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England: Elementary

Introductory
Intermediate
Advanced
enrichment
PICTURE BOOKS
BH  1-18   English Nursery Rhymes
BH   3-70   King Hilary and the Beggerman
BH   2-13   Little Red Hen
BH   1-154   Poems by Tennyson
BH   1-148   Rhymes from Shakespeare
BH   1-118   Sweet and Low by Tennyson
BH   2-42   The Magpie's Nest
BH   1-152   Verses of John Keats
JC   1-2   Mother Goose Rhymes
​♥   A Nursery History of England  by Elizabeth O'Neill
If your children love colored pictures--and who doesn't?-- you'll love this option.  You'll find very brief one paragraph stories that go along with a colored picture that begins to introduce the story of England.
♦   $   ​A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard 
Caldecott Award.  Inspired by William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, this delightful collection of poetry for children brings to life Blake’s imaginary inn and its unusual guests.
♦   $   ​Brave Irene   by William Steig
In spite of a fierce snowstorm, Brave Irene finishes the task she was given to do.
♦   $   ​Chanticleer and the Fox  ill. by Barbara Cooney
A retelling of Chaucer's classic story.
♦   Chanticleer and the Fox  retold by Fulton Roberts
♦   $   ​Dick Whittington and His Cat  ill. by Marcia Brown
A London waif's cat brings him into great success and wealth.
♦   $   ​Excalibur by Carol Heyer
Based on the writings of Mallory and illustrated with Heyer's distinctive artwork, Excalibur provides youngsters with the real story behind King Arthur's sword, and offers the same timeless lessons in chivalry learned by the young king during his quest so long ago.
$   ​Goldilocks by Gennady Spirin
$   ​Goldilocks by Ruth Sanderson
Beautiful illustrations, but if you don't like your story changed, you may have an issue with this book.  Goldilocks ends up cleaning up her messes!
♦   $   ​Jack and the Beanstalk ill. by Gennady Spirin
$   ​Merlin and the Making of the King by Margaret Hodges
$   ​Perceval:  King Arthur's Knight of the Holy Grail ill. by Grennady Spirin
Not a book for little kids, but beautiful illustrations.  Retells the Arthurian legend of Perceval, a foolish and impatient boy who realizes his dream of becoming a great knight, but meets with misfortune when he forgets to pray and serve God.
♦   $   ​Saint George and the Dragon   Retold by Margaret Hodges
Retelling of The Faery Queene
►  ♥   $   ​The Happy Prince   by Oscar Wilde
The favorite of Wilde's nine fairy tales.
♦   $   ​The King With His Six Friends   by Jay Williams
Not really about England, but a good story about what makes a good king.
♦   $   ​The King's Highway   retold by Howard Fullmer
Whoever best travels the king's highway to the castle shall be crowned the new king.
♦   $   ​The Kitchen Knight by Margaret Hodges
Here noble Gareth, King Arthur's nephew is knighted by Sir Lancelot, vanquishes the dreaded knight of the Red Plain, and wins the hand of a fair maiden.
♦   $   ​The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde
Illustrated version A nightingale overhears a student complaining that his professor's daughter will not dance with him, as he is unable to give her a red rose. The nightingale visits all the rose-trees in the garden, and one of the white roses tell her that there's a way to produce a red rose, but only if the nightingale is prepared to sing the sweetest song for the rose all night, and sacrifice her life to do so.
♥   The Peter Pan Alphabet
♦   $   ​The Queen's Progress   by Celeste Mannis
An Elizabethan ABC book, loaded with rhyme and interesting details about life in the court of Queen Elizabeth.
$   ​The River Bank from The Wind in the Willows ill. by Andrea Leach
♦   $   ​The Selfish Giant   by Oscar Wilde
A once selfish giant welcomes children to his garden.  Love has changed his heart.
