Portfolio 2 Columns

Heidi is a classic work of children’s fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning and Heidi: How She Used What She Learned. It is a novel about the events in the life of a young girl in her paternal grandfather’s care in the Swiss Alps. It was written as a book “for children and those who love children”.

“Do the wise thing and the kind thing too, and make the best of us and not the worst.” “Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to them.” ― Charles Dickens, Hard Times Hard Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book surveys English society and satirizes the social and economic conditions of the era. Hard Times is unusual in several ways. It is by far the shortest of Dickens’s novels, barely a quarter of the length of those written immediately before and after it. Moreover, it is his only novel not to have scenes set in London. Instead, the story is set in the fictitious Victorian industrial Coketown, a generic Northern English mill-town. The story concerns one Thomas Gradgrind, a “fanatic of the demonstrable fact,” who raises his children, Tom and Louisa, in a stifling and arid atmosphere of grim practicality. A classic audiobook publishing event.

Beatrix Potter was born July 28, 1866. She was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist best known for her children’s books featuring animals. Born into an upper-middle-class household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets and spent holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developing a love of landscape, flora, and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Potter’s study and watercolours of fungi led to her being widely respected in the field of mycology. In her thirties, Potter self-published the highly successful children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Following this, Potter began writing and illustrating children’s books full-time.. Potter’s books continue to sell throughout the world in many languages with her stories being retold in songs, films, ballet, and animations, and her life depicted in a feature film and television film.

Thirteen-year-old actor Eden Giuliano presents a brand new line of exciting children’s stories from Child’s Play Audio! Thornton W. 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. By the time he retired, he had written over 170 books and 15,000 stories for a daily newspaper column. 

“Sripad Jagannatha Dasa guides us into the sacred heart space of this life-changing hymn as only a dedicated lifelong Ram bhakta may. A self-realized yogi – a wonderful trip!.” The Yoga Journal “I bow to the Hanuman who is swifter than the mind and wind. The sacred one who has controlled his senses, the one who is the epitome of learning and wisdom. Salutations to the son of the God of Air and chief of the Vanaras, I pray always to Lord Hanuman.” The Hanuman Chalisa is a Vedic devotional hymn (stotra) in praise of Hanuman authored by the poet sage Tulsi Das. The word “chālīsā” means the number forty in Sanskrit, as the Hanuman Chalisa has forty verses. Lord Hanuman is a great devotee of Sri Ram and one of the central characters in the epic, Ramayan. Hanuman is also an incarnation of Shiva. The qualities of Hanuman – his strength, courage, wisdom, celibacy, devotion to Lord Ram, and the many names by which he is known are all in the Hanuman Chalisa. Devotional recitation of this sacred prayer is done by millions every day. Hanumanji is the greatest devotee of Sri Ram and an incarnation of the mighty Lord Shiva. He is therefore the epitome of ultimate devotion manifested with its full glory unchallenged in all times and places. By the power of his devotion to Sita Ram, he easily achieved supreme status as the perfect devotee and servitor. Lord Hanuman is the eternal link between all devotees and Ram whom he serves, inspires, and protects. By honoring Hanuman one is blessed with all kinds of siddhis including power, valor, prosperity, and devotion. Reciting or hearing the Hanuman Chalisa infuses one with unlimited energy and prana. This sacred mantra also increases a person’s resilience and they emerge victorious in every challenging situation.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. Carefully reproduced from the original artifact, this inspirational audio book remains true to the original ancient Viking era texts. 

Once again the world’s most beloved storyteller the Old Gray Goose enchants, inspires, and educates children of all ages in this very special audio program celebrating Halloween. Complete with scary sound effects and thrilling tales this action-packed collection is a true classic pulled out by families every year in celebration of the trick or treat holiday kids look forward to throughout the year.

“Goose was an exceptionally kind, open, honest and understanding gentleman of the finest caliber. His natural charisma and charm is well known. At the Saturday night campfires in the woods he was a magical performer, pretending to play a banjo with an old tennis racket wearing a white pith helmet with a painted red band which had definitely seeing better days. He told wonderfully engrossing stores, some of them scary – but not too much. We all sang camp songs together, which I still remember word for word. Goose was universally loved and deeply respected by everyone, parents and campers alike. Twenty years later I would see Goose in Lockport riding his old bicycle around town. He was a devout Christian Scientist in the very best and purest sense. He told me he read the Bible out loud in his room for two hours every day. He lived at the Y for God knows how many years. There were to be many more adventures between Goose and I in later years, including our travels together in India in 1993 with my young daughter Avalon and awkward nephew, Robin. Goose would remain an important figure in my life when, years later, he became one of the premier artists on my fledgling label Samba Records wherein we recorded many original very popular CDs, now audiobooks, of his wonderful children’s stories and songs. Almost thirty years later they still sell well online. ” -GEOFFREY GIULIANO