Evening star., 1933-11-13

Never have children's books beer
more delightfully."- illustrated than this
season. From 'Whiffy McMann" "a
white kitten), through Castor and Jo-
sephines (two little pigs from France)
reader finds much Of compelling In
terest, pictorial and otherwise.
Children's books, Of course, are not
just for children alone. They are for
all persons in whom something Of the
child mind and heart still remains. It
does not stay with every one.
just what makes good child's book
is difficult to say, although many tfy. 1t,
newest works on child psychology.
1t will not do to say, as some do, that
the greatest children's books, as such,
have been produced simply as self-ex-
pressions, without thought of the small
readers. 1t is impossible to believe that
Stevenson did not have youth in mind
when he wrote Treasure Island" pos
sessing in himself so much of the men,
ortes Of his own childhood.
Dean Swift, on the other hand, had
no idea at all that his "Gulliver's Trav-
els" would make one of the favorite
boys books Of all time, yet it Is so, there
are few fortunate youngsters of IL years
OF age who have not read and enjoyed
this classic.
It is impossible, therefore, to dogma
tie about children's books, any more
than about good books of any other
classification.
There are here rules to be broken, as
elsewhere.
There are q great many youngsters
who do not relish "Alice's Adventures
In Wonderland" and there are a great
many who do.
Because an elder happens to know
several children who do not like to read
about Alice is no proof at all that scores
OF other children do not revel in Lewis
CarrolPs triumph of the human imagi-
nation.
If it proves anything, it is that not
every good book is for every one. The
IDEA that because a book is good every
one must flnd 1t so Is hard one to
down. 1t simply is not so, however.
The charitable way to look at this fall
ure Is that there are blind spots, as IL
were, in every readers mind, which pre-
vent him from accepting what others
have found acceptable.
Here Is one man, well read In the
classics, a man of open and inQuisitiye
mind. He treasures Treasure island" /"
Yet he positively has no use for Alice
in Wonderland" or its successor,
Through the Looking Glass"
y X
A belief has grown up, too, that all
mature readers find subtle overtones in
those two great stories. Oldsters are
supposed to find certain witticisms,
certain phrasings. certain ideas, far be-
yond the comprehension of children.
The truth, we believe, is that the
good child reader finds all of these
things, too, without exception, but he
finds them unconsciously. We do not
know of a surer way to kill the spon-
taneity of Alice than to read these
adventures with an idea Of seeing how
much more one can discover" than
can be found there by the average
young reader.
Not every child likes this Alice, any
more than every grown-up likes her,
but those who do find her very happy
acquaintance. The blind spots for GER
tain books exist in every reader, young
or old.
It is well, therefore, If book lover
divests himself Of the idea, II he pos
sesses it, that he is the infallible judge
OF all that has been written, and of
what is being written now.
He will do particularly well, indeed,
being older. II he will refrain from tell