Middletown transcript., 1908-05-02
WHAr SHOULD OUR czIIDaEn READ

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When child refuses to 10 to school or
to work, il disobedient and listless, there
Is something wrong. A child brought up
with the right kind Of books as COM
panions will love bis school and bis books.
Children are natural imitators. They
will very soon learn to talk and act as
their companions on the street do. Or
if their leisure time is mostly spent with
books, their thoughts will dwell on what
they read about. And as child thinketh
80 is be. His sole aim will soon be to
emulate the deed and character that are
foremost in his thoughts.
There is nothing printed that will take
such complete possession of a mind
to the exclusion of everything else, as the
stories that have yellow covers,-or such
stories, wherever found, as treat OF love
and murder, hatred, blood and disaster
with no feeling and as freely as though
such display of passions were an every
day occurrence, and carry the impression
that life without such scenes is tame and
not worth living. They are so unreal that
no one ever thinks of claiming that there
is one word of truth in them.
A child cannot study or do anything
while bis mind is full of such trash. He
is absent minded and acts as one in a
dream. II he continues to read such
stories he becomes discontented with
his home and dissatisfied with all around
him. His chief desire is to get out into
the world which his misguided imagina-
ton peoples with friends waiting to make
hero OF him.
While boys choose stories Of Indians
and pirates and girls read the sensational
tales the influence is just as baleful over
one as the other. You can hardly take
up paper but you will find proof Of this.
Here you will read of two or more boys
taking all the knives and pistols they
can find and secretly starting out
West to be cowboys and fight the Indians
Another paper tells Of boy or girl running
away from home. pick up the nearest
paper to me and find an account of a
boy in California killing himself and the
only reason that could be found for the
act was che had been reading dime
novels"
It's heartrending to notice how often
the papers chronicle the taking of life in
their teens.
Very few people will allow their chill
dren to have such reading, but unless there
is an abundance OF suitable reading at
home child will find some other way of
supplying himself notwithstanding COM
mands of his parents.
If taken while young child's likes
and disIikes can be educated in almost
any direction; and good reading is great
help in making good children. A true
story or a narrative of deeds that a
human being might have done, history
and tales of travel will linger in a child's
mind and inspire him to be honest,
noble and truthful; to honor and obey his
parents and teachers and to love his
school and companions.
With little planning by the mother
home may be made the place to be pre-
ferred above all other places by the chill
dren, especially at night.
Reading aloud and telling the best
they can what has happened and what
they have seen during the day, should
be encouraged in children. Teachers will
tell you there is a noticeable difference
between scholars who have books and
papers to read at home and those who
have not.