The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-12-24

Tendency Toward Elegance in chill
dren's Books Moro Noticeable
Than In Other Fields OF
Literature.

Even i these wartimes. the Ameri.
Gun public - SuFfeited with eta torata
editions % both old and the new books
y. mnss1nsneSptiy illustratcd; and perhaps
.nls tendshcy toward elegance Ia more
s st IN books prepared for chit
NJ n man II Is In any other field OF
interesting to speculate AZ To whether
thus exravaga@ce Is de luxe editions
y quite justified. The question IL:
70 tne children appreciate what q
feast - set before them?
Inc writer recalls one OF those con-
vincans1y human OF Jane Barlow's
IIIsn peaAant characters. Larry.
VINO was ''one too many" and who 10
PalIIuiiy resisted all attempts on the
pal. OF MS family to send him to
to feed. enc less person to huddIe
around the smouldering peat fire Of
WINTER evening. 1t was this same
Larry who chung SO loyalty to his poor
nome mere scrap OF mud and
.natch. scarcely detachable, at a dis.
.ance. from ones general view OF the
sray md rocky Connemara hillside.
ne ioved every familiar landmark and
especially ne valued the few treasures
~ ~cn ne hau been able to preserve in
ms particular black hole In the big
chimney. foremost among which were
rev torn sheets from a volume OF
Ivannoe These fragments Larry
nad read andsre-read until they had
become his own. and his grasp upon
ther subject matter was 80 an
compelling that it enabled him to con
s.Iuc., IN his own meager way, the
remainder OF the story. And these
.oTn pages Larry was reluctant TO
usmp on to the States" and leave
IN them to so along in his pocket TO
him the rouEh-edged sheets, the
oleneo and dimmed print. was all
suf1eient: word pictures satisfied.
the text ia the thing. after all,
OF course. 1t may BE contended that
y 10 impossible to Judge the tastes of
cmidren Of educated parents by those
OF Larry. whose people had never so
much AS the opportunity OF learning
.neir letters. But. like certain over
elaborated stage settings which, it
Is often argued confuse the OBJ.
locker and detract from the play
tney are intended TO set forth. Ger.
tain OF the spiendidly conceived and
executed illustrations in childreIs
books SO ensross their little readers
attention that the text becomes OF
almost secondary Importance. Beau
TRULY coiored. sltosether charming in
FORM and imagination. these illustra
tons but add to the adults enjoyment
or Alice In Wonderland" the Ara
oian Nights" the Merry Adventures
OF Robin Hood" Chaucer's "Canter-
pury Tales" c. Hans Christian An
uersen: but 10 the child. for whom the
book Y intended. able TO appreciat e
the artists effort?
Even X he does, there in DANGER
involved, SO the writer fels; for there
y taken away from the child his right
fui privilege Of creating his own i'm ;
psesSions and pictures of the scenes
m the stories Surely. we all remem-
DER the distress Of finding that the
golden haired princess OF the fairy
tale. who in the story wears a robe OF
TURQUOISE blue. in the picture Is CARRIED
in dazzling ruby red. This sort OF
thing Mnconsctously distresses. the
young Understanding his belief in
-.nf Hapiilty OF ordinary events At
leust our modern illustrators should
c9nform with descriptions az set down
IN the tales, but often,isnes they quite