The second book in ABC Books is McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition (1879), all 63 lessons. It's the blue book on the shelf at https://games.503mail.com/abcbooks/, next to the Primer. Every lesson plays the same way as the Primer's: new words, listen, read aloud, trace in print and cursive, and the blackboard. This post covers what's special about this book and how to add it. The app itself is rebuilt in the Primer post. Every block has a Copy button.
The book
- McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition, copyright 1879, 1896, 1907 and 1920, from Project Gutenberg #14640 (public domain).
- 63 lessons. It starts where the Primer ends ("The dog. The dog ran.") and grows into real little stories: Rab the dog, Kitty's pet bird, the white kitten, Willie's rabbits, Rose and Willie finding a bird's nest, Frank's willow whistle, and Chippy and the old hen at the brook. The last lesson says goodbye to the book and points to the Second Reader.
- Every few lessons is a review that lists the words to practise again.
- Many lessons end with slate work: a script (cursive) exercise. In the app, those become the cursive tracing pages. When a lesson is only a poem in script (like "The White Kitten" or "When the stars at set of sun"), the poem becomes the reading too.
- About 2,650 different things to say per speed (lines, words, letters, instructions), recorded in ETI-Eloquence like the Primer: about 30 MB at "normal" speed and 25 MB at "faster".
What the converter had to clean up
The Gutenberg text keeps the book's printing marks, which the Primer mostly didn't have. make-book.ps1 turns them into plain words:
- Accent marks in the new-word lists:
cun'ning,bro'ken,fin'ishedbecome cunning, broken, finished. Real contractions keep their apostrophe:I've,can't,didn't(printeddid n't). - Syllable breaks:
be cause',a go',him self',o bey'become because, ago, himself, obey. - Pronunciation notes in brackets are dropped:
once(wuns),a'gain (a gen'),whis'tle (whis'l). - Phrases in the word list like
a black hen the nestaren't new words, so they're skipped. - "O" at the start of the word list (as in "O Ben!") is a word, not the letter o.
- Story titles in capitals ("THE WHITE KITTEN.") show as a heading above the lesson instead of a line to read.
- The phonics chart at the end of the book isn't a lesson, so the converter stops at "PHONIC CHART."
- "SLATE WORK." headings are removed; their script exercises become the cursive pages.
Add this book to ABC Books
You need the app from the Primer post and its C:\ABCBooks folder on the PC (with ETI-Eloquence installed). The app already lists this book on its shelf; it just needs the lesson file and the recordings.
1. The converter
If your C:\ABCBooks\tools\make-book.ps1 is older than this post, replace it. Proxmox host shell, then copy it to the PC the same way as in the Primer post (the scp and arrange-rebuild.ps1 steps):
mkdir -p /root/abcbooks-rebuildcat > /root/abcbooks-rebuild/make-book.ps1 <<'EOF'
# Builds public/books/<book>.json from a Project Gutenberg text of a McGuffey Reader.
# Usage: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ABCBooks\tools\make-book.ps1 -Book primer1881
# powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ABCBooks\tools\make-book.ps1 -Book first1879
param([ValidateSet('primer1881', 'first1879', 'second1879', 'third1879', 'fourth1879', 'fifth1879', 'sixth1879', 'spell1867')] [string]$Book = 'primer1881')
$root = Split-Path -Parent (Split-Path -Parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path)
$books = @{