$   ​Tolkien's World:  Paintings of Middle Earth 
♥   $   ​When We Were Very Young  by A.A. Milne
♥   $   ​Winnie the Pooh  by A.A. Milne
$   ​​Young Arthur ill. Robert D. San Souci
Also check out Young Lancelot, Young Guinevere and Young Merlin
BEGINNING READERS
♦   $   ​Days of the Knights by Christopher Maynard
Level 4
$   ​​Sword in the Stone by Grace Maccarone
Level 2
IMAGINATIVE
FC  S5-161   St. George and the Dragon
FC  S3-279  Tattercoats
BH   5-33   Dick Whittington and His Cat
BH   3-20   Goldilocks and the Three Bears
BH   5-76   How Jack Sought the Golden Apples
BH   5-20   Jack and the Beanstalk
BH   6-40   Jack the Giant Killer
BH   4-119   Little Diamond and the North Wind
BH   3-148   Master of Masters
BH   4-143   Teeny-Tiny
BH   4-50   The Selfish Giant
BH   5-11   The Story of Tom Thumb
BH   5-68   Winnie the Pooh
JC   2-59   Dick Whittington and His Cat
JC   2-36   History of Tom Thumb
JC   2-43   Jack and the Beanstalk
JC   1-38   Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar
JC   2-338   The Apple of Contentment
JC   3-263   The King of the Golden River
JC   2-53   The Three Sillies
♥   English Fairy Tales  by Flora Annie Steele (1922)  Ill. by Arthur Rackham
♦   Favorite Fairy Tales Told in England by Virginia Haviland
♥   The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde
►  Weiss, Jim    The Reluctant Dragon
LEGENDARY/EPIC HEROES
FC   S5-185   Coming of King Arthur
FC   S5-195   Gareth and Lynette
FC   S5-165   Robin Hood
BH   10-7   A Perfect Knight  (poem)
BH   10-80   How Beowulf Delivered Heorot
BH   10-54   Richard Feverel and the Hay-Rick
BH   10-8   Sir Beaumains the Kitchen Knight
BH   10-89   The Last of the Dragons
BH   11-49   Ye Merry Doings of Robin Hood
JC   9-213   Men of Iron
JC   7-277   The Beginning of King Arthur
JC   7-233   The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
♥   King Arthur and His Noble Knights by Mary MacLeod
♥   King Arthur and His Knights  by Maude Warren (1905) 
This reading book is primarily designed for students of the 5th and 6th grades. The stories are taken from Malorey’s Morte d’Arthur and Tennyson’s Idyls of the King. A great beginning introduction to King Arthur.
♥   Legends of King Arthur and His Court  by Frances Nimmo Greene (1901) 
The stories are taken from Tennyson and even include some of his poetic lines.  It opens with a simple discussion of feudalism and what it took to become a knight.  If you are looking for the simplest version to introduce your children to King Arthur, this is it.  Much of the barbarism of the day is left out as its purpose is to inspire.  “These stories of King Arthur are re-told in the faith that chivalry in its highest sense is not dead among us.” 
♦   King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table retold by Emma Gelders Sterne
♥   Robin Hood ill. by N.C. Wyeth
♥   ​Robin Hood and His Merry Foresters by Joseph Cundall (1841) 
The stories of Robin Hood as told by a storyteller in England who remembers them from his youth. This is a good starter book.
♦   $   ​Sir Gawain and the Green Knight  Retold by Constance Hieatt
The quest of Sir Gawain for the Green Knight teaches him a lesson in pride, humility, and honor.
$   ​Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady   Retold by Selina Hastings
Appearances can be deceiving.  Caution:  one profanity. I love the illustrations.
♥   Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children by H. E. Marshall
The Baldwin Project
♥   Stories of Guy of Warwick Told to Children by H. E. Marshall
The Baldwin Project
♥   Stories of King Arthur
►  ♥   ​Stories of King Arthur's Knights by Mary MacGregor
♥   Stories of Robin Hood Told to Children by H. E. Marshall
The Baldwin Project
♥   Stories of the King  by James Baldwin 
Derived from Welsh, French, German and English suitable for young people of the 20th century–those stories which will most vividly portray whatever was noblest and most admirable in knighthood. I love all James Baldwin books!
