Flora Lee's birthday came in July. Her mother wished very much to celebrate the occasion in a proper manner. Flora was a good girl, and her parents were always glad to do any thing they could to please her, and to increase her happiness.This story was written by Adams under the pseudonym of Oliver Optic.

Down South is the fifth and last volume but one of the "Great Western Series." The action of the story is confined entirely to Florida; and this fact may seem to belie the title of the Series. But the young yachtsman still maintains his hold upon the scenes of his earlier life in Michigan, and his letters come regularly from that State. If he were old enough to vote, he could do so only in Michigan; and therefore he has not lost his right to claim a residence there during his temporary sojourn in the South. Besides, half his ship's company are Western boys, who carry with them from "The Great Western" family of States whatever influence they possess in their wanderings through other sections of the grand American Union. The same characters who have figured in other volumes of the Series are again presented, though others are introduced. The hero is as straightforward, resolute, and self-reliant as ever. His yacht adventures consist of various excursions on the St. Johns River, from its mouth to a point above the head of ordinary navigation, with a run across to Indian River, on the sea-coast, a trip up the Ocklawaha, to the Lake Country of Florida, and shorter runs up the smaller streams. The yachtmen and his passengers try their hand at shooting alligators as well as more valuable game in the "sportsman's paradise" of the South, and find excellent fishing in both fresh and salt water.Apart from the adventures incident to the cruise of the yacht in so interesting a region as Florida, the volume, like its predecessors in the Series, has its own story, relating to the life-history of the hero. But his career mingles with the events peculiar to the region in which he journeys, and many of his associates are men of the "sunny South." In any clime, he is the same young man of high aims and noble purposes. The remaining volume will follow him in his cruise the Gulf of Mexico, and up the Mississippi.DORCHESTER, MASS., August 25, 1880. This story was written by Adams under the pseudonym of Oliver Optic.

The second volume of the Woodville Stories contains the experience of Richard Grant, "in school and out." We are sorry to say that Richard had become a bad boy, and was in the habit of getting into the most abominable scrapes, some of which are detailed in the first chapters of this book. But he is not what is sometimes called a vicious boy, for he has many good qualities, which redeem him from absolute condemnation. There is something noble in his character, which is the germ of his ultimate salvation from the sins which so easily beset him. The third book in the Woodville series is Watch and Wait; The Young Fugitives.

"One soft summer evening, when Woodville was crowned with the glory and beauty of the joyous season, three strangers presented themselves before the Grant family, and asked for counsel and assistance. The party consisted of two boys and a girl, and they belonged to that people which the traditions of the past have made the ""despised race;"" but the girl was whiter and fairer than many a proud belle who would have scorned her in any other capacity than that of a servant; and one of the boys was very nearly white, while the other was as black as ebony undefiled. They were fugitives and wanderers from the far south-west; and the story which they told to Mr. Grant and his happy family will form the substance of this volume. - Summary from Chapter 1 of text Listeners, please be advised that this book contains material related to slavery which some may find offensive. These types of actions and language were common during the historical period during which this account is written. Woodville Series: Rich and Humble; or, The Mission of Bertha Grant In School and Out; or, The Conquest of Richard Grant Watch and Wait; or, The Young Fugitives Work and Win; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise Hope and Have; or, Fanny Grant Among the Indians Haste and Waste; or, The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain"

"The fourth book of the Woodville Series shares the progress of a boy whose education had been neglected, and whose moral attributes were of the lowest order, from vice and indifference to the development of a high moral and religious principle in the heart, which is the rule and guide of a pure and true life. The incidents which make up the story are introduced to illustrate the moral status of the youth, at the beginning, and to develop the influences from which proceeded a gentle and Christian character. Mollie, the captain's daughter, whose simple purity of life, whose filial devotion to an erring parent, and whose trusting faith in the hour of adversity, won the love and respect of Noddy, was not the least of these influences. The fifth book in the series is Hope and Have; or, Fanny Grant Among the Indians. - Summary by Scarlett Martin from Book Preface Woodville Series: Rich and Humble; or, The Mission of Bertha Grant In School and Out; or, The Conquest of Richard Grant Watch and Wait; or, The Young Fugitives Work and Win; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise Hope and Have; or, Fanny Grant Among the Indians Haste and Waste; or, The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain"

"The sixth and last volume of the Woodville stories contains the record of a mechanical, rather than a moral triumph, though the virtues of patience and perseverance are incidentally illustrated, and the ""little captain"" of the Woodville is always a good son, a forbearing brother, and a kind friend. Lawry Wilford, the young pilot, is a boy of spirit and energy, who overcomes difficulties by a strong faith in himself, and redeems his family from poverty, in spite of the bad example and the bad conduct of his father and his older brother. Previous book in the series is Hope and Have; Fanny Grant Among the Indians. - Summary by Scarlett Martin from book preface Woodville Series: Rich and Humble; or, The Mission of Bertha Grant In School and Out; or, The Conquest of Richard Grant Watch and Wait; or, The Young Fugitives Work and Win; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise Hope and Have; or, Fanny Grant Among the Indians Haste and Waste; or, The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain"