Green Forest Stories

Thornton W. Burgess gathered these gentle animal tales for young children in the early twentieth century, and they unfold in the Green Forest, where Lightfoot the Deer, Buster Bear, Blacky the Crow, and their neighbors go about their days. Each short chapter follows a woodland creature through a small adventure, a narrow escape, or a lesson in getting along, told in the warm, patient voice of a bedtime storyteller. Burgess folded real natural history into the fun, so children learn how the animals actually live even as they laugh at their scrapes and squabbles. The stories are simple, kind, and quietly educational. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.