♦   $   ​The Joy of the Court by Constance Hieatt
Sir Erec rides with his wife through the country seeking adventure in order to prove to her and King Arthur's court that he is not a coward.
♥   The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (1883)
This is the classic and popular version of Robin Hood, written and illustrated by Howard Pyle. 
♦   $   ​The Sword and the Grail by Constance Hieatt
Recounts the adventures of Perceval on his quest to become a knight.
►  Weiss, Jim   King Arthur and His Knights
►  Weiss, Jim   Robin Hood​
CULTURAL
FC   N12-195   HMS  Pinafore
FC   OC3   English Cousins
$   ​A Medieval Feast by Aliki
 The King is coming to visit! The lord and lady of Camdenton Manor must work quickly to prepare for his arrival. It will take weeks to ready rooms, set up tents, and prepare the feast itself. Everyone is busy hunting and hawking, brewing and churning
♦   $   ​Castle by David Macaulay
The word itself conjures up mystery, romance, intrigue, and grandeur. What could be more perfect for an author/illustrator who has continually stripped away the mystique of architectural structures that have long fascinated modern man? With typical zest and wry sense of humor punctuating his drawings, David Macaulay traces the step-by-step planning and construction of both castle and town.
♦   Little Tom of England  by Madeline Brandeis
►  ♥   Our Little English Cousin  by Blanche McManus
♦   $   ​The Pooh Cook Book by Virginia Elison
Each recipe in the collection of sixty is accompanied by an appropriate quotation from Winnie-the-Pooh or The House at Pooh Corner
$   ​​The Wind in the Willows Country Cookbook  by Arabella Boxer (1933)
Charming book of English recipes from Wind in the Willows.
FICTION
FC  SS3   The Lost Prince, Little Lord Fauntleroy
FC  SS4   Five Children and It
JC   3-117   The Borrowers
Pod and Hamily and their daughter Arrietty are a tiny family who live under the floorboards in an English country house.  They 'borrow' their supplies from the human family that lives in the house.   But acquiring these treasures has its dangers.  For to be 'seen' by the humans is the worst tragedy that can befall a Borrower.
JC   3-148   Winnie-the-Pooh
Christopher Robin was a real litle boy whose father put him in books so that he might live forever.  Like other small boys, Christopher Robin often pretended that his toys were alive.  Out of this world of make-believe A.A. Milne has fashioned the wonderful world of Winnie the Pooh.
►  ♦   Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit
The Borrowers Series by Mary Norton (1952)
The Borrowers are tiny little people who live underneath the kitchen floor of an old English manor.
  • ​$   ​The Borrowers
  • $   ​The Borrowers Afield
  • ​$   ​The Borrowers Afloat
  • $   ​The Borrowers Aloft
​►  ♥   ​Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
♦   $   ​Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
The first title in Arthur Ransome's classic series, originally published in 1930: for children, for grownups, for anyone captivated by the world of adventure and imagination. Swallows and Amazons introduces the lovable Walker family, the camp on Wild Cat island, the able-bodied catboat Swallow, and the two intrepid Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett.
