The Atkinson-Ravitch Sampler of Classic Literature: Grade Eight
Explore the Grade Eight Atkinson-Ravitch Sampler of Classic Literature, featuring timeless works like Jack London's *The Call of the Wild*, *The Pilgrim's Progress*, and Howard Pyle's *Otto of the Silver Hand*. This curated collection of essential classics, including Bret Harte and *The Scarlet Pimpernel*, builds character and literary knowledge for eighth-grade readers.
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Bret Harte's Gold Rush
by Bret Harte
These fifteen stories bring the California Gold Rush to life with their boisterous assemblage of rough-clad miners, pistol-packing preachers, iron-willed women, and philosophical gamblers. Theirs was an unpredictable world, filled with gold strikes and freak tragedies, when the wisdom of the gambler sometimes counted for more than that of the preacher. A master storyteller, Harte weaves tales that seem to come directly from the campfire, where the spinning of yarns and swapping of lies were the highest form of entertainment.
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The Call of the Wild
by Jack London
Rugged, outdoor story of the sled dog Buck, who, mistreated by his master, breaks free to roam the Alaskan wilderness.
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The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Emmuska Orczy Orczy
In 1792, during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, an English aristocrat known to be an ineffectual fop is actually a master of disguises who, with a small band of dedicated friends, undertakes dangerous missions to save members of the French nobility from the guillotine.
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Otto of the Silver Hand
by Howard Pyle
Born into a family that is already engaged in a blood feud with another noble house, Otto is sent to live with monks, but is reclaimed at age 12 by his militant, but loving father. The gentle-natured boy is kidnapped and mutilated by the rival family. Pauline, his captors daughter helps him escape. His father allows him to return to the monks who place him under the emperor's protection. His silver hand is a replacement for the one Otto lost while in captivity, but his injury does not prevent him from maturing wisely and marrying Pauline.
