First Reader by Harriette Taylor Treadwell and Margaret Free, illustrated by Frederick Richardson
This book was published Row, Peterson & Company around 1911 in Chicago. It's a typical reader for beginners, a compilation of classic stories and songs, with clear morals and pretty pictures. Easy to follow and easy to use as a learning material for the basics of English language.
We'll focus on illustrations by Frederik Richardson only. Two of them were damaged in the first edition, so we used the same pictures from reprint (they differ by lighter background and wider frames). Maybe we'll add some additional info on stories later.
The Three Little Pigs
The Cat and the Mouse
Little Boy Blue
Once I Saw a Little Bird
Some Little Mice
The North Wind
The Bremen Band
Wee Robin's Christmas Song
The Straw Ox
The Boy and the Fox
The Caterpillar
A Frisky Lamb
The Broken Doll
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
The Little Two Eyes
Little Half Chickl
Little Robin Redbreast
If All the Seas Were One See
The Old Woman in the Basket
Mother Hubbard
Three Little Kittens
Little Topknot
The Fisherman and His Wife
This is very powerful fairy tale about gratitude and greed by brothers Grimm (KHM 19). It is not among most popular ones today, partly due unhappy ending and partly due very strong educational message. However it's a classic worth further exploring, so here we have a link to do exaclty that:
https://childrensandhouseholdtales.wordpress.com/2019/10/11/the-fisherman-and-his-wife/
The Lad and the North Wind
The Sheep and Pig
The Moon
What Does the Little Birdie Say
Of course, this was just the first reader. The same team (publisher, authors, illustrator) collaborated on many more occasions. Maybe we'll introduce some of them later. Bye for now!