# The How and Why Library

Contents
| | The "Why" of the How and Why Library | The "Why" of the How and Why Library |
| | Foreword | Foreword |
| Stories of History and Geography |||
| The articles in this department deal, in their historic order, with the various peoples who constitute or "America,"—where they came from, and our indebtedness to each for their contributions to our national life. |||
| I. | The Red Child of the Forest—The Indian | The Red Child of the Forest—The Indian |
| II. | The Little Pale Faces Who Came Over the Sea—The Puritans | The Little Pale Faces Who Came Over the Sea—The Puritans |
| III. | Little Wooden Two Shoes—The Dutch | Little Wooden Two Shoes—The Dutch |
| IV. | Ship Loads of Politeness—The French | Ship Loads of Politeness—The French |
| V. | Little Friends in Furs—In the Home of the Esquimos | Little Friends in Furs—In the Home of the Esquimos |
| VI. | Children from Spain—With Juan and Dolores in Cuba | Children from Spain—With Juan and Dolores in Cuba |
| VII. | The Little Black Children Who Lived in a "Zoo"—Life in Africa | The Little Black Children Who Lived in a "Zoo"—Life in Africa |
| VIII. | Babes in the Woods—With Daniel Boone in Kentucky | Babes in the Woods—With Daniel Boone in Kentucky |
| IX. | Pioneer Days and Ways—From Log Cabin to Whitehouse | Pioneer Days and Ways—From Log Cabin to Whitehouse |
| X. | The Children of the Vikings—What the Swedish and Norwegian Peoples Have Brought to America | The Children of the Vikings—What the Swedish and Norwegian Peoples Have Brought to America |
| XI. | The Miraculous Pitcher—Brave Humor, Family Devotion and Resourcefulness of the Irish | The Miraculous Pitcher—Brave Humor, Family Devotion and Resourcefulness of the Irish |
| XII. | The Golden Fleece of America—To California With the Gold Seekers | The Golden Fleece of America—To California With the Gold Seekers |
| XIII. | Alice in Wonderland—To California in a Palace Car with Grandpapa | Alice in Wonderland—To California in a Palace Car with Grandpapa |
| XIV. | The Children of Topsy and Turvy Land—The Little Folks of Japan | The Children of Topsy and Turvy Land—The Little Folks of Japan |
| XV. | All Work and No Play for Little Wung Foo—The Chinese Boy | All Work and No Play for Little Wung Foo—The Chinese Boy |
| XVI. | All Play and No Work for Manuelo—Children of the Philippines | All Play and No Work for Manuelo—Children of the Philippines |
| XVII. | Children of "The Arabian Nights"—Home Life in the Desert | Children of "The Arabian Nights"—Home Life in the Desert |
| XVIII. | The Little Country of the Big Mountain—Switzerland and the Alps | The Little Country of the Big Mountain—Switzerland and the Alps |
| XIX. | The "Front Door" of America—Ellis Island | The "Front Door" of America—Ellis Island |
| | Travel Drawings | Travel Drawings |
| Wonders of the World We Live On |||
| I. | Land—How soil is made from rocks and how the earth got its high mountains, sandy deserts, lakes, oceans, green valleys, and winding streams. | Land—How soil is made from rocks and how the earth got its high mountains, sandy deserts, lakes, oceans, green valleys, and winding streams. |
| II. | Water—How the sun pumps the ocean up into the sky and, with the wind's help, brings rain, snow, hail and fog. | Water—How the sun pumps the ocean up into the sky and, with the wind's help, brings rain, snow, hail and fog. |
| III. | Air—Life at the bottom of our blue ocean—The air rivers and how they flow. How to tell when air is bad. | Air—Life at the bottom of our blue ocean—The air rivers and how they flow. How to tell when air is bad. |
| The Story of Life |||
| The articles in this department are intended to teach the child the sacredness and the wonder of all life and its beginnings in seed and germ, and to prepare for a study of the related sciences in the higher grades by introducing him, in a simple and entertaining way, to the living world of plants and animals, starting with the simplest and passing, step by step, to the highest forms. |||
| | Plants | Plants |
| | I. | We Meet the Fairy Godmother—Story of Cell Life |
| | II. | How the Yeast Plant Grows in a Loaf of Bread |
| | III. | Sailor Plants and Robinson Crusoes—Story of Sea Plants, Lichens, etc. |
| | IV. | Water Babies that Live on Land—Liverworts and Their Whips and Balls |
| | V. | Pigmy Plants and Their Wonderful Labors—Mosses |
| | VI. | How the Ferns Grew Bones and Babies—Learning to Stand Alone |
| | VII. | How Fairy Fungi Turned Into a Dandelion |
| | VIII. | Why Plants are Like Squirrels—How They Store Food |
| | IX. | Plants Have Visitors and Travel Abroad—How Wind, Insects and Birds Carry Seeds |
| | X. | How Plants are Promoted—Work of Bees and Mr. Burbank |
| | Animals | Animals |
| | I. | The Little Animal that Walks with Its Stomach and Eats with Its Feet—The Amoeba |
| | II. | Water Babies that Live in a Village—Sponges |
| | III. | A Sea Flower that Eats and Moves—The Sea-Anemone |
| | IV. | The Web of Life: Mother Nature at Her Loom |
| | V. | The Star Fish and Sea Urchins that Play with Live Dolls |
| | VI. | A Long Speech by a Little Worm—Lessons the Earthworm Teaches |
| | VII. | The Earthworm Puts on Armor—Curious Anatomy of the Crawfish |
| | VIII. | How the Worm in Armor Counts by Twos and Threes |
| | IX. | Mr. Crawfish and His Table Manners |
