Biblioteca pentru toi copiii“ cuprinde cele mai preuite opere ale scriitorilor clasici ai literaturii romne i universale. Crile de neuitat ale copilriei sunt disponibile astzi si in format e-book.Am scris cri despre copii; m-am gndit la sufletul lor, care era doritor de o poveste duioas, cu animale. Fram, ursul polar e o poveste cam trist, dar e scris totui pentru copii; i e izvort dintr-un sentiment de mil pentru un pui de urs ntlnit la o menajerie.“ – Cezar Petrescu

Cella Serghi este Margaret Mitchell a noastr. Aceeai for epic, aceeai curgere a personajului, acelai tip de feminitate care lupt i trebuie s nving. Cine nu i amintete ultima pagin din Pe aripile vntului, ctor cititoare nu le-a slujit drept suport, drept lecie de via Un feminism cald care e mai mult un fel de solidaritate feminin...Naturaleea, spontaneitatea scriiturii, conturarea personajului principal, att de sincer i de cuceritor, capacitatea de-a face cititorul s viseze i, nu n ultim instan, succesul de public pentru o carte de dragoste, toate acestea nseamn c avem de a face cu o carte de referin.“ – Cleopatra Loriniu

Nu n latura caracterologic st ns meritul romanului lui Cezar Petrescu. n datele lor interne, personajele au ceva predictibil. Ascensiunile le sunt sincrone. Cderea unuia duce la prbuirea celorlali. i, de obicei, ntocmai ca n jocul de domino, toi au n preajm pe cte cineva. Momentele de singurtate sunt rare n Calea Victoriei. Admirabil, n schimb, e invenia epic, dei nu din ea, ci din lirismul difuz i s-a tras romancierului succesul. Fiecare capitol ncepe printr-un soi de avertisment metaforic, fr nicio legtur explicit cu coninutul ulterior. Unele dintre aceste puneri n tem (mai degrab dect n abis) au ntr-adevr structur de anecdote, dar att de generale, nct propriu-zis nu putem vorbi despre narativitate autentic. Cel mult, despre infuzie de stri de spirit. Procedeul ine de alegorie, i substratul vag moralizator se ghicete permanent ndrtul lui. nsi Calea Victoriei reprezint, au artat-o mai toi comentatorii, un alt nume pentru melanjul de opulen, viciu, civilitate, elegan, conspiraie i tragedie care freamt n marele ora. De altminteri, prea puine lucruri se petrec spaial pe fostul Pod al Mogooaiei.“ – Cosmin Ciotlo

De altminteri, ne asigur, mereu, autorul, tabloul societii imediat postbelice este moral fracturat att de cauze sociale multiple ct i de nelesuri foarte eterogene conferite evenimentelor de protagoniti. Or, n noua realitate fiecare se simte ndreptit s solicite ceva de la via, de la istorie, de la ceilali, i, nu chiar n ultimul rnd, de la soart. Peisajul tipologiilor umane nu este unul idilic i armonios, ci unul bazat pe dezacord, pe conflict i pe nenelegere. i stau cititorului, fa n fa, idealiti morali (Vasile Mogrea) care refuz orice compromis i orice umilin, dar i venic adaptaii la succes, dintre care erou paradigmatic este Alexandru Vardaru. El n-are deziluzii n via pentru c nu-i creeaz sperane dearte sau iluzii prosteti. Clar i rspicat, se autodefinete privindu-l cu mil, dezgust i dispre pe mutilatul nenelegtor Radu Coma: Eu m-am socotit ntotdeauna nedemn de aa-zise marile idealuri. Viaa mi s-a prut mai simpl... Omul nu se sacrific idealurilor vagi. Nu iubesc o lume imaginar; o iubesc pe cea real! Nu una viitoare; pe cea prezent!... tiu c nu putem face miracole, nici n viaa de toate zilele, nici n cea politic... Tot ce poi face e s corectezi puin i treptat realitatea. Chiar patriot, sunt fr imaginaie... Ideile generoase duc la dezordine, lirismul la catastrofe!...ntunecare este un titlu ce a ajuns s conin n sine mai multe sensuri, cel antropologic destinal fiind, desigur, cel mai profund. Dar acest neles va fi – pentru muli cititori – corelat mereu i cu semnificaii sociale i psihologice. De ce Pentru simplul motiv c baza social i cea psihologic din orice rzboi, rscoal sau revoluie aduc la suprafa multe fee ale ntunecrii. Acestea sunt stocate n memoria colectiv, iar unele au constituit obiect de analiz romanesc. Fiecare cititor apeleaz, vrnd-nevrnd, la aceste nelesuri ale ntunecrilor venite din cele dou mari surse: istoria i literatura. Oricum, ntunecare a lui Cezar Petrescu rmne un reper literar major, unul dttor de seam att pentru istoria literaturii romne, ct i pentru evoluia luminrilor i ntunecrilor colective, periodice, ale poporului nostru.“ – Vasile Morar

