Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was a phrase he had overheard sometime. Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him. "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically. "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army." "Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 130/312 · 5 reading units · Lines 646–650
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.
highly excited by eagerness, curiosity, etc.
From this reading “"Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.”
plural of “cousin” — the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading “"But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “"Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.”
inflected form of “overhear” — hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers
From this reading “It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.”
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading “It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.”
past form of “rejoin” — join again
From this reading “"There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.”
at some indefinite or unstated time
From this reading “It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.
highly excited by eagerness, curiosity, etc.
From this reading "Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."
plural of “cousin” — the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.
in a cryptic manner
From this reading "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.
a social unit living together
From this reading "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading "Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
an event that occurs at a critical time
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "But one of Granny's cousins was a lieutenant-colonel in the army."
inflected form of “overhear” — hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers
From this reading It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.
past form of “rejoin” — join again
From this reading "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
at some indefinite or unstated time
From this reading It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There is the royal family," his mother rejoined enigmatically.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now it seemed to fit the occasion, and it sounded good to him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a phrase he had overheard sometime.
in or at the place that
From this reading "Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Where is he now," Keith demanded, agog with interest.
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child by Edwin Björkman holds 1561 sentences, grouped into 313 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 1561 sentences of The Soul of a Child, unabridged, divided into 313 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child by Edwin Björkman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1561 sentences, grouped into 313 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 313 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 313 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Soul of a Child, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
