io8o The Cornell Reading-Courses 



amount of sympathy between the mother and the daughter who wash 

 the dishes and read " The lady of the lake " together, than between 

 the mother who washes the dishes and the daughter who reads " The lady 

 of the lake" alone. The boys and the father will both enjoy "Snow 

 bound" more if the father and the son have shoveled snow together. The 

 mother may fear to neglect the physical needs of the child in this attention 

 to books, but " the learned eye is still the loving eye." 



Establish the habit of reading aloud.- — By means of the reading habit, 

 all members of the family are interested for a time in the same thing, and 

 good fellowship, copartnership, and sympathy are aroused at the same 

 time that the reading habit is being established. Perhaps you think you 

 are not a good reader, but that only shows that you have not had practice 

 and that your need is so much the greater; one cannot sing nor skate 

 without practice. Most persons make too hard work of reading aloud. 

 Only read simply and easily, with the least effort possible. 



Read what will make a lasting impression on your hearers, things 

 that they will think about afterward. Many of the most entertaining 

 stories and poems have this merit. Beside entertaining for the 

 time being, they make one feel better, they inspire one, help him 

 over hard places, give him information that is desired, make him deter- 

 mined to do and to be something. Set aside one evening in the week 

 for the family reading. Take turns reading aloud. Let your neighbors 

 know that you keep open house that evening, if they wish to drop in. 

 Do not try to make an "entertainment," but spend a quiet, restful evening. 



Just as soon as the boy or the girl expresses a desire for a book on any 

 practical or nural subject, provide it. If one of the children likes poultry, 

 buy a poultry book. You may need one on birds or gardening or trees 

 or horses or pets. Remember that a good book well read is a good in- 

 vestment. The child that steals away to read in secret should be looked 

 after. 



The desire for good things. — If a boy appreciates good things to eat, 

 it is largely because he has had such things at home ; if he likes good things 

 to look at, it is because he has seen good pictures and flowers at home; 

 if he likes good things to read, it is because some one has led him to read 

 such matter. May not exercise in reading be as much a part of the home 

 as exercise in singing or in school-going or in good manners? 



choice of books and method of reading • 



Shall we have fiction in the home reading? — Men and women are most 

 interested in human nature, in its fortunes, its misfortunes, and its pos- 

 sibilities. Hence the enormous sale of fiction. There is, however, a large 

 amount of fiction bought and read, which, while it may not be pernicious, 



