Chapter 1 of Live Toys is here in full — 530 sentences across 106 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Live Toys is here in full — 530 sentences across 106 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets. "Jamie's Questions," "Weak And Wilful," etc. With Illustrations by Harrison Weir. London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard. M DCCC LXII.
Chapter 1 of Live Toys is here in full — 530 sentences across 106 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/106 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
plural of “anecdote” — short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
From this reading “Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.”
the yard associated with a church
From this reading “London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.”
United States film maker who was the first to use flashbacks and fade-outs (1875-1948)
From this reading “London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.”
English actor on stage and in films (1908-1990)
From this reading “With Illustrations by Harrison Weir.”
possessive form of “paul” — United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading “London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.”
plural of “pet” — a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading “Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.”
plural of “successor” — a person who follows next in order
From this reading “London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.”
a low dam built across a stream to raise its level or divert its flow
From this reading “With Illustrations by Harrison Weir.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.
plural of “anecdote” — short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
From this reading Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading With Illustrations by Harrison Weir.
the yard associated with a church
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading M DCCC LXII.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Jamie's Questions," "Weak And Wilful," etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.
United States film maker who was the first to use flashbacks and fade-outs (1875-1948)
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
English actor on stage and in films (1908-1990)
From this reading With Illustrations by Harrison Weir.
plural of “illustration” — artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading With Illustrations by Harrison Weir.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Jamie's Questions," "Weak And Wilful," etc.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
being two more than sixty
From this reading M DCCC LXII.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading M DCCC LXII.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.
possessive form of “paul” — United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
plural of “pet” — a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading Anecdotes of Our Four-Legged and Other Pets.
plural of “question” — an instance of questioning
From this reading "Jamie's Questions," "Weak And Wilful," etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
plural of “successor” — a person who follows next in order
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading London: Griffith and Farran, (Successors to Newbery and Harris,) Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading "Jamie's Questions," "Weak And Wilful," etc.
a low dam built across a stream to raise its level or divert its flow
From this reading With Illustrations by Harrison Weir.
done by design
From this reading "Jamie's Questions," "Weak And Wilful," etc.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With Illustrations by Harrison Weir.
Chapter 1 of Live Toys by Emma Davenport holds 530 sentences, grouped into 106 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 530 sentences of Live Toys, unabridged, divided into 106 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Live Toys by Emma Davenport exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 530 sentences, grouped into 106 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 106 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 106 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Live Toys by Emma Davenport on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1490 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42946 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42946, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 124 minutes of reading across 298 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Live Toys section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Live Toys to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Live Toys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
