The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1890-07-24
JUVENILE LITERATURE.


Hooks That Chtidrcn and Ther hr"sss
Have Read with pfszxurt.
Never has literature for children been
40 profuse in quantity and 50 excellent
In quality. Twenty-Five years ago the
perennial fairy tales, translated from
The tiermsn. sanford and Merton. tho
tales Of Maria Edeewotth, All painfully
pointing moral. made UP the accepted
=cfassics WORDSWORTH had written a few
verses, Mary Lambs little volume, 70
long lost, represented the poetry sup
posed to be suited to their taste.
There were few English magazines,
departments il. the weekly journals,
and Sunday-sc1ool papers filled with
depressing and impossible anecdotes.
Now poet novelist, historian. traveller.
critic, artist ano engraver must do their
best
Our Young Folks" OF blessed mem
DRY, worked revolution in chiidren's
literature. Ii was considered a marvel-
GUS thing that Longfellow, Whittier and
Mrs. Stowe indeed all the foremost
writer's OF the country, should employ
the r great gifts in the amusement and
edification Of children. Itwasan expert
ment, and a remarkably successful one.
To-day the children have the very best
The pictures over which they sit
in rapt 'ght embody perfection
in design and drawing; Cox, and
Church, and Rhinehart, May Hallech.
Foote, and all the other leading illus
traitors have put the r. wits to9work, and
the magazines for children to-day are
something never dreamed of by those OF
generation ago. In the midst OF such
an abundance Of good things there are,
however, some that should always re-
main standard.
OF these Harriet Beecher Stoves and
Grace Greenwood's stories of animals
are valuable for the lessons they teach
inculcating kindness to animals. For
delicious nonsense, sAlicc in Wonder
land and Alice Through the Looking
Glass" will never be surpassed and Ed
ward Lear furnishes their metrical COM
p1emefit.
For older children Charles Lambs
adaptation of the adventures of Ulysses
is recommended, with the tales Iron
Shakespeare. Charles Kingsleys tWa-
ter fsabfes' rs an exquisite satire, too
deep, perhaps for the m nd Of any but
grown up people. Little Women" en-
bodies many sensible ideas, well put,
and will always be favorite. DIR.
Hayes stories of Arctic life are as inter-
esting to boys as to girls. tom Brown
at Rugby is an incompatible picture of
school life. In all juvenile literature
there is nothing more beautiful than
George Macdonald ''ht the Back of the
North Wind" The real and the mag
NATIVE are there blended as only he can
combine them, yet the lesson that he
would teach, gentleness, devotion to
parents, truihfulncss are made promi-
nent~and worthy of imitation
William Henry's Letters. to his
grandmother, with their unique illustra-
lions. are illusions which never tire. and
there never was boy or girl who failed
to appreciate the courage and integrity
Of the fAeclSled little hero4sand became
ardently attached to all his relatives
from the grandmother TO Lucy Maria.
In 'sChild Life" Whittier and Lucy
Larcom have made poetical collection
that every child should have. Here is
the speech for Friday at school, the
verse for the birthday, OF the nece ssaryF
quotation really at hand. -
Charles Dickens History of England"
must always rank first Of all the child's
histories that have ever been written,
for into it were put the genius that crc-
ated Little Nell" and "Oliver Twist, :"
and ''Joe, and "The .Childs Dream Of
a STAR
In the "Tanglewood Tales" Haw-
thorne has made mythology inviting, a
dash in which Charles Kingsley has been
equally successful, while IN the Twice
Told Tales" the former stimulates inter-
est in colonial and revolutionary history.
The list might be extended almost
endlessly, but these are a few good
books which children will read again
and again, and of which they never tire.
Chicago Inter Ocean.