Showing results by narrator "Phil Chenevert" in All Categories

Thumbelina, by the beloved story teller Hans Christian Andersen, is about a tiny girl and her adventures with appearance- and marriage-minded toads, moles, and cockchafers. Her adventures are many and varied before she successfully avoids their intentions and, just when all seems lost, ends by falling in love with a flower-fairy prince just her size. A perfect ending!

As I write this, I have before me on my desk, propped up against the telephone, an old rag doll. Dear old Raggedy Ann! The same Raggedy Ann with which my mother played when a child. There she sits, a trifle loppy and loose-jointed, looking me squarely in the face in a straightforward, honest manner, a twinkle where her shoe-button eyes reflect the electric light. Evidently Raggedy has been to a tea party" today, for her face is covered with chocolate.

Who ever heard of a plain and downright homely heroine? Isn't a heroine by definition beautiful? Well, Edna Ferber, in her well known style that later produced Show Boat and Giant, tells us about just such a heroine in this special short story. It is special to me because of her insight into the deep courage and faith of 'ordinary' people, people like most of us. And of course our failings and frailties and sometimes, the prince does not marry the right person. Yep.

Humans have expanded to myriad worlds throughout the galaxies but they have found that the only way for colonies to be self-sustaining was to reproduce the total ecology of their home world; the original Earth. This meant bringing the entire ecosystem, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Viruses as well as grass, goats as well as stink bugs, and allowing the whole mixture to ultimately produce an inhabitable world for humans. But what happens when this system is not properly supervised?

"The Telltale Heart", "Masque of the Red Death", "The Raven", "The Black Cat", and more.

Dive into the chilling world of Edgar Allan Poe's "Six Creepy Stories." This collection of tales will transport you to a realm of darkness, mystery, and supernatural occurrences. With his masterful storytelling, Poe delves into the darkest recesses of the human psyche, exploring themes of fear, guilt, and the macabre. Each story is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, drawing you into atmospheric settings and haunting narratives. From the enigmatic raven in "The Raven" to the haunting secrets of "The Tell-Tale Heart," these stories will keep you on the edge of your seat, eagerly turning each page.

"The Homely Heroine" is a short story by American author Edna Ferber. It features a writer whose heroines are generally extremely beautiful. But one day, whilst she is out shopping, a shop-keeper asks her why she doesn’t write stories about a homelier heroine. "The Homely Heroine" is followed by "A Bush League Hero," "What she Wore," and "The Man Who Came Back." - Edna Ferber (1885-1968) was an American author.

The quirky mind of famous science fiction writer Lester del Ray gives us three wonderful tales ranging from zombies ("Dead Ringer"), time travel - how do you convince your earlier self it is safe to get into the time machine, eh? ("And It Comes Out Here") and eternal life ("The Dwindling Years"). Listen and enjoy.

3 Science Fiction stories by the great Gerald Vance: "Monsoons of Death" is a very nice blend of horror story and a study of true bravery on the planet Mars. A newly commissioned lieutenant finds out a lot about both! In "Larson's Luck", Vance takes us on a lighthearted jaunt into hot shot space ship pilots, piracy and the good part of breaking the rules.

Join the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow as they journey across the fantastic magical Land of Oz in search of the Tin Woodman's long-lost sweetheart. In a series of adventures sure to thrill Oz fans both old and new, these beloved friends face such challenges as a selfish giantess and a group of quarrelsome dragons--all to fulfill a promise made long ago to a beautiful Munchkin girl. The Tin Woodman sits on the glittering tin throne of his splendid tin castle, ruling the Winkle Country of the Land of Oz with the help of his best friend, the Scarecrow.

The Scarecrow of Oz is the ninth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum. Published on July 16, 1915, it was Baum's personal favorite of the Oz books and tells of Cap'n Bill and Trot journeying to Oz and, with the help of the Scarecrow, overthrowing the cruel King Krewl of Jinxland.

Yes, this is another wonderful OZ book with all the old familiar characters and some new delightful ones. The Patchwork Girl, a free spirit if ever there was one, is brought to life in this story and then sets out into the wonderful world of OZ to help her friend Ojo find the ingredients for a magic potion to save his Uncle. The five things they need are strange and the places and people they meet along their journey are sometimes dangerous and sometimes funny but the Patchwork Girl always finds humor and fun in all of them.

Six stores of OZ and it's wonderful inhabitants, told by the official Historian of Oz, L. Frank Baum. Lots of adventure here!! Dorothy and her little dog Toto get into lots of trouble; Ozma is tripped and falls into the water, the Tin Woodman falls overboard and rusts, Jack Pumpkinhead loses his head in a fight with some feisty squirrels, and oh, so many more exciting and fun things happen. The fairy country of OZ is never a dull place.

Glinda the Good, the great sorceress of Oz takes the spotlight in this, the very last OZ book written by L. Frank Baum himself. Ozma hears of previously unknown parts of her kingdom having difficulties and at war with each other and knows it is her duty to go there and stop the hostilities. She and Dorothy find truly bad conditions in these areas of Flathead Mountain and the Skeezers Magic Island where the inhabitants are being mistreated. But through events that could only happen in Oz, they become trapped in a submerged island along with all the Skeezers.

Dorothy is swallowed by an earthquake! And that is just the start of Dorothy's adventures in this exciting and fun book. She and her kitten, Eureka are on their way home and stop to visit a relative in California. But the earthquake opens the ground under their feet and everyone, including the horse and buggy and her cousin Zeb fall deep, deep into the earth. Down there they find they can walk on air, but are attacked by the strange and dangerous vegetable creatures.

Are you really 'living', or just existing? Do you want to improve yourself or just continue to muddle through? Do you use the time given you each day, or just throw most of it away? These questions Bennett asks each of us and for those who want to really live and learn, offers very valuable advice. Time is the most precious of commodities, states Bennett in this book. Many books have been written on how to live on a certain amount of money each day. And he added that the old adage "time is money" understates the matter, as time can often produce money, but money cannot produce more time.