Beowulf, the epic tale of adventure that follows Beowulf as he battles Grendel, Grendel's Mother, and later becomes king. Beowulf was originally written in Old English by an unknown Anglo-Saxon poet sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. It is one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature. This translation, by Professor Francis Gummere, was first published in 1910.

Source: Gummere, F.B. (1910). Beowulf. New York: P.F. Collier and Son.

Black Beauty is a novel told in the first person (or "first horse") as an autobiographical memoir told by a highbred horse named Black Beauty-beginning with his carefree days as a colt on an English farm, to his difficult life pulling cabs in London, to his happy retirement in the country.

Source: Sewell, A. (1870) Black Beauty New York: F.M. Lupton Publishing Co.

The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated happy dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as a sled dog in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs were bought at generous prices.

Published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is London's most-read book, and it is generally considered his best, the masterpiece of his so-called "early period". Because the protagonist is a dog, it is sometimes classified as a juvenile novel, suitable for children, but it is dark in tone and contains numerous scenes of cruelty and violence.

London followed the book in 1906 with White Fang, a companion novel with many similar plot elements and themes as Call of the Wild, although following a mirror image plot in which a wild wolf becomes civilized by a mining expert from San Francisco named Weedon Scott.

Source: London, J. (1903). The Call of the Wild. New York, NY: Macmillan.

A Christmas Carol is a Victorian morality tale that focuses on the life of the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge. First published by Charles Dickens in 1843 as a means to relieve personal debts, A Christmas Carol has become one of the most enduring Christmas stories of all time.

Source: Dickens, C. (1843). A Christmas Carol. London, England: Chapman and Hall.

Aesop's Fables is a collection of tales by the Greek storyteller Aesop. Most of the tales included here were translated and edited by Reverend George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900) in England and published under the title, Aesop's Fables. Townsend's translations were influential on many subsequent collections of fables. Some of the tales included here were taken from the book How to Tell Stories to Children and Some Stories To Tell, by Sara Cone Bryant and published in London in 1918. In some cases, we have included both Townsend's version and Bryant's version of the same tale.

Source: This book was compiled by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology and includes passages from multiple sources. Please refer to the passage pages for further source information.

Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Paine wrote it with editorial feedback from Benjamin Rush, who came up with the title. The document denounced British rule and, through its immense popularity, contributed to fomenting the American Revolution.

Source: Paine, T. (1776). Common Sense. Philidelphia: W. and T. Bradford.

This compilation includes well-known classics, such as "Sleeping Beauty", "The Three Bears", and "The Ugly Duckling", along with many lesser-known stories. This collection includes stories from a variety of cultural traditions.

Source: This book was compiled by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology and includes passages from multiple sources. Please refer to the passage pages for further source information.

The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set in the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of Ilium by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. Although the story covers only a few weeks in the final year of the war, the Iliad mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege.

Source: Homer. (1899). The Iliad. Boston, MA; B.H. Stanton

Little Women concerns the lives and loves of four sisters growing up during the American Civil War. It was based on Alcott's own experiences as a child in Germantown, Pennsylvania with her three sisters, Anna, May, and Elizabeth.

Source: Alcott L. M. (1868). Little Women.Boston, MA: Roberts Brothers.

This is a collection of poetry by African American author Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar's work frequently features a conversational tone, innovative rhetorical structure, and a colorful use of both dialect and mainstream English. Dunbar was among the first nationally successful African American writers.

Source: Dunbar, P.L. (1913). The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.

This is a collection of poetry by African American author Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar's work frequently features a conversational tone, innovative rhetorical structure, and a colorful use of both dialect and mainstream English. Dunbar was among the first nationally successful African American writers.

Source: Dunbar, P.L. (1913). The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.

Peter Pan (also known as the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up or Peter and Wendy) is the story of a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate Captain Hook.

Source: Barrie, J. M. (1911)Peter and Wendy

This book brings together the annual messages to Congress of several U.S. presidents as well as inaugural and farewell addresses from 1790-1865.

Source: This book was compiled by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology and includes passages from multiple sources. Please refer to the passage pages for further source information.

Traditional tales often take on a life of their own, traveling the world and finding new interpretations within the cultures they encounter. This collection brings together several stories from different traditions.

Source: This book was compiled by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology and includes passages from multiple sources. Please refer to the passage pages for further source information

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children’s book written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. It was originally published by the George M. Hill company in Chicago, and has since been reprinted countless times, sometimes under the name The Wizard of Oz. The story chronicles the adventures of a girl named Dorothy in the land of Oz. It is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success led to Baum’s writing and having published thirteen more Oz books.

Source: Baum, F. L. (1900). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. New York: George M. Hill.