# Spell & Read: the 1867 Pictorial Primer, hand-corrected from a scan into source/spell1867.txt (no Gutenberg text exists)
spell1867 = @{ hand = $true; file = 'spell1867.txt'; title = 'Spell & Read'; sub = 'Pictorial Primer, 1867'; color = '#5b6f3a'
source = 'McGuffey''s Pictorial Eclectic Primer, 1867 (archive.org mcguffeyspictori00mcgu, public domain), hand-corrected' }
primer1881 = @{ gutenberg = 14642; file = 'primer.txt'; title = "McGuffey's Eclectic Primer"; sub = 'Revised Edition, 1881'; color = '#b5562c'
end = 'SLATE EXERCISES'; pics = @{ 27 = '🏞️'; 46 = '✏️' } }
first1879 = @{ gutenberg = 14640; file = 'first.txt'; title = "McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader"; sub = 'Revised Edition, 1879'; color = '#2c6fb5'
end = 'PHONIC CHART.'; pics = @{} }
second1879 = @{ gutenberg = 14668; file = 'second.txt'; title = "McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader"; sub = 'Revised Edition, 1879'; color = '#3f8f4f'
end = '*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG'; pics = @{} }
# prose = later Readers: no word lists in Gutenberg's copy (new words are worked out), printed page headers to remove,
# numbered paragraphs that run on without blank lines, plays ("Rose. ...") and an author line under poems
third1879 = @{ gutenberg = 14766; file = 'third.txt'; title = "McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader"; sub = 'Revised Edition, 1879'; color = '#7b4fb5'
end = '*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG'; pics = @{}; prose = $true; pageRx = 'ECLECTIC SERIES|THIRD READER'
after = @('primer1881', 'first1879', 'second1879') }
# Fourth Reader: headings carry the title ("I. PERSEVERANCE. (25)"), and each lesson ends with DEFINITIONS (the book's
# own new words, with meanings), EXERCISES (questions to talk about) and sometimes NOTES
fourth1879 = @{ gutenberg = 14880; file = 'fourth.txt'; title = "McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader"; sub = 'Revised Edition, 1879'; color = '#b5892c'
end = '*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG'; pics = @{}; prose = $true; pageRx = 'ECLECTIC SERIES|FOURTH READER'
start = 'I. PERSEVERANCE. (25)'; tocStart = 'SELECTIONS IN PROSE AND POETRY.'; tocEnd = 'LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS'
headRx = '(?m)^([IVXLCl]+)[.:][ \t]+([A-Z][^a-z\n]*?(?:\((?:Concluded|Continued)\.?\))?[^a-z\n]*?)[ \t]*(?:\(\d+\))?[ \t]*$'
after = @('primer1881', 'first1879', 'second1879', 'third1879') }
# Fifth Reader: like the Fourth, but headings have no page number ("II. THE BLUEBELL.") and the first one is scanned as "1."
fifth1879 = @{ gutenberg = 15040; file = 'fifth.txt'; title = "McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader"; sub = 'Revised Edition, 1879'; color = '#2c9bb5'
end = '*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG'; pics = @{}; prose = $true; pageRx = 'ECLECTIC SERIES|FIFTH READER'
start = '1. THE GOOD READER.'
headRx = '(?m)^(\d+|[IVXLCl]+)[.:][ \t]+(["\u201c]?[A-Z][^a-z\n]*?(?:\((?:Concluded|Continued)\.?\))?[^a-z\n]*?)[ \t]*(?:\(\d+\))?[ \t]*$'
tocEnd = 'LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS'
after = @('primer1881', 'first1879', 'second1879', 'third1879', 'fourth1879') }
# Sixth Reader: headings with page numbers like the Fourth; the lessons start after the chapters on reading aloud
sixth1879 = @{ gutenberg = 16751; file = 'sixth.txt'; title = "McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader"; sub = 'Revised Edition, 1879'; color = '#8f3f5f'
end = '*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG'; pics = @{}; prose = $true; pageRx = 'ECLECTIC SERIES|SIXTH READER'
start = 'I. ANECDOTE OF THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE.'