n anii 1870, Jacques Rebière i Thomas Midwinter, doi tineri ambiioi, descoper c au aceeai fascinaie de a nelege cum funcioneaz mintea omeneasc.Cercetrile lor n noul domeniu al psihiatriei i poart dintr-un ospiciu englezesc de la ar n cmpiile Africii, din slile de conferin ale Parisului n Alpii austrieci i n California. i nsoesc n aceast cltorie iniiatic Sonia, sora devotat a lui Thomas, i Katharina, o fost pacient, a crei sosire n sanatoriul lor de boli nervoase dezvluie pentru prima dat direciile diferite ale cercetrii lor. La trecerea ntr-un nou secol i n vreme ce Europa este divizat de Primul Rzboi Mondial, cei doi prienteni sunt constrni la o tragic introspecie a propriilor idealuri i credine.Impresionant i provocator n acelai timp, romanul lui Sebastian Faulks caut rspuns la ntrebarea ce fel de fiine suntem noi, oamenii, i dac nu cumva nebunia este preul pe care l pltim pentru a fi umani.Cel mai ambiios roman al lui Sebastian Faulks de pn acum… Dragoste, loialitate, curaj, compasiune, generozitate… acetia sunt polii n jurul crora graviteaz povetile sale.“ – The Independent

Adrian Punescu scrie proz cu degetele arse de miracolul poeziei, i de aici succesul tulburtor, care, n loc s mntuie, nspimnt, oblig i rtcete. Poet al fluenelor de liliac n grle de piatr rar, al brumelor de bronz, al cderii n rnile dorului i n hohote de chihlimbar, grav despicat de neiertare i de rzvrtire, Adrian Punescu intr n hotarele prozei prin vijelia reportajului. (...) Puin i pas dac lumea l aplaud sau l njur, el vrea s rstoarne i s cldeasc, i n-are timp s cpieze stnd ntr-un picior, viaa e scurt i, dac nu vrea s se ndrepte prin cntec (i nu vrea), trebuie rezidit din mers i nvat s cnte. Reportajul lui Punescu e, nainte de toate, unul de atitudine, adevrul sare din pagin ca miezul dintr-o ceap zdrobit cu pumnul (...), fulgerul, aparent liric i aparent hrnit de curcubeie, e un arc al ndoielii, un crlig veninos umblnd prin crpturile pmntului, strigtul doare, suspinul are ghimpi n cretet, gerul frige, apsarea nghea.Durabila for a reporterului Adrian Punescu vine de acolo c el n-are chef, n nici o pagin, s fie ru de but n apte linguri, ci numai fluviu azvrlindu-se n mare, cu toate aluviunile i rzboaiele sufletului.“

„Lectur? obligatorie pentru oricine vrea s? aib? succes în afaceri sau în via?a personal?.“ – Jim Skinner, CEO McDonald’s 2004–2012

Cred c niciodat scrisul nu mi-a produs atta plcere ca atunci cnd am scris ultima parte a romanului Noapte i zi.“ – Virginia Woolf Noapte i zi este libretul perfect al unei opere clasice n maniera comic, dar melancolic a lui Mozart, cu un oarecare adaos de disonane stilistice – cum st bine unui text modern.“ – Jane Marcus Romanul acesta mi pare a fi un exerciiu deliberat clasicizant. Conine tot ceea ce a caracterizat proza romanesc englez n ultimii o sut cincizeci de ani: ncredere n relaiile personale, recursul la scene umoristice secundare, accentul pe diferenierile sociale nesemnificative.“ – E.M. Forster Virginia Woolf a fost o mare scriitoare. Vocea ei este unic, la fel ca stilul ei. Opera ei exercit o influen activ asupra scriitorilor i una subtil asupra a ceea ce ne-am obinuit s ateptm de la literatura modern. [...] A fost o inovatoare care a redefinit romanul i a deschis calea evoluiilor sale ulterioare.“ – Jeanette Winterson Clasici moderni Litera pune laolalt scriitori moderni ale cror opere au devenit deja repere clasice. Cele mai importante, mai provocatoare, mai emoionante, mai revoluionare opere din ultimii 125 de ani – cri care vor continua s fie citite de la o generaie la alta.

