A Round Dozen

Coolidge, Susan, 1835-1905Project Gutenberg · United StatesMar 2023

3.0

Word count: 264K words
Chapters: 27

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. A Round Dozen by Susan Coolidge. Author: Coolidge, Susan, 1835-1905. Language: English. Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres. Release Date: Feb 6, 2011.

Editor's review

A Round Dozen is a collection of short stories by Susan Coolidge, classified as children's literature. Coolidge is known for her delicate, gentle touch, and this book continues her strength in family and coming-of-age themes. Through twelve stories that stand alone yet echo one another, it sketches children's small adventures, small worries, and small joys in daily life. The pacing is unhurried, the language plain but not without charm, and the attention to characters' inner lives is fine-grained, making it suitable as an entry point for reading in the original English. As a free eBook from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to open on an e-reader at any time and is also suited to parents reading with children or teachers selecting it for classroom read-alouds. While reading, note how the author conveys feeling and moral insight through simple plots, and savor the narrative style of late nineteenth-century English children's literature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers who enjoy classic English children's literature
Parents looking for English read-aloud material for their children
Primary and secondary school teachers who need graded English readers
Readers interested in nineteenth-century family coming-of-age stories

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting tense plots or fast-paced narrative
Beginners with weak English who are unwilling to look up words
Readers who prefer contemporary subjects and realistic issues

Reading tips

First read one story straight through to get used to the style, then read each closely and note new words.
Parents can take turns reading aloud with their children in sections, then discuss the choices made in the stories.
Teachers can pick shorter stories for classroom read-aloud and retelling practice.
Read alongside other works by the author to appreciate the continuity of her family themes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for English beginners to read directly?

The language is generally plain, but the book dates from the nineteenth century, and some sentence patterns and vocabulary bear the marks of the era. Readers with basic English reading ability are advised to use a dictionary, or to start with the shorter stories to get used to the style; beginners may find reading it straight through on their own somewhat difficult.

Are the stories in the book continuous with one another?

Each story is relatively independent and can be read in any order; you need not read from beginning to end. The overall style and subject matter are consistent, and reading them together better conveys the author's observation of children's daily lives and her warm tone.

Is it suitable as parent-child read-aloud material?

Yes. The stories are short and gentle in content; parents can read aloud with their children by role and discuss what the characters do, practicing English while talking about growing up.

Comments

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About the author

Coolidge, Susan, 1835-1905 Author

Susan Coolidge (1835–1905) was an American writer of children's literature, born Sarah Chauncey Woolsey. She is best known for What Katy Did and its sequels, including What Katy Did at School and What Katy Did Next, which follow the girl Katy through family life, school days, and the experiences of growing up. Coolidge also wrote The New-Year's Bargain, A Little Country Girl, and other works. Her writing is gentle and attentive, with careful detail and an interest in inner life, often weaving the difficulties of growing up and self-cultivation into her stories. The collection here holds sixteen of her works, mostly grouped under inspirational growth. Public information is limited, and further biographical details are difficult to confirm.