companion pieces, "Wanted: An Enemy" and "The Battle of Blenheim," designed to cultivate international good will. "Wanted: An Enemy" and "America First" were written especially for this book. The section called "Young Citizens" should be closely connected with the tales of knighthood and chivalry found in the Fifth Reader. The book closes with a choice group of poems for memorizing, under the heading "Poems to Read and Learn Month by Month." Such a reader as this brings to the young student literature suited to his needs and his interests, the best of its kind, enjoyable, varied, and inspiring; but it must be properly presented by the teacher. Any selection may be spoiled by over-emphasis on details. Literature is an art and should be so regarded. Children should give no more attention to technique, such as vocabulary study, definitions, purpose of the author, and the like, than is necessary to a full understanding of what is read. The proper approach to literature, as to any work of art, is by a consideration of the piece as a whole. Appreciation depends on familiarity. It must, as Hosic tells us, be caught rather than taught. The teaching and study suggestions which accompany the book are based on this point of view. They are designed to stimulate the pupil's imagination, to cultivate literary appreciation, and to develop methods of study appropriate to different types of reading. The Study Helps at the end of the book are for the pupil's use. Detailed helps for the teacher may be found in the Manual, 'Teaching What to Read and How to Read It," which accompanies the later books of the Kendall series beginning with the Third Reader. The Stag and the Cherry Tree... Adventure in the Stomach of a Fish.. WHEN HANNIBAL FINISHED THE BRIDGE............ THE DIVERTING HISTORY OF JOHN GILPIN..... The Story of the Railroad.......... Sending Messages by Electricity How the Atlantic Cable was Laid.. |