Englezii nu au nici un respect fa de limba lor i nu sunt interesai s-i nvee copiii s-o vorbeasc. Ortografia lor este att de oribil, nct nici nu om nu poate nva s pronune dup ea.“ – G. Bernard Shaw Pentru opera sa care este marcat de idealism i umanitate, pentru satira sa stimulatoare, plin de multe ori de o singular frumusee poetic.“ – Comitetul Nobel Cei mai muli oameni spun c i dau dreptate lui Bernard Shaw sau c nu-l neleg. Eu sunt singurul care-l nelege i nu-i dau dreptate. – C.K. Chesterton Cu privirea sa ptrunztoare, dramaturgul vede c, de cele mai multe ori, o serie de achiziii superficiale – mbrcmintea, limbajul, purtrile, stilul de via – sunt cele care acord de fapt individului statutul social considerat cu mndrie un drept al posesorului: i i rde de asta, ca democrat i socialist, cam la fel cum Molière i rde de una sau de alta dintre profesiile liberale.“ – R.E. Burton

The longer stories in this book are called Fairy Stories, because that is the name by which such tales are always known to children; and yet only a very few contain any direct reference to fairies. The most of them have to do with talking animals and with strange incidents and transformations such as have always delighted the childish fancy. They have been drawn from a variety of sources; and liberty has been taken to make such changes in the narratives as seemed most necessary to adapt them to the understanding and needs of the children of our own time and country. ??Free renderings, they may be called, of some of the most popular folktales of foreign lands. The Three Bears, Tom Thumb, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Tom Tit Tot are old English favorites dressed in modern garb; Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Princet and the Golden Blackbird, and Drakesbill and his Friends are variants of the well-known French versions by Perrault, Marelles, and Sebillot; Little Tuppen and The Three Goats named Bruse are from Norwegian sources; and the rest are founded upon German originals. In the retelling of these tales care has been taken to avoid whatever might distress the most sensitive child as well as everything that could give a wrong bias to his moral nature or distort his perception of the beautiful and the true.

ONE of the best things to be said of the stories in this volume is that, although they are not biographical, they are about real persons who actually lived and performed their parts in the great drama of the world's history. Some of these persons were more famous than others, yet all have left enduring "footprints on the sands of time" and their names will not cease to be remembered. ??In each of the stories there is a basis of truth and an ethical lesson which cannot fail to have a wholesome influence; and each possesses elements of interest which, it is believed, will go far towards proving the fallibility of the doctrine that children find delight only in tales of the imaginative and unreal. The fact that there are a few more than fifty famous people mentioned in the volume may be credited to the author's wish to give good measure.??SAVING THE BIRDS?ONE day in spring four men were riding on horseback along a country road. These men were lawyers, and they were going to the next town to attend court.?There had been a rain, and the ground was very soft. Water was dripping from the trees, and the grass was wet.?The four lawyers rode along, one behind another; for the pathway was narrow, and the mud on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly, and talked and laughed and were very jolly.?As they were passing through a grove of small trees, they heard a great fluttering over their heads and a feeble chirping in the grass by the roadside.? "Stith! stith! stith!" came from the leafy branches above them.?"Cheep! cheep! cheep!" came from the wet grass.?"What is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer, whose name was Speed.?"Oh, it's only some old robins!" said the second lawyer, whose name was Hardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones out of the nest. They are too young to fly, and the mother bird is making a great fuss about it."?"What a pity! They'll die down there in the grass," said the third lawyer, whose name I forget.?"Oh, well! They're nothing but birds," said Mr. Hardin. "Why should we bother?"? "Yes, why should we?" said Mr. Speed.?The three men, as they passed, looked down and saw the little birds fluttering in the cold, wet grass. They saw the mother robin flying about, and crying to her mate.?Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. In a few minutes they had forgotten about the birds.?But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and very gently took the little ones up in his big warm hands.

When George Washington was a boy there was no United States. The land was here, just as it is now, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific; but nearly all of it was wild and unknown.??Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Allegheny Mo-untains there were thirteen colonies, or great settlements. The most of the people who lived in these colonies were English people, or the children of English people; and so the King of England made their laws and appointed their governors.??The newest of the colonies was Georgia, which was settled the year after George Washington was born.?The oldest colony was Virginia, which had been settled one hundred and twenty-five years. It was also the richest colony, and more people were living in it than in any other.??There were only two or three towns in Virginia at that time, and they were quite small.?Most of the people lived on farms or on big plantations, where they raised whatever they needed to eat. They also raised tobacco, which they sent to England to be sold.??The farms, or plantations, were often far apart, with stretches of thick woods between them. Nearly every one was close to a river, or some other large body of water; for there are many rivers in Virginia..

Jean Bodel a minstrel of the thirteenth century, wrote, "There are but three subjects which interest men,—the tales of France, of Britain, and of Rome the great; and to these subjects there is nothing like. The tales of Britain are so light and pleasant, those of Rome are wise and of teachful sense; those of France, truly every day of greater appearance."??In this story of Roland as I propose telling it, I shall intro-duce you to some of the most pleasing of those "tales of France" The poems and legends which embody them were written in various languages, and at widely different times; but in them two names, Charlemagne and Roland are of very frequent occurrence. Charlemagne, as you know, was a real historical personage, the greatest monarch of medieval times. His empire included France, the greater part of Germany and Italy; and his power and influence were felt all over the Christian world. The fame of his achievements in war was heralded and sung in every country of Europe; his name was in the mouth of every story-teller and wandering bard; and it finally became customary to ascribe all the heroic deeds and wonderful events of three centuries to the time of Charlemagne. ??The songs and stories in which these events were related were dressed up with every kind of embellishment to suit the circumstances of their recital. Wild myths of the Pagan ages, legends and traditions of the Christian Church, superstitious notions of magic and witchcraft, fantastic stories derived from the Arabs of Spain and the East,—all these were blended in one strange mass, and grafted upon a slender core of historical truth. The result was a curious mixture of fact and fiction, of the real and the marvellous, of the beautiful and the impure, of Christian devotion and heathen superstition. And it was thus that "the tales of France", which we may term the legendary history of Charlemagne, came into being ..

"Mother, a Story at the right time,Is a Looking-glass for the Mind." – Froebel – Endeavored to write, for mothers and dear little children, a few simple stories, embodying some of the truths of Froebel's Mother Play. The Mother Play is such a vast treasure house of Truth, that each one who seeks among its stores may bring to light some gem; and though, perhaps, I have missed its diamonds and rubies, I trust my string of pearls may find acceptance with some mother who is trying to live with her children. I have written my own mottoes, with a few exceptions, that I might emphasize the particular lesson which I endeavor to teach in the story; for every motto in the Mother Play comprehends so much that it is impossible to use the whole for a single subject. From "The Bridge" for instance, which is replete with lessons, I have taken only one,—for the story of the "Little Traveler."

IN the far-off days when Dante lived, those who wrote books wrote them in the Latin tongue. Dante himself wrote the first seven cantos of his great poem in Latin. But like many another poet, he was not satisfied with his first attempt. He flung the seven Latin cantos aside and seemingly forgot all about them, for when he was banished from Florence the poem he had begun was not among his treasures. His wife, however, found the seven cantos and tossed them into a bag among her jewels. Then she also seemed to forget all about them. Five years later a nephew of Dante chanced to find the long-forgotten verses. He at once sent them to his uncle, who was still living in exile. When Dante received the cantos he had written so long ago, he believed that their recovery was a sign from Heaven that he should complete the great poem he had begun. He therefore set to work afresh, but this time he wrote, not in Latin, but in his own beautiful mother-tongue, which was, as you know, Italian. When at length the great poem was finished, Dante named it simply, "The Comedy," and it was not until many years after his de-ath that the title was changed into "The Divine Comedy." A comedy was a tale which might be as sad as tale could be, so only that it ended in gladness.In "The Divine Comedy," then, about which this little book tells, you may expect to find much that is sad, much that is terrible. Yet you may be certain that before the end of the tale you will find in it gladness and joy..

An extremely unhappy ten-year-old magically escapes into a city he has built out of books, chessmen, candlesticks, and other household items.

It's startling enough to have a Phoenix hatch in your house, but even more startling when it reveals you have a magic carpet on the floor. Conceited it may be, but the Phoenix is also good-hearted, and obligingly accompanies the children on their adventures through time and space-which, magic being what it is, rarely turn out as they were meant...

'The Phoenix on the Sword' is a story in the Conan series where he foils a plot to overthrow him as King of Aquilonia. Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas in 1906. During his youth, his family moved between a variety of Texan boomtowns, and Howard – a bookish and somewhat introverted child – was steeped in the violent myths and legends of the Old South. At fifteen Howard began to read the pulp magazines of the day, and to write more seriously. The December 1922 issue of his high school newspaper featured two of his stories, 'Golden Hope Christmas' and 'West is West'. In 1924 he sold his first piece – a short caveman tale titled 'Spear and Fang' – for $16 to the not-yet-famous Weird Tales magazine. Howard's most famous character, Conan the Cimmerian, was a barbarian-turned-King during the Hyborian Age, a mythical period of some 12,000 years ago. Conan featured in seventeen Weird Tales stories between 1933 and 1936 which is why Howard is now regarded as having spawned the 'sword and sorcery' genre. The Conan stories have since been adapted many times, most famously in the series of films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.Other Books of Howard:The Hour of the Dragon (1936)The Hyborian Age (1930)People of the Dark (1932)Gods of the North (1934)Beyond the Black River (1935)A Witch Shall be Born (1934)The Scarlet Citadel (1933)Black Colossus (1933)Queen of the Black Coast (1934)Jewels of Gwahlur (1935)