headRx = '(?m)^(\d+|[IVXLCl]+)[.:][ \t]+(["\u201c]?[A-Z][^a-z\n]*?(?:\((?:Concluded|Continued)\.?\))?[^a-z\n]*?)[ \t]*(?:\(\d+\))?[ \t]*$'
tocEnd = 'LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS'
after = @('primer1881', 'first1879', 'second1879', 'third1879', 'fourth1879', 'fifth1879') }
}
$cfg = $books[$Book]
$pics = [ordered]@{ 'rat'='🐀'; 'cat'='🐈'; 'kitten'='🐱'; 'dog'='🐕'; 'frog'='🐸'; 'chick'='🐤'; 'hen'='🐔'; 'fox'='🦊'; 'duck'='🦆'; 'owl'='🦉'; 'bird'='🐦'; 'cow'='🐄';
'rabbit'='🐇'; 'pig'='🐖'; 'lamb'='🐑'; 'kite'='🪁'; 'sled'='🛷'; 'top'='🎩'; 'ball'='⚽'; 'squirrel'='🐿️'; 'bee'='🐝'; 'boat'='⛵';
'ship'='⛵'; 'skat'='⛸️'; 'horse'='🐎'; 'train'='🚂'; 'goat'='🐐'; 'burning'='🔥'; 'school'='🏫'; 'quail'='🐦'; 'baby'='👶'; 'lighthouse'='🗼';
'sheep'='🐑'; 'snow'='☃️'; 'fishing'='🎣'; 'doll'='🪆'; 'sawing'='🪚'; 'lamp'='🪔'; 'seashore'='🏖️'; 'blind'='🦯'; 'mill'='🏞️';
'sunset'='🌅'; 'woman'='👩'; 'wagon'='🐎'; 'acorn'='🌰'; 'drum'='🥁'; 'lake'='🌊'; 'writing'='✏️'; 'man'='👴'; 'girl'='👧'; 'boy'='👦'; 'children'='👧' }
if ($cfg.hand) {
# Hand-corrected book (source/<file>): "= n" starts a lesson, "words:" is its spelling list, "?" lines are notes, "#" comments
$lessons = @(); $o = $null
foreach ($ln in [IO.File]::ReadAllLines("$root\source\$($cfg.file)")) {
$l = $ln.Trim()
if (-not $l -or $l.StartsWith('#')) { continue }
if ($l -match '^=\s*(\d+)') { if ($o) { $lessons += $o }; $o = [ordered]@{ n = [int]$Matches[1]; pic = '📖'; picText = ''; words = @(); letters = @(); lines = @() }; continue }
if ($l -match '^words:\s*(.*)$') { $o.words = @($Matches[1] -split '\s+' | Where-Object { $_ }); continue }
if ($l.StartsWith('?')) { $o.note = $l.TrimStart('?', ' '); continue }
$o.lines += $l
}
if ($o) { $lessons += $o }
foreach ($o in $lessons) {
if (-not $o.words.Count) { # no list printed: spell the lesson's own words
$w = @(); foreach ($m in [regex]::Matches(($o.lines -join ' '), "[A-Za-z]+(?:'[A-Za-z]+)?")) { $x = if ($m.Value -ceq 'I') { 'I' } else { $m.Value.ToLower() }; if ($w -notcontains $x) { $w += $x } }
$o.words = @($w | Select-Object -First 12)
}
$txt0 = $o.lines -join ' '
foreach ($key in $pics.Keys) { if ($txt0 -match "(?i)\b$key(?:s|es)?\b") { $o.pic = $pics[$key]; break } }
}
$out = [ordered]@{ title = $cfg.title; sub = $cfg.sub; color = $cfg.color; spell = $true; source = $cfg.source; lessons = $lessons }
[IO.File]::WriteAllText("$root\public\books\$Book.json", ($out | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 6), (New-Object Text.UTF8Encoding $false))
"$($lessons.Count) lessons"
$lessons | ForEach-Object { "{0,2} {1} w[{2}] lines={3} {4}" -f $_.n, $_.pic, ($_.words -join ' '), $_.lines.Count, $(if ($_.note) { '? ' + $_.note } else { '' }) }
return
}
if (-not (Test-Path "$root\source\$($cfg.file)")) {
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$root\source" | Out-Null
Invoke-WebRequest "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/$($cfg.gutenberg)/pg$($cfg.gutenberg).txt" -OutFile "$root\source\$($cfg.file)" -UseBasicParsing
}
$txt = [IO.File]::ReadAllText("$root\source\$($cfg.file)") -replace "`r", ''
$headRx = '(?m)^(?:Lesson 1|LESSON [IVXLC]+\.{0,2}(?:\s*-*\s*REVIEW\.?)?)\s*$' # Third Reader has one "LESSON XXX.."
if ($cfg.headRx) { $headRx = $cfg.headRx }
$body = if ($cfg.start) { $txt.Substring($txt.LastIndexOf($cfg.start)) } else { $txt.Substring([regex]::Match($txt, $headRx).Index) }
$body = $body.Substring(0, $body.IndexOf($cfg.end))
$body = $body -replace '(?m)^SLATE WORK\.?\s*$', ''
if ($cfg.prose) {
# printed page headers ("18 ECLECTIC SERIES.") and page numbers, with the blank lines around them, so sentences join across pages
$body = [regex]::Replace($body, "\n[ \t]*\n?[ \t]*\d*[ \t]*(?:$($cfg.pageRx))\.?[ \t]*\d*[ \t]*\n(?:[ \t]*\n)*", "`n")
