And the love my heart would speak, I will fold in the lily's rim, That the lips of the blossom, more pure and meek, Then sing in the hedgerow green, O thrush, Sing loud, sing clear, that the king may hear, -Ina Coolbrith. (Permission of the author, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Publishers.) THE SONG OF THE FOREST RANGER. Oh, to feel the fresh breeze blowing From lone ridges yet untrod! Where the silver streamlet rushes I would hear the wild rejoicing Forest aisles would I be winding, Silence at the shrine of Prayer. When the mystic night comes stealing Ah, to list the sacred preaching With his strong arms upward reaching- Come and learn the joy of living! With a great, impartial hand! How the patient pine is climbing, I am nearer the great Giver, Not for me the city's riot! Not for me the towers of Trade! -Herbert Bashford. (Permission of the author, The Whitaker & Ray Co., Publishers.) It must not be forgotten that many times poetry has an interesting relation to geography. Thus Lanier's "Song of the Chattahoochie," Joaquin Miller's introductory stanzas to "A Song of the South" (quoted later in 'Some of the Treasures") may be read and interpreted in connection with a study of rivers. So also poetry addressed to the sea; e. g., Byron's "Apostrophe to the Ocean," or Barry Cornwall's "The Sea," may be used to instill emotions growing out of the study of various aspects of the sea. But such poems should be done after the child has something of a perspective of the subject matter he has mastered; in other words, after an impression of the river studied has become a memory. This means that the teacher has been able to give the children a touch of real knowledge on the subject to which the poem applies. PROSE. All prose reading, except that for pleasure and inspiration, is excluded from consideration on these pages inasmuch as we are concerned only with those lines which children either are drawn to, naturally, or can be trained to love; and which form ideals and react on the character. The choice of reading for children consists in drawing from the mass of books called literature those which are strong and healthful with a view to reacting on the child's mind in a rational way. Thus what shall be given to the boy to read who is fond of personal adventure? What should a girl have who is just budding into womanhood? What shall the child be given access to who naturally revels in myth and fairy-lore? How shall we appeal rationally to the boy enamored of detective stories? These with a hun dred other questions confront us in the selection of children's books. Before, however, we approach such questions specifically, there are certain broader and fundamental propositions to be entertained. First, every school library book, not for informational purposes, should stand the test of literature-it should be recognized as possessing the qualities of permanence. "Go to the great books," should be the watchword. Robinson Crusoe, Plutarch, Bunyan, Hans Christian Andersen, Arabian Nights, Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, the books that ring true and set exalted ideals. Secondly, the avoidance of the extended sets that cumber the shelves and give the children far too much of the same cast of thought or story, is desired. One book from Henty, one from Optic, one or two from Alcott, one of the Dinsmore books, may perhaps be used to advantage; but to allow a child to spend a whole year or even more, largely to the exclusion of other books, reading a series into the dozens, not only gives the child far too much of one author, but wastes valuable time. Third, the books should be attractive in make up. In these days of skilled illustration and large, clear type, only the most beautiful in form and the easiest upon the eye should be placed before the young. The cheaply printed, even of the standard volumes, in the long run, is placed in the library at a loss; not only because it soon falls to pieces and must soon be rebound, but because it adds an unnecessary tax to the children's eyesight. Fourth, there should be a due proportion of the departments of literature on the shelves. No library should be one-sided. The great stories in history, science, literature, art, should have their places. This is to give opportunity for the young readers to try out their tastes and so shape them into the lines of activity they are by nature fitted for. Fifth, the varying tastes of both boys and girls should be looked to. Along with "Little Women" should be "The Last of the Mohicans," and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" should stand by the side of "Tom Sawyer." In the selection of books to place before individual children the teacher should study the child's evident instincts in order to know what talents are to be nurtured and thus give the books needed. Thus artistically written biographies, such as the "Making of an American," to show how successful men have had to struggle in order to succeed, or Irving's "Columbus," to set the high ideal before the boy, or "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," to give a picture of beautiful, healthful girlhood, should be chosen. But the teacher should also look for latent instincts to the end that books necessary to nourish these instincts may be selected. The books should be thoroughly known by the teachers, so that a child needing particular phases of thought in his mental development, can be guided properly. For example, a boy who does not know the law of co-operation with his fellows, and thus fails to fit in when work is to be done jointly, will gain a subtle lesson from "The Swiss Family Robinson." One who lacks in dependence and reliance upon his own resources should be given "Robinson Crusoe." A girl, the tenor of whose life is to the selfish, should be lured into "Old Curiosity Shop" or "Little Women," or "Ramona." There are excellent stories having a tendency to make children kinder in their treatment of animals: "Wilderness Ways", Long; "Animal Heroes", Seton; "Black Beauty", Sewell; "The Call of the Wild", London; |