Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-12-09
JOUR- HOUSEHOLD
CONDUCTED BY LIZZIE O. THOMAS
Chi1dren's Books

The third week in November was
designated "Children's week" and I
hope that the readers of The At
lanta Tri-Weekly Journal observed
it. There is nothing that one \ean
give a child that is productive of
more lasting results than good
book; you notice that l do not in
dorse all books, for there are some,
though not really bad that are a
waste of time for the reader and
also waste of money for the pur-
chaser.
That gifted writer, Mrs. Frances
Hodgen Burnett, had a splendid ar
t1c!e, "reminiscences of her own
childhood, in the November number
of the Pictorial Review. She said
that many a rainy day she wandered
over the house and almost walled,
"Oh, if 1 only had book to read"
and it had made her very generous
with her own little people. If your
children have never had the pleasure
OF reading her masterpiece, Little
Lord Fontleroy," there is nothing
that will give them more lasting
pleasure than that book for a Christ
mas present. And if you have a
victrola or any of that sort get
Bubbles
There is story of two girls who
wanted to give a friend a nice pres
ent, one of them suggested a book
and the other exclaimed, "Oh, no,
she has a book" Then there are
the sort of people who think it is a
step on the social ladder to own a
vast collection of books. We want
the children to grow up in the at
mosphere of good books and then
they will not get into either of these
bad habits. There was a man who
had become suddenly very rich and
Y1t Tod TO hnx h.
thing regardless of expense. He
built fine house and had a house
warming, and displayed his new
treasures with great function. He
stood in his library and pointed to
row of books and said: "All of
Indeed, said man Who knew
books and writers, IT don't see how
you managed it."
We'll, L told my agent that money
was no obstacle, to get the auto
graphs regardless of anything, and
he did"
$50 L perceive" said the man who
knew, as he handled a very expensive
copy of Boswell's Life of Johnson"
with the. autograph of Johnson on
the fly leaf.
II remember when I was a child
and had read all that was at home
and all the neighbors had, how 1
welcome dthe advent in our imme-
date neighborhood, a friend of my
mothers and the possesser of as
many as We had in our own library.
She took as much pleasure in lend
ing me books as 1 did in reading
them. She said it renewed her youth
to go over them with me. My grand
mother was delightful reader, not
too fast nor too slow, and we had
all of the new books that counted for
anything in those days, some Of the
pleasantest memories of my child
hood are of the family gathered in
my mothers room after supper lis
tening to grandmother read to US.
How old should a child be to
be interest itin books?" Is a ques-
ton that is often asked. My reply
| is before they can talk one can get
a book of animals and call their
names and help them to be observ-
ant. A girl I know had copy of
Fosters STORY of the Bible" and
her mother or father read it to her
every Sunday afternoon. 1t was in
words of one and two syllables and
she understood it. She read it as
soon as she could read and when
she was ten years old she almost
made a brilliant record in the New
York City High school, it attracted
the attention of the head of a IA
nous school for girls. She wanted
just such girl to lead the next
years classes and her tuition was
given her From there she went
to Vassar and won all sorts of schol-
arships, and graduated with honor.
| She was not a brilliant girl. All
she knew she studied hard to get,
but she said that her story of the
Bible gave her a true vocabulary.
Richter says, Every first thing
continues forever with a child; the
first color, the first music, the first
flower, paint the foreground of it's
| life. The first inner or outer object
of love, injustice or such like, throws
a shadow UNNECESSARILY far along it's
| after years"
Teach the children to handle the
books carefully. Do not give a baby
papers to tear for amusement. De-
structive habits must not be taught.
Clean hands when handling a book
teaches carefulness and self-respect
and books should be looked on as
treasures. Books are friends that
never vary, ones collection shows
ones inner life more truly than any
thing else.