Monica's Choice

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.4

Word count: 409K words
Chapters: 41

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.Monica's Choice by Flora E. BerryAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Apr 18, 2014

Editor's review

This book is one of the early titles in the Project Gutenberg free eBook programme and belongs to children's literature (class PZ), written by Flora E. Berry. As a typical public-domain eBook, its value lies first in accessibility: readers can obtain the complete English original at no cost, making it a light sample of English children's narrative from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. The text itself is short and its language relatively plain; the plot revolves around the choices of the protagonist Monica and carries the moral formation and coming-of-age themes common to children's reading of that era, offering primary material for those studying the history of children's literature or teaching English reading. It should not be measured against modern full-length novels; it is more a slice of its era that can be read through quickly. Because the electronic edition is a verbatim transcription of scans, the layout and punctuation retain their old form; readers are advised to be tolerant of minor formatting flaws and focus on language style and narrative ideas. Suitable for extensive English reading, public-domain book collecting, or as supplementary material in children's literature courses.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want free English originals of children's literature
English learners beginning extensive reading who want short older works
Students and teachers studying early children's literature and moral narrative
Collectors of public-domain eBooks and the Project Gutenberg project

Not a good fit for

Contemporary fiction readers expecting modern pacing and complex plots
Beginning readers who need a Chinese translation or bilingual text
Readers sensitive to old-style layout and punctuation flaws

Reading tips

Read through once for the plot, then revisit the key passages where Monica makes her choices to appreciate the values of the era.
Use it as extensive English reading material, reading a short section each day and guessing unfamiliar words before looking them up.
Read it alongside other children's literature of the same period to observe differences in how coming-of-age themes are handled.

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 in Chinese or English?

The original is in English. It comes from a Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook and provides the English original; no official Chinese translation is included. Readers with weaker English can use a dictionary or comparison tools.

Why does the electronic edition look somewhat old-fashioned?

The book was transcribed from an old printed edition by an early digitization project and retains the original punctuation, paragraphing, and some layout traces; it is not a newly re-edited modern edition. Minor formatting flaws are normal and do not affect understanding of the main story.

Is it suitable for children to read directly?

It can serve as parent-child shared reading or extensive English reading for older children, but the text carries the moralizing tone of children's books from a century ago. Parents should skim it first and discuss its values with their children for better results.

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About the author

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