Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 942 sentences across 189 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 — 942 sentences across 189 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
You just wait till she pulls your hair. She pulls it right out by the roots. I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause." And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes. Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 942 sentences across 189 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 82/188 · 5 reading units · Lines 406–410
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.
completely unclothed
From this reading “I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."”
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading “Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.”
a unit of instruction
From this reading “And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."”
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading “And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.”
plural of “pull” — the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading “You just wait till she pulls your hair.”
the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage
From this reading “She pulls it right out by the roots.”
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading “I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."”
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 I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
completely unclothed
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading She pulls it right out by the roots.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading You just wait till she pulls your hair.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She pulls it right out by the roots.
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
and nothing more
From this reading You just wait till she pulls your hair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
a unit of instruction
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
immediately following in time or order
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
not any; not one
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She pulls it right out by the roots.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
participate in games or sport
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
plural of “pull” — the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading You just wait till she pulls your hair.
precisely, exactly
From this reading She pulls it right out by the roots.
the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage
From this reading She pulls it right out by the roots.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading You just wait till she pulls your hair.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading I'll show you a bare spot on my head during the next pause."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She pulls it right out by the roots.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
up to a particular time
From this reading You just wait till she pulls your hair.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading You just wait till she pulls your hair.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Other children joined them, and no one seemed to think less of Keith for what had happened to him.
at the time that
From this reading And so he did when the lesson came to an end and they were permitted to play for a few minutes.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You just wait till she pulls your hair.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You just wait till she pulls your hair.
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child by Edwin Björkman holds 942 sentences, grouped into 189 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 942 sentences of The Soul of a Child, unabridged, divided into 189 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 942 sentences, grouped into 189 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 189 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 189 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 The Soul of a Child by Edwin Björkman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2796 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12283 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12283, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 233 minutes of reading across 560 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Soul of a Child section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Soul of a Child 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 Soul of a Child, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
