Hildegarde's Holiday

A newly illustrated edition with reader's notes for tricky words. Complete and unabridged.

A river glitters just beyond the lawn—but why does Cousin Wealthy grow uneasy when Hildegarde asks about sailing? For lively Hildegarde, a summer holiday promises fresh air, new friends, and discoveries around every corner.

Hildegarde finds a blue river shining beyond the orchard trees at Cousin Wealthy’s Maine home. She and her dear friend Rose have come for a quiet summer visit: Rose is learning to walk after years of illness, while Hilda is ready to explore every path, garden, and boat. Their days bring ginger cookies in the shade, comic conversations, and unexpected family characters—including a horse with a doctor’s name and a cat who takes his introductions seriously. But Rose’s new freedom calls for patience, and the river seems to hold both delight and a few careful rules. What adventures will the girls discover in their holiday world?

This complete and unabridged edition of Laura E. Richards’s story includes reader’s notes to help young readers untangle tricky words.

At Wise Minds Press we believe the years between childhood and the teenage leap are a golden window: curiosity runs high, vocabulary explodes and a single page can spark a lifetime of possibility. We were those wide‑eyed readers once—hungry for challenge, eager to roam far‑flung worlds, and guided by parents and teachers who knew the right story could light the path ahead. Today we honor that legacy by bringing time‑tested classics to young readers complete and unabridged, with reader's notes for the tricky words, and original illustrations for Grades 4‑7 (Ages 9‑12).

Our mission is simple: to place in every young reader's hands a bridge to literature's greatest adventures, turning boundless imagination into confidence, empathy, and the readiness to write their own remarkable futures.