Showing results by narrator "Tom Weiss" in All Categories

Blacky the Crow is a mischief maker. He has very sharp eyes and sees things he shouldn't. They often get him into trouble. Blacky loves eggs. One day he discovers that Hooty the Owl and Mrs. Hooty have laid eggs in a nest when there is still snow on the ground. Blacky devises a plan with his fellow crows to steal them. Later, we find out that Blacky has a good side too. As with all Thornton W. Burgess books, there are positive messages for young listeners.

Reddy and Granny Fox must outsmart Farmer Brown's Boy who is out to get Reddy for stealing his pet chicken. Along the way, Reddy encounters many of the citizens of the Green Meadows and the Green Forest and with him we learn little lessons about life such as: the perils of being a show off; the importance of using all of one's senses; that it is a fine thing to show sympathy and kindness to others - even our enemies; and that the value of a grandmother's wisdom is inestimable.

Thornton Burgess wrote the Burgess Flower Book for children to instill a love of flowers in young children. Burgess uses one of his favorite characters, Peter Rabbit, to search for flowers. The story begins in early spring as Peter discovers the first blooms. Peter's search for flowers continues all summer and into the fall. Along the way, Burgess characters, including the Merry Little Breezes, Grandfather Frog, and others, help Peter find new flowers as they bloom. The description of the flowers is very detailed.

Little Joe Otter is playful and full of surprises. Peter Rabbit is curious. Peter is curious why he has not seen Little Joe Otter in the Smiling Pool? Wait! Did Peter just see two Little Joe Otters in the Smiling Pool? While Peter is trying to determine if there is indeed more than one Little Joe Otter, he learns some other lessons from the times "when the world was young" from Grandfather Frog and others.

Peter Rabbit would like to know more about the four-footed friends who share the Green Meadows and Green Forest with him. Old Mother Nature is only too happy to help and holds a "school" for Peter. Along the way, many others of the Green Meadow and Green Forest creatures join Peter at school as he learns about his neighbors. As with all Thornton W. Burgess stories, young listeners gain positive values while learning a great deal about the animals that share their world.

In The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse, Danny begins his tale regretting the length of his tail until he is corrected by Mr. Toad. Then he has a series of stalkings by Reddy Fox and Granny Fox. He is captured by Hooty the Owl but escapes midflight to fall into Peter Rabbit's briar patch. Peter goes to Farmer Brown's peach orchard, gets caught in a snare, and barely escapes. Finally, Danny gets trapped in a tin can and must use his wits to escape Reddy Fox again.

Lightfoot the Deer is a story about animals in the Green Forest that are hunted in the fall. The story is mostly about Lightfoot, a male deer hunted by one hunter and describes how he tries to escape being shot. The story tells Lightfoot's encounter with another buck and a battle for territory and the lovely, Miss Daintyfoot. As with most Thornton Burgess books, young listeners learn valuable lessons about nature, wildlife, and positive morals.

Old Granny Fox was a wise old fox who lived with her grandson Reddy. Reddy is young and impulsive and gets into a great deal of trouble because of this. So Granny must teach him the lessons of nature if he is to survive. The practical lessons about theft, gratitude and kindness that Granny teaches Reddy, as in all Thornton Burgess books, promote these virtues to young children listening to this book.

Buster Bear's Twins is a story about two new residents in the Green Forest, Boxer and Woof Woof bear. The arrival of the Green Forest's newest inhabitants has Peter Rabbit, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Prickly Porky, Hooty the Owl, and other forest creatures all astir over the goings-on in the Bear household. The two are twin siblings of Buster Bear, who is the subject of a Thornton Burgess audiobook. The twins, under the guidance of their mother, Mrs. Bear, learn important lessons about life and survival in the Green Forest.

The Adventures of Buster Bear follows a bear who has moved from the Great Woods to the Green Forest. Unknown to the little people of the Green Forest, Buster Bear, although is big and has a grumbly rumbly voice is actually very shy. As with most Burgess books, there is a positive morale to the story.