When a young pair of newlyweds settle down into a small cottage in a quiet village, they look forward to a pleasant, pastoral life of domestic bliss. The husband, a practical man, dismisses the superstitious maid's tale of an ancient curse about the local church's marble statues who come to life each year on All Saint's Eve to wreak revenge. But then, on the fateful night, he discovers that the stone slabs on which the knights rest are empty. Is his young bride in peril?

The story's title character is a man who somehow always seems to get what he wants. John makes up his mind to marry May Forster, the prettiest young woman in the village. After John asks her to marry him several times, May finally agrees. John says that his love for May is so great that he would come back from the dead if that was what she wanted him to do. Two days before his wedding, John leaves to visit his seriously ill godfather. May begs him not to go because she has a feeling that something bad will happen. John reassures her that nothing will prevent him from arriving at his wedding on time

Michael Faraday (1791 –1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include those of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis. Although Faraday received little formal education, he was one of the most influential scientists in history. It was by his research on the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday established the basis for the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics. Faraday also established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. He similarly discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and the laws of electrolysis. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became practical for use in technology. As a chemist, Faraday discovered benzene, investigated the clathrate hydrate of chlorine, invented an early form of the Bunsen burner and the system ofoxidation numbers, and popularised terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion. Faraday ultimately became the first and foremost Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, a life-time position.. Faraday was an excellent experimentalist who conveyed his ideas in clear and simple language; his mathematical abilities, however, did not extend as far as trigonometry or any but the simplest algebra. James Clerk Maxwell took the work of Faraday and others, and summarized it in a set of equations that is accepted as the basis of all modern theories of electromagnetic phenomena. On Faraday's uses of the lines of force, Maxwell wrote that they show Faraday "to have been in reality a mathematician of a very high order – one from whom the mathematicians of the future may derive valuable and fertile methods." The SI unit of capacitance is named in his honour: the farad. Albert Einstein kept a picture of Faraday on his study wall, alongside pictures of Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell. Physicist Ernest Rutherford stated; "When we consider the magnitude and extent of his discoveries and their influence on the progress of science and of industry, there is no honour too great to pay to the memory of Faraday, one of the greatest scientific discoverers of all time". ABOUT AUTHOR: John Tyndall (1820 – 1893) was a prominent 19th-century Irish physicist. His initial scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the physical properties of air. Tyndall also published more than a dozen science books which brought state-of-the-art 19th century experimental physics to a wide audience. From 1853 to 1887 he was professor of physics at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. Tyndall was born in Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland. His father was a local police constable, descended from Gloucestershire emigrants who settled in southeast Ireland around 1670. Tyndall attended the local schools in County Carlow until his late teens, and was probably an assistant teacher near the end of his time there. Subjects learned at school notably included technical drawing and mathematics with some applications of those subjects to land surveying. He was hired as a draftsman by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland in his late teens in 1839, and moved to work for the Ordnance Survey for Great Britain in 1842. In the decade of the 1840s, a railroad-building boom was in progress, and Tyndall's land surveying experience was valuable and in demand by the railway companies. Between 1844 and 1847, he was lucratively employed in railway construction planning. In 1847 Tyndall opted to become a mathematics and surveying teacher at a boarding school (Queenwood College) in Hampshire. Recalling this decision later, he wrote: "the desire to grow intellectually did not forsake me; and, when railway work slackened, I accepted in 1847 a post as master in Queenwood College." Another recently arrived young teacher at Queenwood was Edward Frankland, who had previously worked as a chemical laboratory assistant for the British Geological Survey. Frankland and Tyndall became good friends. On the strength of Frankland's prior knowledge, they decided to go to Germany to further their education in science. Among other things, Frankland knew that certain German universities were ahead of any in Britain in expe-rimental chemistry and physics. (British universities were still focused on classics and mathematics and not laboratory science.)The pair moved to Germany in summer 1848 and enrolled at the University of Marburg, where Robert Bunsen was an influential teacher. Tyndall studied under Bunsen for two years.