Bulbs and Blossoms

Amy Le FeuvreProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.2

Word count: 42K words
Chapters: 5

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.Bulbs and Blossoms by Amy Le FeuvreAuthor: Le Feuvre, Amy, -1929,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Dec 20, 2007

Editor's review

Bulbs and Blossoms is an English children's book by Amy Le Feuvre, released free by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. Le Feuvre was active from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century; her works mostly take family, faith and children's growth as themes, in plain language and gentle plots, with a clear period flavor of moral instruction. The book is short and unfolds its narrative around bulbs and the process of blooming, making it suitable as light reading material in the original English. For Chinese readers, its value lies not in complexity of plot but in offering a window onto the language style and values of late Victorian children's literature, and it can also be used to compare early English children's literature with contemporary works. When reading, it is advisable to make use of the layout features of the Gutenberg electronic edition and use search functions to handle unfamiliar words; if used as parent-child reading material, an adult should first screen it and explain the period ideas in it. Overall it suits English learners, researchers of children's literature and collectors of public-domain books, and does not suit readers seeking strong plots or modern narrative pacing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with basic English reading ability who want to try short works in the original English
Enthusiasts studying English children's literature from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century
Teachers and reading promoters who need free public-domain English materials
Readers who like gentle family themes and do not mind period coloring

Not a good fit for

Beginners at the English entry stage with a limited vocabulary
Readers who prefer strong conflict and fast-paced modern fiction
Readers sensitive to religious or moralizing coloring

Reading tips

Read a chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to read closely or extensively
Keep a vocabulary notebook to record recurring period expressions and religious terms
Compare with other works by the same author to observe the repetition of her narrative patterns
Before parent-child reading, have an adult pre-read and mark passages of ideas that need explanation

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?

Not very suitable. The work was written in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, and its sentence patterns and vocabulary bear period features and involve religious and moralizing content, so beginners may get stuck on vocabulary and cultural background. It is better to try after reaching intermediate English reading ability, or to read it with an annotated edition or introductory materials.

Why are Project Gutenberg books worth reading?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest free ebook project, launched by Michael Hart in 1971, and offers a large number of texts that have entered the public domain. Its value lies in being free, searchable and reproducible, suitable for studying early editions, making textual comparisons or obtaining classics at low cost, though the layout and annotations are usually plain.

What can one learn from reading this book?

Mainly the language style, family narrative patterns and values of English children's读物 from the late Victorian period to the early twentieth century. It is not a work of complex plot and is better treated as a documentary sample or language practice material than as a novel for entertainment.

Comments

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About the author

Amy Le Feuvre Author · British · 1861–1929

Amy Le Feuvre (1861–1929) was a British writer of children's literature, born in Blackheath, London, and died in Exeter, Devon, in 1929. A lifelong and prolific author, she wrote more than sixty children's stories, including Probable Sons and Teddy's Button, which are imbued with a Christian spirit. She was one of the most prolific and popular authors of the Religious Tract Society. Nine of her works are held in this collection, among them 'Me and Nobbles', Odd, Jill's Red Bag, The Carved Cupboard, Dwell Deep or, Hilda Thorn's Life Story, and His Big Opportunity. These stories are mostly set in the everyday lives of children and convey faith and character education through tales of family and growing up. Public information about her early education and personal life is limited; her work is best understood through the religious character of its subject matter and its narrative style for young readers.