Evening star., 1925-12-13


coast with the Great Lakes before
railroads had begun to do this. John
Jacob Astor and Cornelius Wander
bilt, great builders. both. are here
in stories that read like pure adren
ture, though they are all but the
true records of men who helped 80
greatly TO build America. Washing
ton Irving belongs to these early days
when authors were not then, AS now.
thick as blackberries upon the bush.
And, there are others-pioneers, ad-
venturers, butlders-to all ot whom
we are in deep personal debt. We
ought to know them. you and I, and
right here's the chance given to us
by a man who writes in pictures so
that these men stand before US, just
about as they must have stood and
moved before the men of their own
time.
THE YOUNG FOLKS BOOK OF DIS
COFERY. BY T. c. Bridges, au.
thor Of Martin Crusoe," etc,
Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
A GREAT company. this. into which
you are invited. With them you
will go a-sailing all over the world.
Not in swift ships, however. along
well charted ways. Instead you will
sail away in little craft, shiveringly
unfit-so it seems to you--to explore
unknown seas for the finding Of new
lands, new worlds. Marco Polo is,
maybe, the most thrilling Of these
or is it because he knew so we'll how
to tell his own story OF far Cathay and
the marveis of the East? \ good
second, however. is Cortez in Mexico,
or Pizarro in Peru. There are voy.
ages in the Pacific and saiings in the
ins and Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh
and Capt. Cook-each adding his
bit of discovery to the already mighty
Empire OF England. Some of these
read like pirate tales--and such they
are, in fact. With the sad and tragic
fate OF Capt. Cook goes that of eX-
plorers III the Arctics-Sir John
Franklin and Scott. Triumphant, at
the end of the story is the American
Peary who reached the North Pole,
that for which so many struggles had
achievements exactly fitted to keep
one up @ nights for the reading Of it.
- :: X =
LITTLE JOE OTTER. BY Thornton
w. Burgess, author of The Bed
time Stories" etc. Illustrated by
Harrison Cady. Boston Little,
Brown & Co.
NOBODY around the Smiling Pool
could swim and dive like little Joe
Otter. Odd fellow, little Joe otter. An
uneasy chap, always away somewhere.
Once he was gone for months. nobody
knew where. nor what he was up to
except little Joe Otter himself He
knew. It was Peter Ra bbit who final
ly saw him in the Laughing Brook.
And Peter-full of curiosity. like the
rest of us-Watched him. and followed
him, and discovered Joe's new home
that he had set up. Uh-huh-a wife.
a new one. Yep-mnl-,nnl-babi bies
YOU please. And that's what little
Joe Otter had been doing, all so secret
like. Maybe, you are able TO go to
sleep without a Bedtime Story" I'm
not, though by ignorant people | sup
pose I'd be called way past the years
for bedtime stories.
THE PRINCE AND THE PAGE. BY
Charlotte NJ. Ionge. illustrated by
Marguerite de Angeli. New York:
The Macmillan Company.
A n old story that your fathers and
mothers have read many a time.
Well worth your own reading, too,
since it Is one of the few tales that do
not grow musty with age. 1t goes
away back in English history to the
time when crusadeS we're made
against the Far East where many a
youth tried out his courage in what
was called q holy cause. This is the
story of two young men. cousins.
One became later the King OF England
The other, in one of the queer turns Of
life. became an outlaw. the doer Of
reckless and lawiess things against
both his King and his country. The
better turn OF the matter comes when
this youth. convinced that he had been
all in the wrong, gives himself to the
last of the crusades in the hope OF
making good that which had hitherto
been all bad. A good story as good
now as It was when your father read
It,.
BIBLE STORIES RETOLD FOR
CHILDREN. BY Eleanor Crosby
Tissot. New York: The Adelphi
Company.
&YMPATHY and an easy story.tell.
ing way go into these stories from
the Bible. The author has held her
self well III hand and mind. since she
has presented her themes from a point
of view calculated to attract and hold
children. Here is the story of Adam
and Eve, not as the first of the age
long procession of sinners, but as the
first of the human family instead.
Here are Cain and Abel-not as the
first murderer and his victim, but
rather as the first brothers. And SO
in every case. this writer has held
70 the larger vision. to the truer
lesson. to the line leading out toward
the present. "Abra ham, the Friend
Of God, "Isaac and Rebecca." ." Moses,
the Law-Giver' are other story themes
given here to satisfy from the Bible
! itself the story age OF children and
| to set up. if may be, an interest in
| this book that VIII continue and in
| crease.
JOS BOYS. BY Louisa NJ. Alcott.
Pictured in color by Clara NJ. Burd
Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
| A BOOKSHELF is the knouinges,
thing in the world about the best
beloved books Of children Fathers
and mothers may make mistakes abou,
this matter. and often debut the
bookshelf. never. You see. ii knows
more children than any parent pos
sibly can. Besides, in it's company
youngsters are particularly open and
free, for, never frowning, it simpl,
sehiioo W ioOhiIlS Ol1 10 una out tnf
books that children best like to read
And it, accordingly, sets itself to the
business of stocking up with these
favorites. 1t is from this sure grounc
OF friendship and understanding tha,
the Beacon Hill Bookshelf sends ou,
in Christmas greeting to the boys ant
girls an old story that their father.
and mothers loved Jos Boys
regular boys, minds just another
one of the ways in which Louisa NJ
Alcott, generation ago and more
brought real enjoyment to a most O.
children. The proof OF a story Il
D In the adinx A nd tia Cd Il