Evening star., 1919-11-09
APPEAL FOR MORE
BOOKS IN HOMES
Cooperative Effort Planned
in Behalf of Children
Throughout Country.

Throughout Country.
The week Of November 1918 has been set
country to interest parents in more books in
the home' for the child. Few gifts bring more
lasting pleasure to a child than a fascinating
story in an attractive binding. Gift books are
chosen too often, however, for attractive bind
ings. bright colors and generally pleasing ap-
penrance only, with no thought given to the
contents. The children want to. and will.
read; just what to give them Is the question.
The inspiration Of good books read in childhood
has been vouched for by many truly great men
and the effect Of bad books is generally known.
The good and the bad books are fairly easy to
distinguish; but there is another group which
constitutes a large proportion Of the pub
locations for children. books which are
neither obviously good nor obviously bad
which today the chief danger in children e
literature. The outstanding features Of this
group are: sensationalism, machine construc-
tion and materiallsm.
The Sensational Story.
These tales of impossible adventure, with a
thrill to every page. made up Of hairbreadth
incidents. lack balance and are untrue to life.
The chief danger Of such books lies in their
overstimulation, they leave the child with
craving for excitement and do not incite to
action as does a good virile story
The machine-made books without spontaneity
or honesty Of work are enervating. In them
the paragon characters are apt to move from
triumph to triumph without due preparation
effort. These books. by undermining the
power of concentration. reduce the power Of
sustained work or study. Up-to- the minute
stories (books written to order) centering
about the latest popular movement, discovery,
invention or world event are apt to fall into
this class, as also do many school stories. A
sort Of mental and moral anesthesa seems to
attend constant reading Of these machine-made
tales.
The MateriaHstic Story.
The evil Of materialism is most commonly
found In so-called girls books (the term so.
called is used because any good story suitable
for children boy or girl. should be q girls
story). In these books the interest eenters
about externals; house parties, lmousines,
birthday parties at which the heroine receives
presents which would have supplied the birth
days OF lifetime Of q leading character Of q
previous generation. The heroine's claim to
glory lies in what she has rather than what
she is. The danger Of these books il that they
with life fostering the very qualities we
ronvA AtsaN In s{r ~
essence Of these books. as were morbidity and
introspection the equally to be avoided hall.
marks Of the girls books Of the last decade.
These faults are sure to appear in lengthy
series and too often are found in individual
books.
The points to seek in, children's books an
literary quality, creativeness. strength. sin
cerity. spontaneity, excellence in plot and
treatment and good ethics. The best books for
children have all Of these qualities. but a book
may lack some Of them and stin be q worth
while book for child. The books which are
turned out by hack authors are often much
cheaper than the books With merit, and thsy are
apt to have aiiuring covers, making the g1ver
feel that he has done very well By the child
at slight expense. There are also very ex-
pens1ve 81tt pooks ptofubeu mustuteos Out
with cheap. shoddy contents. II economy 10
necessary there are cheap editions Of good
books, there are reprints Of good stories at .
low cost and there are many sxesllent books
within the reach Of al. But. whatever the
price. q mediocre book u costly because 1t II
demoralising and taste-dsstroying to the child.
It IL comforting to remind ourselves that
children like good books and win read them;
the habit Of poor reading comes only with q
constant supply Of poor books. What children
enjoy in books 10 no longer IN unknown guam
tity. since there are specialists in children q
literature In all large public libeafies, who,
In addition to their training. are constantly
trying out books with children and studying
their taste. There are to be found good stories
which will satisfy all tastes. 20 that there ID
no longer an excuse for giving children poor
things because they want this or that sort OF
book. Carefully selected collections Of book,
can be seen in the Children's Department, Pub.
lie Library Of the District Of Columbia, and q
list of suggestions may b had. Ths Directol
Of Work with Children viii bs glad to talk
over the selection Of books any day between
0 and 4:30.