$body = $body -replace '(?m)^[ \t]*\(\d+\)[ \t]*\n', '' -replace '(?m)^[ \t]*\d+[,.]?(?:[ \t]*\d+[,.]?)*[ \t]*\n', ''
$body = $body -creplace "(?m)^[ \t]*\d*[ \t]*(?:$($cfg.pageRx))[.,]?[ \t]*\d*[ \t]*\n", '' # leftover headers ("62 ECLECTIC SERIES,")
$body = $body -creplace "(\w) n't\b", '$1n''t' -creplace "'T is\b", "'Tis" # old spelling: "do n't" -> "don't"
}
$heads = [regex]::Matches($body, $headRx)
# the text of each lesson runs from the end of its heading to the next heading (Regex.Split would also return captured groups)
$parts = @($body.Substring(0, $heads[0].Index))
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $heads.Count; $i++) { $s = $heads[$i].Index + $heads[$i].Length; $e = if ($i + 1 -lt $heads.Count) { $heads[$i + 1].Index } else { $body.Length }; $parts += $body.Substring($s, $e - $s) }
$sounds = 'th','sh','ch','ng','ew','oy','ow','wh','ou','oo','sk','qu','oi','gh','ck'
$romanVal = @{ I=1; V=5; X=10; L=50; C=100 }
# scanned "LVll." = LVII, so a lowercase l counts as I
function Roman($r) { if ($r -match '^\d+$') { return [int]$r }; $r = $r -creplace 'l', 'I'; $t = 0; for ($i = 0; $i -lt $r.Length; $i++) { $v = $romanVal["$($r[$i])"]; if ($i + 1 -lt $r.Length -and $romanVal["$($r[$i+1])"] -gt $v) { $t -= $v } else { $t += $v } }; $t }
function Sentences($para) {
# split a paragraph into kid-sized sentences; keep quotes and "--" asides with their sentence
$p = (($para -replace '\s+', ' ').Trim()) -creplace '^(?:\d+|I)\.\s+(?=["A-Z])', ''
$out = [regex]::Split($p, '(?<!\b(?:Mr|Mrs|Dr|St)\.)(?<=[.!?]"?)\s+(?=["A-Z])') | Where-Object { $_ }
# re-join pieces that split inside a quotation
$merged = @(); $buf = ''
foreach ($s in $out) { $buf = if ($buf) { "$buf $s" } else { $s }; if ((($buf -split '"').Count - 1) % 2 -eq 0) { $merged += $buf; $buf = '' } }
if ($buf) { $merged += $buf }
$merged | ForEach-Object { $s = $_.Trim(); if ($s -match '[A-Za-z]$') { $s += '.' }; $s }
}
# vocabulary words carry accent marks and syllable breaks in the later lessons: cun'ning, be cause', did n't
function IsPoem($para) {
$ls = @($para.Trim() -split '\n' | Where-Object { $_.Trim() })
# poem lines are short and each starts with a capital; wrapped prose goes on in lowercase
if ($para -match '\n\s+\S') { return $true }
if ($ls.Count -lt 2 -or ($ls | Measure-Object -Property Length -Maximum).Maximum -gt 55) { return $false }
$low = @($ls | Where-Object { $_.Trim() -cnotmatch '^["''\u2018\u201c(]{0,2}[A-Z]' }).Count
($low -eq 0) -or ($ls.Count -ge 4 -and $low -le 1)
}
function CleanWord($t) {
$t = $t -replace '\s+', ''
if ($t -match "(n't|'s|'ll|'ve|'re|'d|'m)$" -or $t -match "^'tis$") { return ($t -replace "'(?=.*')", '') } # keep a real contraction's apostrophe
$keep = $t.TrimEnd("'")
if ($keep -match "^(o'clock|o'er|ne'er|e'er|e'en)$") { return $keep } # old poetic words keep their apostrophe
$t -replace "'", ''
}
function VocabTokens($ln) {
$ln = $ln -replace '\s*\([^)]*\)', '' # pronunciation notes: (wuns), (a gen'), (as f)
$cols = if ($ln -match '\S\s{2,}\S') { $ln.Trim() -split '\s{2,}' } else { $ln.Trim() -split '\s+' }
foreach ($c in $cols) {
if (-not $c) { continue }
if ($c -match '\s') {
if ($c -match "'") { CleanWord $c } # syllables of one word: be cause'
elseif ($c -match '^(a|an|the)\s') { } # phrase like "a black hen": not a new word
else { $c -split '\s+' | ForEach-Object { CleanWord $_ } } # two words in one column: night owl
} else { CleanWord $c }
}
}
$nums = @()
if ($cfg.headRx) {
# A real lesson heading has a page number ("(74)") or is the next number in order. That skips a lesson's own
# numbered parts ("II. SUMMER.") and survives misprinted numerals ("XVV.", a second "LXX."): lessons are numbered in order.
