Chapter 21 of The Burgess Bird Book for Children is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Burgess Bird Book for Children is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Boom! Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot. It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think. Then he looked foolish. He felt foolish.
Chapter 21 of The Burgess Bird Book for Children is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading “Boom!”
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading “Then he looked foolish.”
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.”
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading “Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.”
any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food
From this reading “Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.”
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading “It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.”
not expected or anticipated
From this reading “It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading Boom!
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt foolish.
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading Then he looked foolish.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Then he looked foolish.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Peter Rabbit jumped as if he had been shot.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he looked foolish.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was all so sudden and unexpected that Peter jumped before he had time to think.
Chapter 21 of The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 129 sentences, grouped into 26 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 21 holds 129 sentences of The Burgess Bird Book for Children, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 21 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 The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5090 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3074 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3074, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 424 minutes of reading across 1018 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Burgess Bird Book for Children section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Burgess Bird Book for Children 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 The Burgess Bird Book for Children, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
