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Young Readers
Stories of childhood, exploration, resilience and imaginative adventure represented across the current public-domain collection.
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Independent digital catalogue
OELAT Historical Children’s Library – Free Public Domain Books for Youth
This library brings together 91 public-domain books for young readers, published roughly between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. The catalogue is organized into four overlapping categories—Young Readers, School Stories, Children's Adventures, and Fairy Moral Tales—to help you navigate by setting and theme. You'll find school and camp stories, mysteries and detective tales, adventure series, and moral fables. Each record lists the author, publisher, keywords, and target reader, plus a catalogue note examining structure, imagery, or authorial choices. These notes are based on excerpts and editorial observation, not full-text analysis for every work. All texts originate from Project Gutenberg, with bibliographic details reproduced as provided by that source.
91 public-domain works85 represented authorsSource-attributed catalogue records
Subject gateways
Explore by Theme
Browse the collection by subject, historical setting, and source type to find works that interest you.
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School Stories
A focused group of public-domain works connected by subject, literary setting and recurring questions.
03
Childrens Adventures
Stories of childhood, exploration, resilience and imaginative adventure represented across the current public-domain collection.
04
Fairy Moral Tales
Fairy tales, legends, myths and traditional narratives drawn from different literary and cultural settings.
Children’s — Editor’s Selection
A closer look
Collection Spotlight
One work and three nearby readings from the current catalogue.
Childrens Adventures
A Young Hero; Or, Fighting to Wi...
Authored by Authors: Ellis, Edward Sylvester, ..., 'A Young Hero; Or, Fighting to Wi...' stands as a notable and significant work within the Childrens Adventures category. Edward S. Ellis's 1888 adventure follows Fred Sheldon, a schoolboy peacemaker in Tottenville, as he faces bullies, a circus lion escape, and a theft accusation, with excerpts showing chase scenes, moral dilemmas, and period classroom life. Explore the nuanced perspectives and historical context offered in this document.
View catalogue recordNewly Catalogued by OELAT
Tales of Shipwrecks and Other Di...
In Childre...
Uncle Wiggily on The Flying Rug;...
In Childre...
The Radio Girls at Forest Lodge;...
In Childre...
The Sportsman's Club Afloat — Re...
In Childre...
The Girl Scouts at Singing Sands...
In Childre...
The Rod and Gun Club — Text and ...
In Childre...
Along the Mohawk Trail; Or, Boy ...
In Childre...
The Red Cross Girls on the Frenc...
In Childre...
Routes through the collection
Reading Paths
Four routes into the collection for readers approaching the catalogue with different questions.
Begin with Young ReadersOpen a focused route to works connected with Young Readers.Explore School StoriesCompare authors, source types and recurring questions within School Stories.Read through Childrens AdventuresMove from introductory records to related works in Childrens Adventures.Browse Fairy Moral TalesUse this theme as a starting point for nearby catalogue records in Fairy Moral Tales.
Record framework
How This Catalogue Works
Understand how records are presented and linked without altering the original source texts.
Source connection
Connect catalogue pages with the files and references currently available for each book.
Metadata organization
See clear title, author, and edition details to help you discover books more easily.
Collection grouping
Group works by recurring subjects, literary settings, and historical questions for easier exploration.
Context layer
Show how records relate to each other while keeping the original source text unchanged.
About these records
Frequently Asked Questions
How the collection is organized, presented and corrected.
It generally means that the represented source text is no longer protected by copyright in the applicable jurisdiction or has been released for public use. Status may vary by country and edition.
A record may include the title, author, category, cover, description, edition information, source references and available reading or download options.
A category reflects a work’s principal subjects, literary setting, source type and relationship to nearby records in the collection.
The catalogue adds navigation, metadata and editorial context. The represented source text retains its wording, edition information and rights status.
Use the contact page and include the work title, page address and the exact attribution, category, metadata or source detail requiring attention.
Catalogue stewardship
The Editorial Team Oelat
Acquisitions Editor
The Editorial Team Oelat oversees the structure of this digital library, which holds 91 public-domain books by 85 authors in 4 categories. The collection is maintained for accuracy and completeness.