►  ♥   The Phoenix and the Carpet  by. E. Nesbit
♥   The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit
►  ♥   The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
►  ♥   The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit
►  ♥   The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit
CLASSIC LITERATURE
FC   S10-162  As You Like It by Shakespeare
FC   S10-51   Dorigen by Chaucer
FC   S10-65   Emelia by Chaucer
FC   S10-78   Griselda by Chaucer
FC   S10-354   Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare
FC   S10-226   Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare
FC   S10-96   The Red Cross Knight
FC   S10-90   The Unknown Bride
FC   S10-190   Twelfth Night by Shakespeare 
BH   3-176   Chanticleer and Partlet from Chaucer
BH   7-182   David Copperfield and Little Em'ly
BH   8-189   Maggie Tulliver Goes to Live With the Gypsies by George Eliot from Mill on the Floss
BH   3-198   The Birds' St. Valentine Day from Chaucer
BH   9-177   The Rose and the Ring by Thackeray
BH   11-8   Una and the Red Cross Knight from The Faerie Queene by Spencer
JC   3-20   Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
JC   3-297   Mr. Toad from Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
JC   9-284   The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle from Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
JC   3-310   The Mermaid's Lagoon  from Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
Wendy, John and Michael Darling have flown away with Peter Pan to Neverland, where Wendy has agreed to be a mother to all the boys.  And quite a responsibility it is, too--with constant danger from jealous fairies, fierce redskins, the terrible Captain Cook, and all his  pirates.
JC   3-352   The Old Lady's Bedroom from The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
♦   $   ​A Christmas Carol ill. by Roberto Innocenti
►  ►  ♥   ​A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
►  ♥   ​Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
►  Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. Nesbit
♥   Chaucer for Children; a Golden Key by Mary Haweis (1907)
Includes a great story for children about Chaucer and life in his day. “A Chaucer for children may seem to some an impossible story-book, but it is one which I have been encouraged to put together by noticing how quickly my own little boy learned and understood fragments of early English poetry . . . I think much of the construction and pronunciation of old English which seems stiff and obscure to grown up people, appears easily to children.”
♥   David Copperfield Retold for Children by Alice F. Jackson
♥   John Bunyan’s Dream Story: the Pilgrim’s Progress retold for Children by James Baldwin (1913)
Includes how the book came to be written. “While it was formerly the first and perhaps the only story book read by thousands of children of all ages, it is now known to few young people.”
♥   Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
►  ♥   Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
♥   Peter Pan Retold from the play
♥   Pilgrims Progress Told to Children by Mary MacGregor
​The Baldwin Project
♥   Shakespearian Fairy Tales by Fay Adam Britten
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Merchant of Venice, King Lear, A Winter’s Tale, Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, The Tempest, Cymbeline
►  Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
♥   Ten Drawings of Dickens' Children ill by Jessie Willcox Smith
♥   ​The Little Lame Prince by Dinah Craik
♥   The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett
►  ♥   The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
♥   The Shakespeare Story-Book by Mary Macleod Banks
♥   The Story of Chaucer’s Canterbury Pilgrims by Katharine Lee Bates (1909)
Retold for children in poetic form.
♥   Twenty Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit (1907)
“To reproduce the entertaining stories . . . in a form so simple that children can understand and enjoy them, was the object had in view by the author.” Includes pronunciation guide and collection of quotations.
►  ♥   $   ​Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
►  Weiss, Jim   Gulliver's Travels
►  Weiss, Jim   Sherlock Holmes for Children
►  Weiss, Jim   The Hound of the Baskervilles
HISTORICAL
FC   S11-23   Boy Who Could Not Be Bribed  (Duke of Wellington)
FC   S6-117,   G6-22   King Alfred
FC   S6-130   King Alfred and the Cakes
FC   S6-132   King Alfred and the Beggar
FC   S6-145   King John and the Abbot
FC   S11-53   Perseverance Wins 
FC   S6-137   Sons of William the Conqueror
FC   S6-152   The Miller and the Dee
FC   S6-141   The White Ship
♥    A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens
A readaloud option for Elementary age children.
 ♥
   Little English Story-Book by Albert Blaisdell
Another great introduction to the highlights of English history.
♥   Little Stories of England  by Maude Dutton (1911)
Another good readaloud option for elementary age children to increase desire to learn more. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't scan.
►  Royal Children by Nesbit
♥   ​Royal Children of English History  by Charles Morris (1904)
Stories of children born into royalty to be read aloud to children  to awaken an interest in the history of England.  From Alfred the Great to Edward the VII.
♥   Stories from English History  by John Williams (1884)
Short chapters with lots of illustrations makes this a perfect introductory read aloud.
