New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-20

as the best story about growing girls
and boys that have ever read. And
there was Rocky Fork, a charming at
mospheric study of childhood in the
Middle West st. Nicholas presented
us with many masterpieces.
when my three older brothers were
little boys my father wrote book
for them. Let me slip in here tina.
my father, who himself was one oa
the heroes of an old-time story, The
Bobbin Boy, always quoted as his
favorite books Sanford and Merton,
Little Henry and His Indian Bearer
and Cooper's Misunderstanding Tales
1 can without shame quote the title
of my fathers book, Young America
iii Brazil, because the edition was
limited to four, all done on a beauti-
full thick paper in my fathers ex.
quisite hand printing I think I may
safely say that those three boys never
enjoyed any other book SO much as
this, because they were the heroes of
it. When this same Phyllis Duganne
was a little girl [ wrote a book for
her. Wild horses could not drag the
name from me. (Although, Of course,
If any reader of this letter finds it i'm
possible to support life in ignorance
of it, ne may apply to B. W.
Huebsch, its publisher. He viii find
Mr.. Huebsch full of the charming,
confidential quality which marks pub
lishers)
Il read that book 20 my audience
of one, day by day, as l finished the
chapters. Would that ones readers
had that childlike appreciation!
will say in passing that now that she
has herself, in manner of speaking,
grown up, she has written book for
her own little girl-to read when she
has advanced far enough from her
present tender age of one year. Again,
wild horses cannot drag from me the
name of that book. (Sull, if readers
of this letter demand to be put out
of their misery, they may apply to
Harcourt, Brace G. Co, who Will al
leviate it at once.)
"This brings me to the point Of
my plea. Why not write books for
children an the family? To be sure, it
would cut some of US out of royalties,
and I don't know what the authors
union will do to me- Nevertheless, it
should be done. Everybody writes
nowadays, plays always, and novels
frequently. Any real narrative in
terests a child. But how much more
than anything else the real story of
fathers or mothers childhood. Peo-
pie seem to think it is difficult 70
write a child's book. 1t is perfectly
you write it exactly the
way you would tell it-tell il, mean,
to a child. Imagine what books on
books must have been told the Roose-
welt children by their adventurous
and articulate father! Think what
a book Grantland Rice could write for
Grantland Junior--if there is
Grantland jr.-how crammed it would
be with those fighting parts" that
boys love. Indeed, had | nephew ad-
jacent enough, l think l would be
tempted to write my "reminiscences OF
the glorious twenty-round battle be-
tween Willie Richie and Harlem
Tommy Murphy for the lightweight
championship of the world, and an
other between Fred Fulton and Sam
Langford-not to mention some
glorious fights I saw in Paris and
Coblenz. But this is getting
unwomanly! And has Grantland Rice
begun to write for Grant}and jr, and
have you, Haywood Broun, begun to
write for Haywood jr., those stories
Of the great war, which, of course. you
are rapidly forgetting?
There is no reason why, after a
little, children should not write their
own books-alone, or in collaboration
with their parents. ] am sure %
This