"The History of the Standard Oil Company" is a book written by journalist Ida Tarbell in 1904. It was an exposé of the Standard Oil Company, run at that time by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller the richest figure in America's history. Originally serialized in 19 parts in McClure's magazine, the book was a seminal example of muckraking, and inspired many other journalists to write about trusts, large businesses that (in the absence of strong antitrust law in the 19th century) attempted to gain monopolies in various industries.

In The Adventures of Peter Cottontail, Peter Rabbit doesn't like his name and tries to find another that has more prestige. His friends think he is silly and devise a scheme to show Peter the problem with changing his name. Peter learns his mistake and changes his name back.

Jimmy Skunk is slow and avoided by his neighbors because of the perfume that Mother Nature has given him for protection. But his perfume doesn't keep Peter Rabbit from playing a trick on both Jimmy and Reddy Fox. When Jimmy thinks Reddy has pulled the joke, Reddy gets a dose of Jimmy's perfume as punishment. Most folks think Reddy Fox deserves what he gets because he is always trying to catch and eat Jimmy's friends.

Whitefoot the Woodmouse is the story of one of the Green Forest's most timid creatures. Whitefoot is always on the lookout for predators since he is one of the smallest and most vulnerable creatures in the Green Forest. Whitefoot discovers that sometimes those he considers to be an enemy may turn out to be a friend. He also discovers the meaning of love.

Written in 1860 in the language of the day by William and Ellen Craft, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom tells the story of a husband and wife's plight to escape slavery in 1848 Georgia. Unlike many slaves who escaped in the dead of night chased by slave hunters and bloodhounds, the Crafts traveled in first-class trains, dined with a steamboat captain, and stayed in the best hotels during their escape to Philadelphia and freedom. Ellen, who was nearly white, disguised herself as a young male cotton planter traveling with his slave, William.

Peter Rabbit has no appetite, which is very unusual for him. After thinking about it, Peter decides it is loneliness affecting him. He decides to leave the Old Briar Patch and see the Great World, starting at the Old Pasture. After a close encounter with an old nemesis, Hooty the Owl, Peter discovers that he is still lonely. He runs into Old Jed Thumper who wants nothing more than to chase Peter away. Peter also discovers that Old Jed Thumper has a charming young daughter, Little Miss Fuzzy Tail, who Peter falls for. Their relationship quickly blossoms.

Old Man Coyote deliberately leads Bowser the Hound far away from Farmer Brown's farm because he is tired of being chased. Bowser gets lost and injures himself during the pursuit. Help for Bowser comes from an unlikely source, which proves that there is some good in everyone. As with all Thornton W. Burgess stories, young listeners gain positive values while learning a great deal about the animals that share their world. Burgess was a conservationist and author of children's stories. He loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years.

The Mosquito Fleet is a documentary about America's small but strategically important fleet of PT boats during the Second World War. After Pearl Harbor, the American Naval Fleet was at a severe disadvantage to the mighty Japanese fleet. Enter the PT or patrol torpedo boat of the US Navy. Built for speed and carrying four torpedoes, the wooden craft proved to be a significant "irritant" to the enemy in terms of their effectiveness in combat.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children introduces children to the fascinating subject of bird life in storybook fashion. Thornton Burgess uses Peter Rabbit as a means for younger children to learn about birds in the Green Forest and Green Meadows. On the journey through the book, Peter learns a great deal from sassy Jenny Wren and other neighbors. Listeners learn about common birds' physical appearance, eating, nesting habits, and songs and calls.

A primitive band of humans, the survivors of 40 generations of a crashed space liner, struggle to survive on a planet where giant insects rule, the result of an incomplete seeding experiment because of a lost punch card. Separated from his tribe, young Burl, the main character of the story, begins to think in new ways and eventually leads his people to a better life. The audiobook is particularly interesting in that it has almost no dialogue between the characters, yet is so well written that you don't care.