author
Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
1874–1965
A beloved storyteller of the natural world, he turned fields, forests, and ponds into lively neighborhoods filled with memorable animal characters. His gentle tales entertained children while quietly teaching respect for wildlife and the outdoors.
45 Audiobooks
Old Mother West Wind
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Bowser the Hound
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Happy Jack
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Prickly Porky
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Old Granny Fox
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Mother West Wind "How" Stories
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Old Man Coyote
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Mother West Wind "Why" Stories
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Poor Mrs. Quack
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Mother West Wind "Where" Stories
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Johnny Chuck
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Paddy Beaver
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Buster Bear
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Blacky the Crow
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Mother West Wind's Children
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Mrs. Peter Rabbit
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Reddy Fox
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Sammy Jay
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Bobby Coon
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Boy Scouts in A Trapper's Camp
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Grandfather Frog
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Mother West Wind's Animal Friends
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Whitefoot the Wood Mouse
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Mr. Mocker
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Bob White
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Buster Bear's Twins
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Mother West Wind "When" Stories
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Billy Mink
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Lightfoot the Deer
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Christmas Reindeer
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Boy Scouts of Woodcraft Camp
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Peter Cottontail
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
The Wishing-Stone Stories
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Little Joe Otter
by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
About the author
Born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, in 1874, Thornton W. Burgess grew up with a deep love of nature that shaped his entire career. He became one of America's best-known children's writers, creating stories in which animals spoke, schemed, and learned lessons in the woods and meadows of New England.
His first major success, Old Mother West Wind (1910), introduced many of the characters readers came to know across a long-running series. Over the course of his life, he wrote more than 170 books and thousands of newspaper stories, building a world that felt warm, familiar, and closely observed.
Burgess was also a committed conservationist. The same affection for birds, ponds, and wild creatures that made his stories so vivid also gave them a lasting purpose: helping young readers notice the living world around them and care about protecting it.