and about the time jolly, round, red Mr. Sun is beginning to think about his bed behind the Purple Hills, you will find Blacky heading for a certain part of the Green Forest where he knows he will have neighbors of his own kind. Peter Rabbit says that it is because Blacky's conscience troubles him so that he doesn't dare sleep alone, but Happy Jack Squirrel says that Blacky hasn't any conscience. You can believe just which you please, though I suspect that neither of them really knows. - Taken from "Blacky The Crow" written by Thornton W. Burgess