$keep = @(); $prev = 0
# up to 2 lessons may be missing between two headings; a heading with a page number but a misprinted numeral is the next lesson
foreach ($m in $heads) {
$v = Roman $m.Groups[1].Value
if ($v -ge $prev + 1 -and $v -le $prev + 3) { $keep += $m; $prev = $v; $nums += $v }
# a misprinted numeral is still near its place (XVV for XXV); a lesson's own small parts ("III. A GOOD NAME. (95)" inside lesson 12) are not
elseif ($m.Value -match '\(\d+\)\s*$' -and $v -ge $prev - 5) { $keep += $m; $prev++; $nums += $prev }
}
$heads = $keep
$parts = @($body.Substring(0, $heads[0].Index))
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $heads.Count; $i++) { $s = $heads[$i].Index + $heads[$i].Length; $e = if ($i + 1 -lt $heads.Count) { $heads[$i + 1].Index } else { $body.Length }; $parts += $body.Substring($s, $e - $s) }
}
# authors from the table of contents: "87. The Best Capital Louisa M. Alcott 245"
$tocAuthors = @{}
# (page column optional: the Fifth Reader's contents have none); the first entry for a number wins, which is the contents page
$tocText = $txt.Substring(0, $txt.LastIndexOf($(if ($cfg.start) { $cfg.start } else { 'x' })) + 1)
if ($cfg.tocEnd) { $ci = $tocText.IndexOf($(if ($cfg.tocStart) { $cfg.tocStart } else { 'CONTENTS' })); $tocText = $tocText.Substring($ci, $tocText.IndexOf($cfg.tocEnd, $ci) - $ci) } # only the contents page, not the chapters on reading aloud
foreach ($m in [regex]::Matches($tocText, '(?m)^\s*(\d+)\.\s+(\S.*?\S)\s{2,}(\S.*?\S)(?:\s{2,}(\d+))?\s*$')) {
$a = (($m.Groups[3].Value -split '\s{2,}')[-1] -replace '\.?\s*\d+$', '').TrimEnd('.') # "Longfellow.290": page number stuck to the name
if ($a -notmatch '^\d' -and -not $tocAuthors.ContainsKey([int]$m.Groups[1].Value)) { $tocAuthors[[int]$m.Groups[1].Value] = $a } # skip a line that holds two entries
}
$lessons = @()
for ($k = 0; $k -lt $heads.Count; $k++) {
$h = $heads[$k].Value.Trim()
$n = if ($h -eq 'Lesson 1') { 1 } else { Roman(([regex]::Match($h, 'LESSON ([IVXLC]+)')).Groups[1].Value) }
$headTitle = ''
if ($cfg.headRx) {
$hm = [regex]::Match($h, $cfg.headRx); $n = $nums[$k]
$headTitle = (Get-Culture).TextInfo.ToTitleCase($hm.Groups[2].Value.Trim().TrimEnd('.').Trim('"', [char]0x201c, [char]0x201d).TrimEnd('.').ToLower()) -creplace "(\w) N't", '$1n''t' -replace '\(Concluded\.?\)', '(concluded)' -replace '\(Continued\.?\)', '(continued)'
}
$review = $h -match 'REVIEW'
$block = $parts[$k + 1]
$block = $block -replace '\[Footnote:[^\]]*\]', '' -replace '(?m)^\s*(\d+|[IVX]+)\.\s*$', ''
# a title line glued to its poem ("ALICE'S SUPPER." then the verses) gets its own paragraph
$block = $block -creplace '(?m)^([A-Z][A-Z .,''\u2019!-]{3,})$\n(?=\S)', "`$1`n`n"
$author = ''; $defs = @(); $questions = @()
# DEFINITIONS / EXERCISES / NOTES at the end of a lesson (Fourth Reader)
$tm = [regex]::Match($block, '(?m)^[ \t]*(?:DEFINITIONS|EXERCISES|NOTES?)\b')
if ($tm.Success) {
$tail = $block.Substring($tm.Index); $block = $block.Substring(0, $tm.Index)
foreach ($sec in [regex]::Matches($tail, '(?s)(DEFINITIONS|EXERCISES|NOTES?)\.?\s*-*(.*?)(?=(?:\n[ \t]*(?:DEFINITIONS|EXERCISES|NOTES?)\b)|\z)')) {
$txt2 = ($sec.Groups[2].Value -replace '\s+', ' ').Trim()
if ($sec.Groups[1].Value -eq 'DEFINITIONS') {
$txt2 = $txt2 -replace '^In defining words, that meaning is given which is appropriate to them in the connection in which they are used\.\s*', ''
foreach ($ln in (($txt2 -replace '(?:^|\s)\d+\.\s+', "`n") -split "`n")) {
foreach ($entry in [regex]::Split($ln.Trim(), '(?<=\.)\s+(?=[A-Z][\w''/\-]*(?: [\w''/\-]+){0,2},\s)')) {
$cm = [regex]::Match($entry, '^([A-Z][\w''/\-]*(?: [\w''/\-]+){0,2}),\s+(.+?)\.?\s*$')
if ($cm.Success) {
$w = $cm.Groups[1].Value -replace '[''/\-]', ''
$d = ($cm.Groups[2].Value -replace '(?<=[a-z])-(?=[a-z])', '').Trim()
$defs += ,@($w, $d)
}
}
}
} elseif ($sec.Groups[1].Value -eq 'EXERCISES') {
$questions += @([regex]::Split($txt2, '(?<=\?)\s+') | ForEach-Object { $_.Trim() } | Where-Object { $_ -match '\?$' })
