These mostly 1960s edition readers were produced by the American Book Company, under the name Betts Basic Readers. The original edition (of which I have one: Down Singing River), was published in 1949. The others were all published in 1958 and 1965. The fun little mottled covers with their fanciful modern illustration by Oscar Liebman are a delightful addition to my school book collection.
Although the illustrations in these books are not my absolute favorites of my school books, the stories in these readers are wonderful. The word adventure in the title of several of the books is perfect: there is lots of adventure to be found here! Stories of children from different parts of the USA, different times in history, and different places in the world, all have a definite adventurous tone. Conflict resolution, creativity, excitement, and appreciation for different cultures and times are the centerpiece of all of these stories.
LOVE the Map in that book - pure beauty!!
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