The Harrison times. (Harrison, Boone Co., Ark) 1876-1938, 1905-06-24

4ANh ~ ANAS - AthA pNhAAAN AAoN
Widely his choice is permitted to ex-
tiud. Fruits are good for children;
Bdt there are unripe fruits; and
;bere are over-ripe fruits which
are not good. The average parent
X very careful as to what his child
,sits into his stomach, but is very
al reless as to his mental food.
| lBut the boy-bandit, midwest, SEN
sStional stories of the news stands,
IL which reference has already been
3ade, are not, after all, the most
+ hngerous species of children litera-
te They are so glaringly bad
Sat parents instinctively scent their
essence and Danish them from the
| household.
tTheir influence is happily becoming
limited to those homes in which the
pbrents themselves are not above the
standard of the tales, and in such
homes there is little chance for the
growth of a pure literary taste, or a
high moral character. For the in
frence of all literature is felt along
two lines, the aesthetic and moral
that which affects taste, and that
which affects the character That
which we love, we are.
More dangerous still than the boy
bandit or border-ruffian type of chill
dren's literature is that in which sem
sarionalism is respectfully clothed.
The boys in these stories move in
good society, but are always getting
intyo impossible situations, and hav-
ing the most startling adventures.
They encounter and vanquish burg
lars; they rescue little girls from
death by fire and flood, and grow
upto WOO and marry them. They
are almost killed in dozen differ
ent ways, but in the last chapter al
ways overcome their enemies, escape
from their misfortunes, and live in
peace and prosperity.
These stories appear in reputable
chidren's magazines, are interspers-
ed with items Of useful information,
sci1nce, history, and biography.
| Tha story is inserted to make the
md razine popular, and it answers
Tt'ftss. grpose. a the family Of an Gid
friehd of mine three wel-known
chill lren's periodicals are taken and
read. Several days before the time
for he appearance of each issue, the
children are in a fever of excitement;
and when the paper at last appears,
everything else is dropped until the
progress of the hero of the continued
story is ascertained. In this family
there is no library worth the name.
The periodicals already referred to
supply all the reading matter that
the children care for, and for which
they have time after their school
duties have been fulfilled.
TIE last mentioned sugar-coated
sensationalism is bad, yet there is
still another class of children's litera-
ture quite as Objectionable. | refer
to the sickly sentimental stuff which
is written in the nar@ of morality
and religion, but which is effective
only in vitiating the taste, weaken
ing the intellect and giving false
views of life. 1t appears notably in
the "children's column of certain
religious papers, and in books in
tended for Sunday school consumpt-
ion, but which, happily, the best
Sunday schools have long since re-
pudiated.
1t is one of the most significant
facts of modern life that a surleit of
periodical literature, both juvenile
niadult, is operating against the
reading of books and the formation
OF III rar,cs The magazine has it's
pls9';~5ut it also has its limitations;
andA siould lead our children to
understand that, after all, the vital
and permanent literature is that
preserved for them in good books.
A good book presented to child
on epch succeeding birthday, a book
chosen wisely in respect to the child S
tastes and abilities, but of sterling
worth will soon put him in possess
ion of a library, which will be last
ing 'ouree OF strength and satisiact-
ion. II is a mistake, too, to think
that a child must be supplied con
tinually with fresh reading matter,
that. a book once read is finished.
Indeed the strong intellects of the
centuries have been those which were