}
}
}
if ($cfg.prose) {
# the author's name under a poem: "John G. Whittier.", "Mrs. Follen."
$am = [regex]::Match($block, '\n[ \t]*((?:Mrs?\.\s+)?(?:[A-Z]\.\s*|[A-Z][a-z]+\s+){0,3}[A-Z][a-z]+\.)\s*$')
if ($am.Success) { $author = $am.Groups[1].Value.TrimEnd('.'); $block = $block.Substring(0, $am.Index) }
$block = $block -creplace '(?m)^(?=[ \t]*\d+\.\s+\S)', "`n" # each numbered paragraph is its own paragraph
foreach ($sp in ([regex]::Matches($block, '(?m)^([A-Z][a-z]+)\.\s+(?=["A-Z])') | Group-Object { $_.Groups[1].Value } | Where-Object { $_.Count -ge 2 -and $_.Name -notmatch '^(Mr|Mrs|Dr|St)$' })) {
$block = $block -creplace "(?m)^$($sp.Name)\.\s+", "`n$($sp.Name): " # a play: "Rose. See how..." -> "Rose: See how..."
}
}
# pull out illustrations (may span lines); script exercises become the cursive copy work
$script = @(); $picText = ''
foreach ($m in [regex]::Matches($block, '\[Illustration:([^\]]*)\]')) {
$c = $m.Groups[1].Value
if ($c -match '^\s*Script [Ee]xercise:') {
$c = $c -replace '^\s*Script [Ee]xercise:', ''
$paras = [regex]::Split($c.Trim(), '\n\s*\n')
foreach ($pp in $paras) {
if (IsPoem $pp) { $script += ($pp -split '\n' | ForEach-Object { $_.Trim() } | Where-Object { $_ }) } # poem: keep lines
else { $script += Sentences $pp }
}
} elseif (-not $picText) { $picText = ($c -replace '\s+', ' ').Trim().TrimEnd('.') }
}
$block = [regex]::Replace($block, '\[Illustration:[^\]]*\]', "`n`n@@PIC@@`n`n")
$paras = [regex]::Split($block.Trim(), '\n\s*\n') | ForEach-Object { $_.TrimEnd() } | Where-Object { $_.Trim() }
$words = @(); $letters = @(); $lines = @(); $inText = $false; $first = $true; $title = ''; $about = ''
foreach ($p0 in $paras) {
if ($p0.Trim() -eq '@@PIC@@') { if ($words.Count -or $letters.Count) { $inText = $true }; continue }
$p = $p0 -replace '\s*\([^)]*\)', ''
$isVocab = -not $cfg.prose -and -not $inText -and (($p -replace '\b(Mr|Mrs|Dr|St)\.', '$1') -notmatch '[.!?;,"]') -and ($first -or $p -match '\S\s{2,}\S' -or $p -match '^\S+$')
# phrase rows like "a rat a cat" come after the picture, not before it
if ($isVocab -and $words.Count -and $p -match '^\s*(a|the|an)\s\w+\s{3,}') { $isVocab = $false }
if ($isVocab) {
foreach ($ln in ($p0 -split '\n')) {
foreach ($t in (VocabTokens $ln)) {
if (-not $t) { continue }
$isSound = ($sounds -contains $t) -or ($t.Length -eq 1 -and -not ($first -and ($t -ceq 'a' -or $t -cmatch '^[A-Z]$')) -and $t -cne 'I')
if ($isSound) { if ($letters -notcontains $t) { $letters += $t } } elseif ($words -notcontains $t) { $words += $t }
}
$first = $false
}
continue
}
$inText = $true
# a note about the author before the selection ("By Celia Thaxter, who was born...", "Hester Lynch Thrale. 1739--1821, ...")
