The Burgess Bird Book for Children
By Thornton W. Burgess (1919)
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess (1919). Unabridged Charlotte Mason living book edition for Form I Natural History & Science.
Reading The Burgess Bird Book for Children this term?
Schedule chapters into your Charlotte Mason week with one tap and read the full unabridged text in a calm, distraction-free reader with zero ads or Gutenberg formatting quirks.
Instant setup • No credit card required • Keep your pace forever
Chapter 1 Sample & Typography Preview
Distraction-Free ReaderBelow is an unabridged preview of Chapter 1 formatted in our peaceful Living Term reader typography. No ads, no sidebars, and no eye strain.
CHAPTER I. Jenny Wren Arrives
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 1
Lipperty-lipperty-lip scampered Peter Rabbit behind the tumble-down stone wall along one side of the Old Orchard. It was early in the morning, very early in the morning. In fact, jolly, bright Mr. Sun had hardly begun his daily climb up in the blue, blue sky. It was nothing unusual for Peter to see jolly Mr. Sun get up in the morning. It would be more unusual for Peter not to see him, for you know Peter is a great hand to stay out all night and not go back to the dear Old Briar-patch, where his home is, until the hour when most folks are just getting out of bed.
Peter had been out all night this time, but he wasn't sleepy, not the least teeny, weeny bit. You see, sweet Mistress Spring had arrived, and there was so much happening on every side, and Peter was so afraid he would miss something, that he wouldn't have slept at all if he could have helped it. Peter had come over to the Old Orchard so early this morning to see if there had been any new arrivals the day before.
“Birds are funny creatures,” said Peter, as he hopped over a low place in the old stone wall and was fairly in the Old Orchard.
“Tut, tut, tut, tut, tut!” cried a rather sharp scolding voice. “Tut, tut, tut, tut, tut! You don't know what you are talking about, Peter Rabbit. They are not funny creatures at all. They are the most sensible folks in all the wide world.”
Peter cut a long hop short right in the middle, to sit up with shining eyes. “Oh, Jenny Wren, I'm so glad to see you! When did you arrive?” he cried.
“Mr. Wren and I have just arrived, and thank goodness we are here at last,” replied Jenny Wren, fussing about, as only she can, in a branch above Peter. “I never was more thankful in my life to see a place than I am right this minute to see the Old Orchard once more. It seems ages and ages since we left it.”
“Well, if you are so fond of it what did you leave it for?” demanded Peter. “It is just as I said before—you birds are funny creatures. You never stay put; at least a lot of you don't. Sammy Jay and Tommy Tit the Chickadee and Drummer the Woodpecker and a few others have a little sense; they don't go off on long, foolish journeys. But the rest of you—”
“Tut, tut, tut, tut, tut!” interrupted Jenny Wren. “You don't know what you are talking about, and no one sounds so silly as one who tries to talk about something he knows nothing about.”
Peter chuckled. “That tongue of yours is just as sharp as ever,” said he. “But just the same it is good to hear it. We certainly would miss it. I was beginning to be a little worried for fear something might have happened to you so that you wouldn't be back here this summer. You know me well enough, Jenny Wren, to know that you can't hurt me with your tongue, sharp as it is, so you may as well save your breath to tell me a few things I want to know. Now if you are as fond of the Old Orchard as you pretend to be, why did you ever leave it?”
Keep reading The Burgess Bird Book for Children in Living Term
Get instant access to all 45 unabridged chapters, plus 350+ other Charlotte Mason living books, poetry, hymns, and a peaceful weekly schedule builder.
Table of Contents
45 ChaptersEvery chapter below is pre-indexed for oral narration and easy 1-click scheduling into your weekly Charlotte Mason lesson plan.
CHAPTER I. Jenny Wren Arrives
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 1
CHAPTER II. The Old Orchard Bully
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 2
CHAPTER III. Jenny Has a Good Word for Some Sparrows
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 3
CHAPTER IV. Chippy, Sweetvoice, and Dotty
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 4
CHAPTER V. Peter Learns Something He Hadn't Guessed
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 5
CHAPTER VI. An Old Friend In a New Home
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 6
CHAPTER VII. The Watchman of the Old Orchard
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 7
CHAPTER VIII. Old Clothes and Old Houses
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 8
CHAPTER IX. Longbill and Teeter
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 9
CHAPTER X. Redwing and Yellow Wing
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 10
CHAPTER XI. Drummers and Carpenters
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 11
CHAPTER XII. Some Unlikely Relatives
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 12
CHAPTER XIII. More of the Blackbird Family
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 13
CHAPTER XIV. Bob White and Carol the Meadow Lark
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 14
CHAPTER XV. A Swallow and One Who Isn't
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 15
CHAPTER XVI. A Robber in the Old Orchard
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 16
CHAPTER XVII. More Robbers
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 17
CHAPTER XVIII. Some Homes in the Green Forest
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 18
CHAPTER XIX. A Maker of Thunder and a Friend in Black
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 19
CHAPTER XX. A Fisherman Robbed
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 20
CHAPTER XXI. A Fishing Party
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 21
CHAPTER XXII. Some Feathered Diggers
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 22
CHAPTER XXIII. Some Big Mouths
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 23
CHAPTER XXIV. The Warblers Arrive
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 24
CHAPTER XXV. Three Cousins Quite Unlike
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 25
CHAPTER XXVI. Peter Gets a Lame Neck
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 26
CHAPTER XXVII. A New Friend and an Old One
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 27
CHAPTER XXVIII. Peter Sees Rosebreast and Finds Redcoat
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 28
CHAPTER XXIX. The Constant Singers
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 29
CHAPTER XXX. Jenny Wren's Cousins
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 30
CHAPTER XXXI. Voices of the Dusk
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 31
CHAPTER XXXII. Peter Saves a Friend and Learns Something
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 32
CHAPTER XXXIII. A Royal Dresser and a Late Nester
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 33
CHAPTER, XXXIV. Mourner the Dove and Cuckoo
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 34
CHAPTER XXXV. A Butcher and a Hummer
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 35
CHAPTER XXXVI. A Stranger and a Dandy
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 36
CHAPTER XXXVII. Farewells and Welcomes
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 37
CHAPTER XXXVIII. Honker and Dippy Arrive
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 38
CHAPTER XXXIX. Peter Discovers Two Old Friends
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 39
CHAPTER XL. Some Merry Seed-Eaters
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 40
CHAPTER XLI. More Friends Come With the Snow
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 41
CHAPTER XLII. Peter Learns Something About Spooky
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 42
CHAPTER XLIII. Queer Feet and a Queerer Bill
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 43
CHAPTER XLIV. More Folks in Red
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 44
CHAPTER XLV. Peter Sees Two Terrible Feathered Hunters
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Chapter 45
When you assign The Burgess Bird Book for Children to your weekly schedule, Living Term advances your bookmark to the next chapter every time a lesson is completed.
Add to Weekly Schedule (Free Trial)Why Charlotte Mason Parents Read With Living Term
Living Term replaces messy PDF downloads, ad-cluttered public domain archives, and lost paper bookmarks with one peaceful morning time habit.
Click Monday on your schedule, tap the reading row, and the next chapter opens immediately in your browser or tablet.
Complete spines from H.E. Marshall, Charlotte Yonge, Arabella Buckley, Thornton Burgess, plus 109 traditional hymns and poetry.
Every chapter includes noble narration prompts and copywork excerpts ready to go, saving Mom hours of Sunday evening prep.