The Washington herald., 1921-12-25

III anu equally Sidi "Ah'
parently an old hand at fantastic
-kutnar, Son of Pie" by George
Langford. (Boni and Liveright)
This Is the second volume of Mr..
Langford's Iong-Agcs Ago Series.
re-creating for children the lives OF
prehistoric creatures. The first vol
ume was pic: The Weapon Maker
The next will be Pic and the Out
landers," and then there will be two
more to follow. They are placed by
the publishers in the ranks Of
books for children between and
Is, but there will probably be young
err children who will enjoy at least
parts of them if they are read
aloud And they are unique in
making really human, thrilling and
not merely grotesque the adven-
lures and habits of those curious
Inhabitants such as Pic, The
Hairy Mammoth, and the Cave Lion
cub. OF the prehistoric world Mr..
Langford has illustrated the books
with his own drawings, strong and
simple OF line, and it is pleasant
to know that he is wholly at home
with his subject. Indeed, the first
of the series carried an introduce
tton by Henry Fairfield Osborn
which seemed to guarantee Mr..
Langford as an authority.
-Gray Wolf storiesi, Indian Mys-
terry Tales" by Bernard Sexton.
(The Macmillan Coz
Bernard Sexton is widely known
as The Gray Wolf" and famed
among boys and girls for the In
dian stories he tells, sometimes IN
person and sometimes in print. His
stories are authentic, that is they
are based on actual Indian folk
lore, but they are also very simple
and full OF the personification OF
wild annals which children love.
This collection contain three groups
of stories, Owl Man and Coyote;
Animals: and Men. They are shor,
just the right length to read to a
child at bedtime-and are illus
trated by the interesting sketches
by Gwenyth Waugh which will
further endear the books to the
children II your small boy or girl
has run out Of Something to read"
here Is a new and worth while ad-
dition to your library.
Compliant Annie Story Book by
Johnny Gruelle. (Bobbs-Merill
Everyone knows "Orphant Annie"
who came "to our house to STAY"
This volume contains the supposed
witch-tales" at Annie tells about"
but they are more amusing than
eruesome and no child who reads
them will be haunted by the Con
nle-uns" who git you ef Won dom,
watch out" They are peopled nv
such charming individuals as Ger
trude Gartersnake and Georeiana
Grounding, The Gnome in the Pea
nut and so on Orphant Annie's ar
rival in the house Is described. and
also her method of telling stories
while peeling potatoes or 6oInr
other household tasks The book is
httingly dedicated to James Whit
comb Riley and is described by the
author as evidence Of the "deen
appreciation and abiding affection"
of lesser Hoosier" for the great
Hoosfer." There are some VERY
amusing illustrations by the author
and especially for the younger chill
dren this volume will We a very
pleasant treat
"Mnfda'S LITTLE House, by mex
Haynes Irwin Oh. w. Huebsch1
This is sequel to 'Maida's Lit
tie Shop" and will delight all those
girls who love stories of other
girls who have everything arranged
exactly as they would wish to in
their choicest dreams MAZDA is a
very fortunate little girl whose
father gives her an old farmhouse
near the sea at Scituate, Mass
where she entertains avhols flock
Of her friends in the summer I'm
royal freedom. As we'll as the
ocean, there is lake, the Magic
Mirror; there is a tree house, in a
tree that grows right through the
house proper; thee is even a cave
and Of course adventures. Once,
IN newspaper discussion last
year of children's books, Mrs. IT.
win remarked that IL was a very
easy thing to write books that chill
drsn liked, and apparently she has
set to work in 'Maida's Little
House" TO write one that girls, at
least will like immensely. for she
seems to have forgotten no single
ingredient which they enjoy.
sThe Golden Fleece, by Padrafc
Colum; illustrated by Willy
Pogany 1.-THE Macmillan Coz
Padraic Colum has undertaken
the task OF rewriting the old Greek
hero-tales for modern children. |
The Children's Homer" his earlier
volume, gave the stories of the
Had and the Odyssey. and now, in
The Golden Fleece" telling the
story of Jason, of the expedition of |
the Argonauts, of Heracles. Alta
lanta, and others, he has completed
all the more important tales or
Greek mythology and has succeed
ed in arranging them in a way that
will make them both Ineligible
and interesting to children. In
this volume, for instance, there is
a definite time sequence, which
makes il read like a complete his
tory of Jason. instead of like a Sc
ries of more or less disjointed in
cidents as so many mythologies d o.
The stories are told, also, in the
most delightful fashion. simply |
but with constant regard for dra-
matte effect Not the least of the /
charms of the book is the illustra-
tive work of Willy Pogany, who
has contributed both line drawings
and colored plates. II is not only |
a good story-book, but the kind of
book that a parent who is anx-
ious to stimulate the child's aes-
thetic sense will be glad to dis