Shelf two · after the 30 days

English folk tales

Ten tales collected by Joseph Jacobs in 1890, in the original text — not retold, not simplified. They sit at the same level as the second half of the 30-day plan, so this is a shelf you can walk onto, not climb up to.

Why ten tales, and why these

Research on extensive reading puts the point where vocabulary measurably grows at around 36,000 words of input. The 30-day plan gets you to 27,200. The first seven tales here add 10,288 more and carry you past it. The last three are longer — two to four thousand words each — and are the step up toward the next level.

The seven that get you there

Shortest first, about the length of the stories you finished on day 30. Tap a book to read.

Three longer ones, when you are ready

Two to four times the length, with more people to keep track of. This is what the next level reads like.

Why the original text

Real English, not textbook English

These are the words people actually told these stories in. Once you can read them, you can read a book.

Tap any word

Old words and country words are exactly what the dictionary is for. Tap one and it joins your vocabulary list.

A short quiz

Four questions after each tale, so you find out whether you followed it or only think you did.

Keep going

Save what you read

An account keeps the words you tap and the tales you finish, on every device — and tells you the day the next shelf opens.

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