| | X. | The Crawfish, the Spider and the Fly—An Interesting Comparison |
| | XI. | Why the Crawfish Crawled Into a Shell—The Oyster |
| | XII. | The Oyster Learns to Swim—The Fish |
| | XIII. | The Oyster-Fish that Climbed on Shore—The Frog |
| | XIV. | Birds of the Water and Birds of the Air—Curious Resemblances |
| | XV. | Water Babies and Other Babies that Drink Milk—The Vertebrates |
| Nature Study |||
| "Nature Study" in the modern school, emphasizes, first of all, the things which the child can investigate most readily—birds, insects, flowers and trees. The following articles take him through the entire year and deal with the most important features of familiar plants, trees and insects and all the common varieties of birds. The child's interest in nature is spontaneous, and through no other medium can his observation and reasoning powers be so easily developed. |||
| | Part I. Flowers | Part I. Flowers |
| | I. | A Wild Garden and Its Tenants |
| | II. | Little Lion-tooth (Dandelion) and Its Cousins |
| | III. | A Good Luck Family—Clover |
| | IV. | The Bonny Briar Bush—The Wild Rose Family |
| | Part II. Trees (A Year in the Forest) | Part II. Trees (A Year in the Forest) |
| | I. | Spring; "Rockaby Babies" |
| | II. | Summer; "In the Tree Tops" |
| | III. | Autumn; "When the Wind Blows" |
| | IV. | Winter; "The Cradles Will Rock" |
| | Part III. Insects | Part III. Insects |
| | I. | Mrs. Musca Domestica Calls—The Fly Tells Its Story |
| | II. | Mrs. Garden Spider "At Home" |
| | III. | Gulliver Man and His Lilliputian Enemies—Destructive Insects |
| | IV. | Pigmy Friends That Fly and Hop and Creep |
| | Part IV. Birds | Part IV. Birds |
| | I. | Bird Songs and Colors |
| | II. | Bird Nests and Babies |
| | III. | Little Friends in Feathers |
| Wild Animals You Would Like to Know |||
| Related to those subjects on which he specializes in Nature Study are the animals of the "Zoo", the traveling menagerie and the "Wild Animals Near Home." This interest, properly encouraged and developed, is a source of never-failing delight and mental growth. |||
| | I. | Big Brother Bear |
| | II. | Pet Pussy and King Lion |
| | III. | Here Come the Elephants |
| | IV. | The Animal Acrobat and Clown—The Monkey |
| | V. | The Ship of the Desert—The Camel |
| | VI. | Kangaroo and 'Possum, too |
| | VII. | The Graceful Camelopard—The Giraffe |
| | VIII. | Mr. Nose Horn and Mr. River Horse—Rhinoceros and Hippopotamus |
| | IX. | Wild Animals Near Home—Squirrels, Rabbits and Other Shy Neighbors |
| Picture Visits to the Great Industries |||
| Every child has an instinctive interest in the great industries and how the wheels "go round." Familiarity with these processes is one of the most practical phases of Geography teaching in our schools, and the co-operation of the home, if supplied with appropriate material, is easy and desirable. Nine typical industries of special interest to children are graphically presented in this department. |||
| | I. | Big Business from Little Seeds—Wheat and Flour Milling |
| | II. | The Wonderful Gift of Good King Cotton—Culture and Manufacture |
| | III. | The Little Iron Pig that Goes to Market—Ore Fields to Steel Mill |
| | IV. | Art in Making Mud Pies—The Pottery Industry |
| | V. | When A Tree is Lumber—Lumbering and Woodworking Industries |
| | VI. | Just to Light a Fire—How Matches are Made |
| | VII. | A Look Through a Window—Glassmaking |
| | VIII. | The Bread of Nogi, Wung Foo, and Manuelo—Rice Growing |
| | IX. | Brownie Tick Tock and the Stars—Watch and Clock Manufacture |
| Good Health and Our Soldiers of Peace |||
| The articles in the two departments following are intended to interest and instruct the chid with regard to his own good health, and the family health (domestic sanitation), and to create a spirit of appreciative helpfulness toward those departments of city life which protect us from disease, fire and crime. |||
| The How and Why of Common Things |||
| The questions asked every day by children are now recognized as offering a unique opportunity for parent and teacher. They are the child's own spontaneous expression of his desire to know. He is hungry. Feed him. In this department are answered in a very entertaining style nearly 100 typical questions. The properties of Heat, Light, Sound, Electricity and other natural forces are explained, and the foundation laid for the study of Physiology, Acoustics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics and other sciences in the higher grades. |||
| III. | What is Smoke? | What is Smoke? |
| How and Why of Etiquette |||
| Dr. Eliot says the subject matter of this section is one of the most important parts of education. "Manners" and knowledge of certain social forms are no less valuable in "getting on" in one's life work. Lack of such information and training frequently explains why some succeed while other of equal or greater natural ability, fail. Self control, grace of bearing, ease of expression, the habit of drawing out the best in others—these things the world rightly regards as the real tests of education. Yet proper and sensible guidance is difficult to find. |||
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1942, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 81 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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