Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-19
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BoOkIouer.

OF the ever-increasing food of books
constantly pouring from the presses
of publishers an ever-enlarging num-
Der are written for children. Some of
these are good-probably a growing
number-but more are Indifferent or
poor. At this season most journals
dealing with books, whether daily
newspapers with literary departments
or columns or Weeklies and monthlles
devoted almost exclusively to books,
are likely to have one or more rather
perfunctory articles on children
books, written not by experts in chill
dren's literature but by -egular re-
viewers of adult books, whose opinions
on children's books are just about as
valuable as the Booklover's would be
if he were to try his hand at such
task. To treat children's books in this
way is perhaps somewhat better than
not to notice them at all, but not
much, since usually the writers OF
such reviews lack the knowledge on
child psychology and of the reading
tastes and interests Of children needed
to judge wisely and to separate the
wheat from the chaff.
But there is undoubtedly demand
for sound, discriminating. expert, crit
ical judgments Of children's books
from parents and librarians alive to
the Importance Of choosing wisely the
books to be read during the impress
sionable years when tastes are formed.
To meet that demand the New York
Herald-Tribune, in beginning the pub
lication a year or 50 ago OF its new
literary supplement, Books" under
the editorship of DR.. Stuart p. Sher-
hae f,-oy ha NJ a
regular feature a department devoted
to childrens books. That department,
entitled THE Three Owls" has been
edited by Anne Carroll Moore, director
of children's work in the New York
Public Library and one of the leading
authorities of the country on chill
dren'S literature.
x X X x
A selection from the New York
Herald-Tribune's page during the past
year has been made by Miss Moore,
and has just been published as a
book, with the title THE Tree Owls
From her long experience IN library
work for children and as a writer of
children's books, Miss Moore knows
that few factors IN children's lives
have greater influence on the minds
and characters of children than the
books they read. With the help of
many other writer's, children's libra
rians and successful authors OF chill
drens books, Miss Moore has each
week in her department been bringing
to the attention OF parents, teachers
and librarians a wealth of material by
reviewing the best, worthwhile, new
books for children and evaluating
anew the great old books that form
part of the literary heritage OF every
l1h Of n H.
Tribune may fairly be regarded as
epochal, because it has never been
done before and because 1t is still the
only adequate weekly treatment of
currently published children's books.
Parents and gift-making aunts and
| uncles will find much in this book
| which will prove stimulating and
helpful.
Every year sees a greater number
of scientists writing books that are at
| once comprehensive and interesting
to the general public. The writings Of
! DIR. Raymond Pearl have just come TO
the attention of the Booklover. Since
| the author struggles under the com
bined responsibilities of a professor
ship of biometry and vital statistics in
the Johns Hopkins school of hygiene
and public health, professorship of
biology in the Johns Hopkins medical
school aud the dictatorship of the new
Institute Of Biology, he might be ex
pected to turn out high-brow stuff in
language that could be understood
only by holders of a Phi. d. degree. But
he does write in language that is clear
and human and full of humor. In the
November number of the American
Mercury he has an article on The
Biology of Population Growth" which
is an inStallment from a book just
published under the same title. and in
the December Mercury he writes the
leading article on The Biology of
| Health" He closes the latter article
with this sensible advice: Live as
Christian Scientist is supposed to live
without thought or fear of disease.
But when you feel i'll consult a physi-
clan at once and follow implicitly his
instructions. He knows better than
| anybody else how to help you"
X X
Biography from the medical point
of view is discussed by DR.. Joseph
Collins. neurologist, in his latest book,
THE Doctor Looks at Biography" In
DR.. Collins previous book, The Doc
| tor Looks at Literature" the idioSyn-
crasies of several modern writer's were
explained on pathological grounds, and
many readers agreed with the doctors
diagnosis. That James Joyce, d. H.
J Lawrence and Sherwood Anderson are
at least slightly neurotic was not hard
| to believe. Now the doctor discusses
some important biographies of promi-
! nent persons and comments on both
biographers and subjects. Amy Low
| ellis life of Keats was not necessary,
| he says Thereby agreeing with most
| of the English critics., but "She had
vicarious mother-feeling for him and
she was determined to display it," Dr.
| Collins taste in biography is by no
means entirely literary or conven-
tional. He says: The most diverting
biography of the year is that of John
l.. Sullivan, the man who shared with
Theodore Roosevelt: and Woodrow
Wilson the widest popularity Of their
| times"
The Protestant farmers of Ulster
are descendants of the settlers in the
north of Ireland during the revolution
| of Cromwell and the reign of William
| and Mary. In a novel called The
LongsiderS" the Irish writer, Shan
Bullock, author of THE Barrys" and
| Irish Pastorals," describes the life of
| these Ulster farmers. The story is
| chiefly about one family, the Nixons,
whose supposed prosperity and feel
ms VI superiority toward tnelr nelS H.
| bors are shattered at the death of the
| father Of the family. Richard Jebb,
| who takes upon himself a dour sort
| of guardianship of the family. is the
most Strongly-drawn character in the
book. The contrast between the hard
| headedness, tight-fstedness and self
dependence of the FISHERMEN and the
| easy-going thriftlessness and mysti
| cism of their Celtic neighbors of south
| Ireland is shown by Mr.. Bullock in
| the course of his story.
x X X X