New-York tribune., 1907-11-23
JUVENTLIA.
Books for Young Girls-IIlustrated
Fiction.

Fiction.
Many the books that good for girls to
| read-earnest, honest books. full OF excellent
teaching. suggestive morazing; but few are the
books that, with those pleasant qualities. have
also literary distinction and clever charac-
ter drawing. One of the few comes this sea-
son from the pen of the author of that net yet
forgotten volume The Story Book Girls" In
| 'Ninas Career" (the Macmillan Company Miss
Christina Gowans Whyte tells the story of a
gentle, lovabIe. true hearted girl whose streak
of genius inevitably provides her with a Ca
reer" as an artist. AS interesting character is
Nina's chosen friend, Gertrude, half spoiled
child, naughtiy wilful and winsome, with gem
uine womanliness beneath her wayward impet-
+ uosity The story moves easily around circle
of wei!-to-do English people. whose lives are
without any specially dramatic episodes; but in
truth such episodes are not needed to emphasize
its lessons of refinement. right living and un-
selfishness. The career" is not matter that is
oppressively obtruded as the end and aim Of
the modern girls eXistence-in this the story
rises superior to a swarm of its incorporates
An American story which has much of the
wholesome atmosphere that permeates the his
tory of Nina Wentworth is Marion Ames Tag
CARTS Daughters of the Little Grey House"
(the Mcclure Company This is the sequel
to an earlier book. in which was painted an
admirable picture Of family affection and
youthful courage and helpfulness. Roberta
Grey. whose heart is as warm as her brains are
sound, is fine young heroine Of the best type
of gtrlhood Her sympathies do not melt into
sentimentality nor does her brave outlook on
life include blatant aggression. The readers Of
THE Little Grey House" have no doubt Ionged
to know what became OF Roberta and her sis
ters They will find disappointment and
much entertainment in this new volume
a story whose heroine also introduced in
one of the books OF previous season bears the
title of Betty Bairds Ventures Q4ittle Brown
& Coz. Herein Mrs. Anna II. WeikeI describes
the efforts OF a delightful young Betty to
brighten the family fortunes and bring a little
ease to the tired, uncomplaining father for
whom life has been hard. One after another
Betty's ventures fail. but this would not be a
Christmas book worthy of the name If the final
attempt did not succeed 1t may be that in real
life so comfortable chance would not so early
fall to a determined heroine. but ii is not impos-
sible, and good and sweet and humorous Betty
Baird certainly deserves all she gets. Another
book of the series in which Miss Anna Chapm
Ray has discoursed concerning the lives and
characters Of a certain Sidney Stayre and her
friends is entitled Day: Her Year in New
York Oittle Brown & Coz. The story drags
and suffers grievously from a lack of humor
and OF incident. We take leave TO doubt the
truth of the portrait of Sidney's sister Phyllis
She is called a sensitive girl but no creature
represented having mind could be so intoI-
erably insoent and vulgar. Perhaps as the
awful example she is meant to be she will be
endured by young readers. but she does not
improve the story-whch is indeed a dull one
Worse than dull Is "a Girl from America" (5.
p. Dutton & Coz. by the English writer. Mrs
l.. t. Meade 1t is trash as false as 1t is silly
The Americans are the impossible persons of
the oIdtime English novel and play, beings
whose breeding is of phenomenal badness and
whose speech is a strange patois known only
TO the sixth rate British novelist of Victorian
days. The heroine, who is continually described
as the richest heiress in New York City," Is
an extraordinary little vuIgarian: her mother /
is person whose grammar is a suitable ac-
compartment to her favorite eXpletive, Good
landr' Mrs. Meade also offers to the world
story about little boy under the title of THE
ColonePs Conquest" &c. w Jacobs & Coz. L
is wretched stuff which no youngster should be
allowed to read.
An English story of a much better kind is
''Feadoras Failure David Mckay by Lucie
E Jackson 1t is marred by piece of unnec-
essary melodrama. but apart from that it is a
sane and healthy book. Feadora is the eldest
daughter of a widower, and in the bumptious
conceit of her teens undertakes to rule the
house and manage her younger brothers and
sisters. AS she goes about 1t in the wrong way
and in the wrong spirit she makes a particu-
larly disa greeable mess of things, and is hu-
inflated after a fashion which should point
moral to other too self-satisfied youngsters In
Joan of Juniper Inn George w. Jacobs &
Coz Miss Emilia Elliot causes her young Ameri-
can heroine to bend all her energies to the COM
fort of her poverty stricken family. 1t is not
probable that a real Joan could successfully
conduct a restaurant undiscovered by her in
valid mother out If her domestic experiences
are less true to reality than are those of Fea-
dora they are marked by nobler motives. One
foolish phase of the story has to do with man
who has been unjustIy imprisoned; and another
is the pervading presence of a conventional
character of latter-day tuvenia--the offensive
ly smart" little boy. Betty the Scribe" (the
saalfeld Publishing Company, by Lillian Tur-
ner, is the story of Australian girl who is as
much of failure in household management as