LITERATURE 



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LITERATURE 



every allusion, he begins to hate the sound of 

 the merry jingle, and to wish that he need 

 "never hear that old poem again." This is 

 most unfortunate, as it is far more important 

 to foster the child's love for poetry than to 

 instruct him in the intricacies of rhyme and 

 rhythm. 



But it is always possible to stop just short 

 of the point where pleasure ceases, and still to 

 gather a goodly store of information. In study- 

 ing poetry, the pupils will enjoy picking out 

 the words which they never use in their every- 

 day conversation and trying their own substi- 

 tutes in the poem; they will enjoy comparing 

 different poems to see whether the "music" is 

 the same; and sometimes they may profitably 

 rewrite portions in their own words. This 

 paraphrasing, however, once very popular, is 

 much less used at present, for in the case of real 

 poetry, with beauty and music, it is far better 

 to let the pupils keep the idea in the original 

 words. If exercise in paraphrasing is desired, 

 it should be employed on poems which have 

 not been studied for their literary beauty. 



When stories are the subject of study, the 

 different phases of plot, character, description 

 and emotion may be touched upon even with 

 young pupils. This entire subject is treated 

 fully under the heading of FICTION. Then, too, 

 there is the department of the history of litera- 

 ture, in certain departments of which children 

 can be brought to take a real interest. They 

 are certain to enjoy any selection more if they 

 know something about the author who wrote it, 

 and perhaps about the circumstances under 

 which it was written. What child would not 

 feel an increased delight in the stories of Hans 

 Christian Andersen if he were told of the 

 strange childhood of that master of fairylore, 

 or of the extraordinary things he used to do 

 in the days of his fame? What child could 

 resist the appeal of Dickens' sad boyhood, or of 

 Longfellow's sincere love for children? It is 

 just here that these volumes will supplement 

 any study of literature, for they contain articles 

 on all the world's distinguished writers, and 

 especial care has been taken to include in these 

 such facts as will interest children. C.W.K. 



Literature for Children 



Directing Children's Reading. The wealth 

 of literature is on every hand, and all are prone 

 to regret . the lack of time for exploring its 

 treasures. We must acknowledge, however, that 

 often the little time afforded for reading is 

 wasted over trivial and transient material. 

 This is due to a lack in early training. 



Children may easily be directed towards lit- 

 erature which will entertain, instruct and de- 

 velop a love for that which is good in content 

 and excellent in form. The history of indi- 

 vidual children so trained by careful and com- 

 petent parents and teachers shows to all the 

 natural way to reveal to the young the joys of 

 the world of books joys conserved for our 

 delight by master-minds through the ages. 



Perhaps a five-foot shelf will hold all that is 

 best in pure literature, but the choice of titles 

 must be made from thousands of volumes, many 

 of them of little value. To assist in making that 

 choice should be the duty as well as the pleas- 

 ure of the child's elders who must realize that 

 a taste for that which is good in literature must 

 be fostered in youth or the man will seldom 

 possess it. The mother may sing the songs 

 and recite the lyrics that will appeal. to the 

 child's musical ear and give him a feeling for 

 rhyme and rhythm. In kindergarten and 

 throughout the elementary grades this exercise 



should be continued the reading aloud by the 

 teacher or mother of the most musical litera- 

 ture that appeals to the ear and awakens spir- 

 itual joy, which little people may possibly 

 obtain in no other way. The children, too, as 

 fits their ability, should be encouraged to read 

 with appreciation of the beauty of expression 

 the simplest poetry and prose of the greatest 

 masters of style. Children should store the 

 memory with literary gems; upon these they 

 will frequently draw in after years to find com- 

 fort and inspiration. 



In the selection of juvenile literature the in- 

 dividuality of the child will be considered, but 

 a foundation of classic stories in prose and 

 poetry that have lasted for many years and 

 appealed to the children of many generations 

 may well be given to all. The children of our 

 time should have the jingles of Mother Goose 

 for the tickling of their fancy and their sense 

 of humor. The fairy stories of Perrault, of 

 Grimm and Andersen belong to the kingdom 

 of childhood by their imagination, humor and 

 sense of justice. 



The love of out-of-doors is inherent; all 

 children are drawn to the little Indian boy 

 Hiawatha and become veritable dwellers by 

 the big-sea water, talking with the birds and 

 playing with their brothers, the squirrel and 