if ($cfg.headRx -and -not $lines.Count -and -not $about -and $p -match '\bborn\b|\d{4}\s*-{1,2}\s*\d{2,4}') {
$ta = if ($tocAuthors.ContainsKey([int]$n)) { ($tocAuthors[[int]$n] -split '\s+')[-1] } else { '' }
if ($p -match '^\s*By\s' -or ($ta -and $p -match "\b$([regex]::Escape($ta))\b")) { $about = ($p -replace '\s+', ' ').Trim(); continue }
}
if ($p.Trim() -cmatch '^[A-Z][A-Za-z'' ]{2,40}$' -and -not $lines.Count -and $p.Trim() -cmatch '^(?:(?:[A-Z][a-z'']*|a|an|and|the|of|in|on|at|to|for|with|by)\s?)+$' -and $p.Trim() -match '\s') { $title = $p.Trim(); continue }
if ($p.Trim() -cmatch '^[A-Z][A-Z .,''\u2019!?-]+$' -and ($cfg.prose -or $p -notmatch '\?')) { $title = (Get-Culture).TextInfo.ToTitleCase($p.Trim().TrimEnd('.').ToLower()); continue } # story title: THE WHITE KITTEN.
if (IsPoem $p) { $lines += ($p -split '\n' | ForEach-Object { ($_.Trim()) -replace '^\d+\.\s+', '' } | Where-Object { $_ }) } # poem
elseif ($p -notmatch '[.!?;,"]' -and $p -match '\S\s{3,}\S') { $lines += ($p.Trim() -split '\s{3,}') } # phrase row
else { $lines += Sentences $p }
}
if (-not $lines.Count) { $lines = $script }
$pic = ''; foreach ($key in $pics.Keys) { if ($picText -match "(?i)$key") { $pic = $pics[$key]; break } }
if ($cfg.pics.ContainsKey([int]$n)) { $pic = $cfg.pics[[int]$n] }
if (-not $pic -and $cfg.prose) { foreach ($key in $pics.Keys) { if ("$title $(($lines | Select-Object -First 3) -join ' ')" -match "(?i)\b$key(?:s|es)?\b") { $pic = $pics[$key]; break } } } # no picture notes: guess from the title
if (-not $pic) { $pic = if ($review -or $cfg.prose) { '📖' } else { '🖼️' } }
$o = [ordered]@{ n = $n; pic = $pic; picText = $(if ($picText) { $picText } elseif ($review) { 'Review' } else { '' }); words = @($words); letters = @($letters); lines = @($lines) }
if ($review) { $o.review = $true }
if ($headTitle) { $title = $headTitle } # the heading's title wins over part titles inside the lesson ("IV. WINTER.")
if ($defs.Count) {
# the book's own new words: shown in lowercase unless the lesson only ever writes them with a capital (names)
$alltext = $lines -join ' '
$o.defs = [ordered]@{}
foreach ($dd in $defs) {
$w = $dd[0]; if ($alltext -cmatch "\b$([regex]::Escape($w.ToLower()))\b" -or -not ($alltext -cmatch "\b$([regex]::Escape($w))\b")) { $w = $w.ToLower() }
if (-not $o.defs.Contains($w)) { $o.defs[$w] = $dd[1] }
}
$o.words = @($o.defs.Keys | Select-Object -First 12)
}
if ($questions.Count) { $o.questions = @($questions) }
if ($title) { $o.title = $title }
if ($cfg.headRx -and $tocAuthors.ContainsKey([int]$n)) { $author = $tocAuthors[[int]$n] } # the contents page knows best
if ($author -match 'Reader|EXAMPLES') { $author = '' }
if ($author) { $o.author = $author }
if ($about) { $o.about = $about }
if ($script.Count) { $o.script = @($script) }
if (-not $lines.Count) { Write-Host "Lesson $n has no text in Gutenberg's copy ($title), skipped" -ForegroundColor Yellow; continue }
$lessons += $o
}
if ($cfg.prose) {
# New words = words not met in the earlier books or earlier lessons, in reading order, up to 10 per lesson
$seen = New-Object 'System.Collections.Generic.HashSet[string]' ([StringComparer]::OrdinalIgnoreCase)
$wordRx = "[A-Za-z]+(?:'[A-Za-z]+)?"
