We're making cultural treasure available to English learners. Tolle, lege. Take and read. Toma y lee. Tolle, lege.
Made by humans, not AI. E. Louise Smythe wrote it. Lucy Fitch Perkins illustrated it. We adapted it for students on a spring day in 2025.

Part 1: A Primary Reader

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  1. The Ugly Duckling
  2. The Little Pine Tree
  3. The Little Match Girl
  4. Little Red Riding-Hood

Part 2: Norse Stories

  1. The Apples of Idun
  2. How Thor Got the Hammer
  3. The Hammer Lost and Found

Part 3: The Golden Fleece

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  1. The Story of the Sheep ~ LibriVox audio
  2. The Good Ship Argo
  3. Jason and the Harpies
  4. The Brass Bulls
  5. Jason and the Dragon

Rationale & Lessons

Some thoughts on the use of this reader in for English Language Development (ELD) or English as a Second Language (ESL) course.

infinitives

A master class in infinitives here in the climactic moment of "The Little Red Riding Hood."

01-infinitives

bullying

An opportunity for discussing bullying in "The Ugly Duckling."

02-bullying

redemptive empowerment

The classic "Ugly Duckling" moral about true identity and empowerment. Who hasn't wanted to be liked or thought of more beautiful? What a moment! "But he was not an ugly duck. He was a white swan."

03-empowerment