Songs Ysame

Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows), 1863-1931Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 60K words
Chapters: 6

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. Songs Ysame by Albion Fellows Bacon and Annie F. Johnston. Author: Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows), 1863-1931. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Mar 3, 2012

Editor's review

This is a poetry collection co-written by Annie F. Johnston and Albion Fellows Bacon, released free in electronic form by Project Gutenberg. Johnston was an American children's literature author of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whose work often centers on warmth, family, and nature; this co-authored collection continues that light-toned style aimed at young readers, with plain language and a clear, lively rhythm that makes it suitable as an introductory reader for English poetry. The Project Gutenberg edition is easy to search and excerpt on electronic devices, and also serves readers studying American regional literature or children's poetry as a primary text. There is no need to read word by word; begin by selecting a few poems to read aloud and get a feel for the rhythm and period diction, then return to read the whole book. If you are interested in the authors' style, read it alongside Johnston's novels.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers new to English poetry who want to start with short poems
Readers studying late nineteenth-century American children's literature
Teachers who need free public-domain English poetry resources
Casual readers who enjoy short, light-rhythmed pieces

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic poetry theory or detailed annotations
Readers who only want novels or narrative literature
Readers impatient with archaic English usage and period context

Reading tips

Read through the table of contents first, pick a few titles that interest you and read them aloud, then go back and read the whole book.
Jot down unfamiliar old-fashioned words and look them up together later so you don't break the rhythm of reading.
Try copying out or memorizing some of the short poems to feel the rhythm of nineteenth-century English poetry.
For teaching, select several poems on similar themes and discuss them alongside children's poems from the same period.

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 a novel or a poetry collection?

It is a poetry collection co-written by Annie F. Johnston and Albion Fellows Bacon, a public-domain English ebook released by Project Gutenberg, not a novel or a collection of essays.

Can I read it if my English is only average?

Yes. The poems use plain language and are short, making them easier to start with than novels of the same period; some old-fashioned words and period allusions require looking up, so keep a dictionary at hand.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free electronic texts that are easy to download, search, and copy excerpts from. There are no modern-publisher annotations or introductions, so it suits readers who have their own reference books.

Comments

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About the author

Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows), 1863-1931 Author

Annie Fellows Johnston (1863–1931) was an American writer of children's literature, with 38 of her works held in this collection. Public information about her is limited, and details of her life are difficult to verify, yet her surviving books show that she excelled at centering stories on children and young people, weaving warm, adventure-tinged tales of growing up. The Little Colonel series follows a Southern boy, while Two Little Knights of Kentucky and The Gate of the Giant Scissors blend family values, regional settings, and fantastical imagination in a friendly, bright tone that emphasizes children's courage and kindness. Holiday-themed works such as Miss Santa Claus of the Pullman continue in the same vein. Writing for young readers in lucid, engaging plots, she had a modest influence on early twentieth-century American children's books, and her work is still reprinted and read today.