foreach ($prev in $cfg.after) {
$pj = Get-Content "$root\public\books\$prev.json" -Raw -Encoding UTF8 | ConvertFrom-Json
foreach ($PL in $pj.lessons) { foreach ($s in @($PL.lines) + @($PL.words) + @($PL.script)) { foreach ($m in [regex]::Matches("$s", $wordRx)) { [void]$seen.Add($m.Value) } } }
}
foreach ($o in $lessons) {
$text = (@($o.lines) + @($o.script)) -join ' '
$new = @()
foreach ($m in [regex]::Matches($text, $wordRx)) {
$w = $m.Value
if ($w.Length -lt 2 -or $w -match "^n'" -or -not $seen.Add($w)) { continue }
# names keep their capital (capitalized in the middle of a line); other words are shown in lowercase
if (-not ($text -cmatch "(?:[a-z]|\b(?:Mr|Mrs|Miss|Dr)\.)\s+$([regex]::Escape($w))\b") -or ($text -cmatch "\b$([regex]::Escape($w.ToLower()))\b")) { $w = $w.ToLower() }
$new += $w
}
if (-not @($o.words).Count) { $o.words = @($new | Select-Object -First 10) } # the book's own word list wins when it has one
}
}
# Last clean-up of every line: printed page headers that ended up inside a sentence ("... ECLECTIC SERIES. ..."),
# footnote/section marks (#, *, [ ]), and scanned digits ("l0" = 10, "I1" = 11)
function CleanLine($s) {
$s = $s -creplace '\d*\s*\b(?:ECLECTIC (?:SERIES|READER)|(?:FIRST|SECOND|THIRD|FOURTH|FIFTH|SIXTH) READER)\b[.,]?\s*\d*', ' ' -replace '[#*\[\]]', ''
$s = $s -creplace '\bI1\b', 'I' -creplace '(?<=\d)l|l(?=\d)', '1' -creplace '^\d+\s+(?=[a-z])', '' -creplace '(?<=[a-z]{3})\d\b', '' # footnote number on a word ("orthography1"); "I1 will" = I; "l0" = 10; a page number before the text
($s -replace '\s{2,}', ' ').Trim()
}
foreach ($o in $lessons) {
$o.lines = @($o.lines | ForEach-Object { CleanLine $_ } | Where-Object { $_ -match '[A-Za-z]' })
if ($o.script) { $o.script = @($o.script | ForEach-Object { CleanLine $_ } | Where-Object { $_ -match '[A-Za-z]' }) }
}
$out = [ordered]@{ title = $cfg.title; sub = $cfg.sub; color = $cfg.color; source = "Project Gutenberg #$($cfg.gutenberg) (public domain)"; lessons = $lessons }
$json = $out | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 6
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$root\public\books" | Out-Null
[IO.File]::WriteAllText("$root\public\books\$Book.json", $json, (New-Object Text.UTF8Encoding $false))
"$($lessons.Count) lessons"
$lessons | ForEach-Object { "{0,2} {1} w[{2}] l[{3}] lines={4} script={5} | {6}" -f $_.n, $_.pic, ($_.words -join ' '), ($_.letters -join ' '), $_.lines.Count, $(if ($_.script) { $_.script.Count } else { 0 }), $_.lines[0] }
EOF2. Make the lesson file
PC (PowerShell). It downloads the book from Gutenberg the first time and prints "63 lessons" and one line per lesson:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\ABCBooks\tools\make-book.ps1 -Book first18793. Record it with Eloquence
PC (PowerShell). About 5,300 recordings, about 3 minutes here:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\ABCBooks\tools\make-audio.ps1 -Book first1879Send them to CT 306 (abc-web) and turn them into MP3s (it prints "converted N clips" and the folder sizes):
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\ABCBooks\tools\push-audio.ps14. Put it on the server
PC (PowerShell):
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\ABCBooks\deploy.ps1Open https://games.503mail.com/abcbooks/, pick a name, and the blue McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader book opens a map of 63 lessons.
Troubleshooting
The logs and the Tablet check page are the same as in the Primer post. For this book:
The book doesn't open, or says "Coming soon"
- Open: PC (PowerShell). Both should print 200:
"/abcbooks/books/first1879.json","/abcbooks/audio/first1879.json" | % { (Invoke-WebRequest "https://games.503mail.com$_" -UseBasicParsing).StatusCode }- Look for: a 404 on
books/first1879.jsonmeans step 2 or 4 was skipped. A 404 onaudio/first1879.jsonmeans step 3 or 4 was skipped (the book then opens but has no voice on the kids' tablets).
The recordings on the server
- Open: Proxmox host shell.
pct exec 306 -- du -sh /var/www/abcbooks/audio/first1879/s60 /var/www/abcbooks/audio/first1879/s75- Look for: about 30 MB and 25 MB.
Notes
- Checking a converted lesson:
make-book.ps1prints one line per lesson with its new words (w[...]), letter sounds (l[...]), the number of reading lines and script lines, and the first line. Odd new words (a phrase, a leftover accent mark) show up right there. - Same voice files, two books: each book has its own recordings folder (
audio/first1879/), but the app looks in every book's recordings when a text is missing in the open one, so the home-screen greeting works before any book is open. - Kids' progress is kept per book, so finishing the Primer and starting the First Reader don't mix up the stars.
- Next: Spell & Read, from the 1867 Pictorial Primer.