#43 Topical Discussion

In one volume, four of Baroness Orczy's most beloved and popular novels featuring her timeless character "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and his undercover adventures rescuing the victims of the French Revolution and Reign of Terror.  Included in this volume are:

•  The Scarlet Pimpernel (originally published in 1905)
  
• I Will Repay (originally published in 1906)
  
• The Elusive Pimpernel (originally published in 1908)
  
• The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel (originally published in 1920)

Scamp learns to be content with his dog's life when Zildy the kooky witch turns him into a whing-dingdilly.

Billy was a little boy who “loved horses more than anything else in the world.” Imagine how happy he was when he got his very own pony for his birthday! From that day on, Billy was seldom seen without his new friend, Blaze.

Riding through fields and woods, Billy and Blaze learned to trust and understand one another—and to jump over fences and fallen trees with ease. They were a great team, but were they good enough to win the gleaming silver cup at the Mason Horse Show?

This is the first book in the classic Billy and Blaze series. Sensitive drawings and easy-to-read words capture the warmth and gentle understanding between a boy and his horse.

Jethro and Joel, a two-headed troll, goes on a rampage through the countryside

A boy tries to overcome his fear of the sea in this treasured classic and winner of the Newbery Medal.

Maftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his canoe, alone except for his little dog and pet albatross. A storm gave him his first challenge. Then days on a desert island found him resourceful beyond his own expectation. This is the story of how his courage grew and how he finally returned home. This is a legend. It happened many years ago, but even today the people of Hikueru sing this story and tell it over their evening fires.

Farely Mowat's best loved book tells the splendidly entertaining story of his boyhood on the Canadian prairies.  Mutt's pedigree was uncertain, but his madness was indisputable.  He climbed tress and ladders, rode passenger in an open car wearing goggles and displaying hunting skills that bordered on sheer genius.  He was a marvelous dog, worthy of an unusual boy growing up a raw, untamed wilderness

Awasin and Jamie, brothers in courage, meet a challenge many mountain men could not endure.  When their canoe is destroyed by the fury of the rapids, they must face the wilderness with no food and no hope of rescue.  To survive, they build an igloo, battle a towering grizzly bear, track several wolves, slaughter caribou for food and clothing.  Two lost huskies they tame bring companionship--and maybe a way home from their dangerous adventure.