378 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [14:9— Dec, 1918 



pansy with a human face and wearing a dress. Another kind of 

 picture, the one that is supposed to tell the truth and does not, 

 is really the most mischievous. Fortunately there are not many 

 of them. In one reader there is a story of the mother blue bird 

 setting on her nest of eggs. On the opposite page is an excellent 

 colored plate of the blue bird. The blueness of the picture shows 

 it to be the male bird. The child naturally supposes that it is 

 the mother bird. In another book the story of the ox finding the 

 cross dog in the manger is illustrated by a good drawing of a cow 

 and a dog. Some country children know that a cow is not an ox. 

 Many first grade readers are beautifully illustrated and this is 

 rather remarkable when we consider the very low price at which 

 they are sold. 



Suppose a child escaped the vicissitudes of a first grade reader, 

 and acquired the vocabulary of an (un) ordinary young citizen. 

 If suddenly ushered into the inner shrine of a first reader he would 

 meet a foreign language which for our convenience may be classi- 

 fied as follows : 



Strange animals: Magpie, roebuck, falcon, civet, vampire, 

 unau, newt, ibex, dickey-birds, terrapin, yak, zebu, cockhorse, etc. 



Unusual words: Slink, huffed, dillar, diddle, dickory, malt, 

 whey, ply, tuffet, curds, elf, pease, etc. 



Baby talk: Lammie, mousie, henny, goosie, etc. 



Deceased (?) words: Lambkin, prig, ye, dame, ewe, etc. 



Marvellous creations: A-riddle-ma-ro, chinchopper, cherri-o, 

 jiggityjog, clumpety, higglety, pigglety, etc. 



As reading is the main occupation of a first grader the verdict 

 of a rigid course of study would be quick and merciless. 

 The child with the vocabulary of ordinary folks must remain in 

 the first grade. 



Conclusions regarding first grade readers from the point of 

 view of a naturalist : 



1. True to nature stories are decidedly lacking in first grade 

 readers. 



2. Stories about the ordinary everyday doings of animals are 

 missing in first grade readers. 



3. First grade readers belittle the mind of the child by giving 

 him foolish stories, a world of hobgoblins, void of thought. 



4. True nature stories are interesting enough and do not need 

 to be artificialized. 



