Evening star., 1930-12-11

There are 50 many charming new
children's books on the market this sea-
SON that we would not know where to
begin, so scarcely are able to answer the
letters of correspondents who nave
asked for advice on the subject.
Recently we purchased. for two small
friends. THE Cat That Went to Heav-
en-" and Little Pig Robinson" but these
are only two of a galaxy. Mrs. Nor
rows The Painted Pig can be omitted
from no list.
But our advice would still be to give
/ the old favorites, and of these we select
Alice in Wonderland" Grimms' Fairy
Tales" Andersen's Fairy Tales, Rob
inson Crusoe," THE Swiss Family Rob-
| inson," "Gulliver's Travels, Treasure
| Island" and Black Beauty"
An old-fashioned list, we will admit,
but a mighty good one for all that.
made up of stories that will never be
surpassed, and which, in sense, will
never be equaled.
Since there are no hard and fast
measurements in such matters, 1t is per-
fectly safe to say that such book as
The Swiss Family Robinson cannot
be duplicated-that is, in its precise
qualities. because there can be only one
Robinson family
So much is so much. There might
they would not be the one and only
Swiss Family Robinson, which went
I through such impossible yet plausible
adventures. and which never thought
of dinner without finding it to hand on
a tree or running toward them on all
four legs.
We know Of two washington young
sters right now who are getting THE
Swiss Family Robinson" in nightly in
stallments with huge satisfaction both
to themselves and their parents. There
lies one of the charms of this old book.
Grown-u as they are called, enjoy 1t
quite as much as the little ones. Per-
haps they recognize somewhat more
cynically the rather overemphasiS on
Providence which is Incorporated in 1t,
but they enjoy none the less the same
satisfaction which the children have
when the Family finds everything right
and tight in their snug little isle.
The small readers do not have the
sense of anti-climax which most Of
their elders feel at the latter part of
the story, when the family finally in
d,llges in a romance. and part of it
removes from the island at last. This
was tackled onto the original story, and
like so many such amendments rather
spoils the flavor. Some copies of
The Swiss Family Robinson" remedy
this by emitting the romance of the
elder daughter, or son, or however it is,
we have forgotten.
THE Swiss Family Robinson" Is on
all points better story for children
than Robinson Crusoe," because it
deals with the familiar life of the home,
although under unusual circumstances.
The story of the capable. Crusoe is to-
day so familiar to the reading world
that ordinarily we fail to stop TO realize
how saddening tale it is. after all
Surely nothing could be more "scary"
to the average child than the thought
of being left alone by himself, on an
island or any place else.
It is fortunate for them, therefore as
readers, that ordinarily they do not
think much upon what they read, or
have read to them, at least not in a
brooding way. Most children, of what
ever age, are like the smaller youngsters
who carefully but quickly turn over the
page in the book OF the Brothers Grimm
which carries the illustration of the old
Witch in the story of Hansel and Gretel
X
De Foes masterpiece, however, de-
serves and always gets a place in every
list of children's classics. Surely no
one should grow to manhood without
having read it. In addition to being