Middletown transcript., 1914-04-25
WHAT CHILDREN SHOULD READ

When child refuses to 60 to school
or to work, is disobedient and listless,
there is something wrong. A child
brought up with the right kind of books
as companions will love his school and
his 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 so is he. His sole aim will
soon be to emulate the deeds and char
acter 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 with
out 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 his mind is full of such trash.
He is absent minded and acts as one in
dream. If he continues to read such
stories he becomes disconnected with
his home and dissatifed with all around
him. His chief desire is to get out into
the world which his misguided imagina-
ton peoples with friends waiting to
n. axe hero of him.
While boys choose stories of Indians
and pirates and girls read the sensa-
tional7tales the influence is just as bale
full 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. An
other paper tells of a boy or girl run
ming away from home. 1 pick up the
nearest paper to me and find an ac-
count of boy in California killing him
self aad the only reason that could be
found for the act was che had been
reading dime novels"
1t is heartrending to notice how often
the papers chronicle the taking Of life
in their teens.
Very few parents will allow their
children to have such reading but un-
less there is an abundance of suitable |
reading at home child will find some
other way of supplying himself not |
withstanding commands of his parents. |
If taken while young child's likes
can be educated in almost any direct
ion; and good reading is a great help in
making good children. A true story or
a narrative of deeds that human being |
might have done, history and tales of |
travel will linger in a child's mind and |
inspire to him to be honest, noble and |
truthful; to honor and obey his parents
and teachers and to love his school and |
companies.
With little planning by the mother
home may be made the place to be pre-
ferred above all other places by the
children, especially at night.
Reading aloud and telling tho pest
they can what has happened and what
they have been during the day, should |
be encouraged in the children. Teach
ers will tell you there is a noticeable
between scholars, who have
books and papers to read at home and
those who have not.