Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-24
IDA GILBERT MYERS.

~ All over the country, for the
past seven days, bookShops ana
other stores besides have set on
corners and booths and stalls OF gay IN
yitation to children to come IN ana
make themelves at home" Here every
sort of bookware for the young ones IS
on display. More than that. tneSe
hooks and these visitors are free to get
together. And they do. That u
main point for the whole enterprise. 3d.
year by year, the Book Fair" grows
both in the number and quality OF It's
books and In the crowds Of children
that make use of it. For each year
leading I'D to this event writers ana
artists, bookmakers and publishers ana
merchants are in close partnership t0r
its success. Then parents and teachers,
uncles and aunts, have been draWh
toward IL as a Worth-white event.
They have talked about 1t, have seen IL
and have gone out to praise 1t. ana
each wear the children are themselves
more and more taking 1t over-ano tnat
is as it should be. This Is their Wsek.
These are their books. "A 1eehng Inst
those having the business in hand.
Reading, YOU know-that Is, Q love OF
reading. is q delicate and sensitive mat.
ter. Like any ether love, the Siightest
corauulsion does away with II. Alo
here is q medium that appears TO reail9e
this in q sane and practical way: Faey
are holding to the Idea, conscious aS
they are that as soon as this "falr" week
becomes any part Of the organised sys-
tenn of education, why, right tneh IL Is
gone.
Looking in upon any one OF these
book corners under the Tree enolce W
the boys and girls sitting around tantes
It is interesting to see how many OF the
old books are before tf1enl-those that
you read when you were little, that your
mother read, your grandmother, 100
pretty fine, for the book. to have such
self sustaining powers. But, there are
new books by new writer's - on, thou-
sands of them - beautiful, enthranlng
boeks-for every year Of life past three
or four. Little books and big ones on
every theme that has Its roots IN young
minds and in1agtnings:
books that I see as look over boys
shoulder Is Grey Friar's Bobby"
(Harpers), and the Terhune dog stories,
Lad and the rest. published by the
same house. The deeply sensitive an
imal stories by the Hindu writer Oman
Gopal are here-"Gay-Neek,' the
pigeon war hero. and THE Leader OK
the Herd" Dutton). The most o. US
grant first place, / think, to the true
story about anirnals--to the true and
sympathetic and divining story about
them. Boys are pretty sure to agree
to this, especially II the animal as the
dog, that other part Of the boy himself.
Across I see alice In wonderland"
(Dutton). A new dress for the heli-
days, but the same adorable young one
that Lewis Carroll found for US, really
in q corner Of his own domain, the
enchanted garden of childhood. En-.
barrassed and unhappy over so much Of
forced neglect In this rich held,.
cannot, simply cannot, fail to mention
new book by Thornton Burgess, Q
seashore book this time, to go with his
"Ffower Book and his Bird Book, I"
all Of these published by Little. Brown
g. Co. Graywing, the gull, takes this
sea tale in charge, telling the news
about crab and vhelk and lobster, about
sea urchin and star fish and many
another of the sea tribe people. Really
if the Burgess Bed Time Stories" were
to give out, don't see how many OF
us could go to bed at all.
"A Picture Book of Sculpture" ana
THE Goldsmith of Florence" (Mae-
Millan) combine In q pictorial history
of art on the one hand, Of the crafts
at their surprising point Of finish on
the other. I'd like those books. So
would you, young fellow.
Stamps; An Outline Of Philately,"
by Kent 6tile, Is Harper publication
made for that point In q boys life when
collecting stamps Is his consuming
business A very complete and useful
book, this one, illustrated and up to
the moment in its attention to the air
mail, to World War stamps, to those
of commemorative and historic mean
ing. A fine book both in its own sub
stance and in its keen appreciation Of
the readers to whom by right 1t belongs.
There is no place to stop. Literally
here are hundreds of books for younger
readers that are substantial in theme,
or entertaining, or of otherwise good
report. And so beautifully dressed are
these, In holiday raiment, that they
naturally look straight toward Christ
mas. To be sure, these books vary
among themselves as an equal gather
ing of people would, but even so, they
round to a measure of such worth and
charm as to meet, at one point of their
value or another, every boy and girl
in the country-little and not so little,
then quite big and grown up.
Sorry past expressing, but this Is the