Chapter 3 of The Child's Book of Nature is here in full — 252 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Child's Book of Nature is here in full — 252 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SHAPES OF FLOWERS. [Sidenote: Flowers shaped like stars.] Flowers are of all kinds of shapes. The shape of the flower often gives it its name. Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
Chapter 3 of The Child's Book of Nature is here in full — 252 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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 “aster” — any of various chiefly fall-blooming herbs of the genus Aster with showy daisylike flowers
From this reading “Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.”
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “The shape of the flower often gives it its name.”
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading “The shape of the flower often gives it its name.”
plural of “kind” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “Flowers are of all kinds of shapes.”
of or relating to the ancient Latins or the Latin language
From this reading “Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.”
any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading “The shape of the flower often gives it its name.”
shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)
From this reading “[Sidenote: Flowers shaped like stars.]”
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading “THE SHAPES OF FLOWERS.”
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.
(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 Flowers are of all kinds of shapes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Flowers are of all kinds of shapes.
plural of “aster” — any of various chiefly fall-blooming herbs of the genus Aster with showy daisylike flowers
From this reading Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The shape of the flower often gives it its name.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading THE SHAPES OF FLOWERS.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading The shape of the flower often gives it its name.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The shape of the flower often gives it its name.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The shape of the flower often gives it its name.
plural of “kind” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading Flowers are of all kinds of shapes.
of or relating to the ancient Latins or the Latin language
From this reading Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading [Sidenote: Flowers shaped like stars.]
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The shape of the flower often gives it its name.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE SHAPES OF FLOWERS.
many times at short intervals
From this reading The shape of the flower often gives it its name.
any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading The shape of the flower often gives it its name.
shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)
From this reading [Sidenote: Flowers shaped like stars.]
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading THE SHAPES OF FLOWERS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Sidenote: Flowers shaped like stars.]
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading [Sidenote: Flowers shaped like stars.]
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SHAPES OF FLOWERS.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Some are shaped like stars, and are called asters, the word in Latin for stars.
Chapter 3 of The Child's Book of Nature by Worthington Hooker holds 252 sentences, grouped into 51 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 3 holds 252 sentences of The Child's Book of Nature, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Child's Book of Nature by Worthington Hooker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 252 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 3 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 Child's Book of Nature by Worthington Hooker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8841 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58421 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58421, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1769 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Child's Book of Nature section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Child's Book of Nature 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 Child's Book of Nature, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