♥   ​Stories from English History  by H. P. Warren (1901)
Beginner's history of England broken down into 1 page stories.
♥   Stories from English History by Hilda Skae
HISTORICAL FICTION
♦   $   ​Adam of the Road  by Elizabeth Janet Gray (1943)
11 year old Adam desperately searches for his father who has disappeared and his dog that is stolen in 13th century England.
$   ​Dream Peddlar   by Gail E. Haley
A lover of books and ideas follows his dreams and saves his poverty-stricken family in 18th century London.
♦   Imps and Angels by Jane Gilbert
Set in Medieval England.

♥   Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling
Scenes from English history told as a fairy tale. A readaloud for Elementary age.
♦   $   ​The Beast of Lor  by Clyde Robert Bulla
Story of a young Celtic boy in Roman Britain.
♦   $   ​The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla
The story creates a vivid picture of the knights of the Round Table and the wisdom of King Arthur.
♦   $   ​The Writing on the Hearth   by Cynthia Harnett
A fifteenth-century English schoolboy is caught up in the political intrigues preceding the War of the Roses.
♥   The Young Elizabeth by Jean Plaidy
Young Biographies
♦   The Young Faraday by Patrick Pringle
Young Biographies
♦   The Young Jane Austen by Rosemary Anne Sisson
Young Biographies
BIOGRAPHIES
FC   G2-288   Bewick
FC   S1-202   Boughton
FC   S11-354  Edward the Black Prince
FC   S11-92   Fawcett, Blind Postmaster
FC   G4-76    Fry Elizabeth
FC   S1-110   Gainsborough
FC   S6-173   Goldsmith
FC   G8-59   Handel, George Frederick
FC   S1-176   Herring
FC   S1-36   Landseer
FC   S1-96,  G2-303   Millais
FC   S6-56,  G4-137    Nightingale, Florence
FC   S1-70   Reynolds
FC   S1-94   Raeburn
FC   G2-333   Saint-Gaudens
FC   S11-295   Sidney,  Sir Philip 
FC   S11-141   Stephenson, George
FC   S6-223   Tennyson, Alfred
FC   S1-198   Watts, George
BH   12-11   Chaucer, Geoffrey:  The Royal Page
BH   12-102   Dickens, Charles:   London Streets
BH   12-213   Mother Goose, The Interesting Story of
BH   12-15   Shakespeare:   Down by the River Avon
JC   8-298   Browning, Elizabeth Barrett:   The Meeting
JC   8-174   Nightingale, Florence:  Lonely Crusader
♦   Baden-Powell:  Chief Scout of the World by Wyatt Blassingame
Garrard Biography
♥   Great Englishmen—Short Lives  by Dorothea Beale (1881)
These are very brief stories of some of England's greats.  A perfect read aloud.  I like the way the writer anticipates concepts a young child may not be familiar with and explains them as the story unfolds. 
♥   Handel at the Court of Kings by Opal Wheeler
Opal Wheeler Music Biographies Series
♦   $   ​Nothing is Impossible: The Story of Beatrix Potter by Dorothy Aldis
You'll love this writer even more after you read this.
♦   $   ​The Story of Florence Nightingale by Margaret Leighton
A Signature Biography
♥   The Story of Nelson by Edmund Sellers
The Baldwin Project
►  Weiss, Jim  Newton-Galileo and the Stargazers
►  Weiss, Jim   Treasury of Wisdom--Beatrix Potter
SYMBOL LEGEND
►  = Audiobooks
​♥    = Free Online
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♦    = Borrow Online
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$    ​​= Purchase
FC  = Forgotten Classics Family Library
JC = Junior Classics (1962 edition)
BH = My Book House (1971 edition)
Delphian Course (1913 edition)
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  • Home
  • Well-Educated Heart
    • Catch the Vision Intro >
      • WEH Reference
      • 1 The Mother's Heart
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      • 4 Heart Before Mind
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      • 6 Journey of Lifetime
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