Evening star., 1935-03-16
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C.. BOWERMAN.

Hans Christian Andersen.
A WONDER BOOK. BY Nathaniel
Hawthorne.
BLACK BEAUTY. BY Anna Sewell.
HEIDI. BY Johanna Spyri.
THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE. BY
Miss Mulock.
THE WATER BABIES. BY Charles
Kingsley.
PINOCCHIO. BY c. Collodi.
All edited to fit the interests and
abilities of young readers, by Ed
ward L. Thorndikc. The Thorn
dixie Library. New York: D. Apple
ton-Century Co.
In the adaptation of these seven
juvenile classics to children of 9 or
over, Prof. Thorndike Of Teachers
College, Columbia University, has
modified the vocabulary in order to
make them more attractive to the
modern child and Of greater value
for the development of vocabulary.
In doing this, he has not tampered
with the literary quality. She Thorn
oihC LAb1 ID d ICdl tNcllL Ill
ture for children, the value of which
is guaranteed by the reputation of
Prof. Thorndike as one of our lead
ing educators. The makeup of the
volumes is also so attractive that any
normal child, once having seen the
books, would give a parent no peace
until they were purchased, with the
excuse of a birthday or some other
anniversary. The binding is of pink
linen, with royal blue labels.
The illustrations, in black and
white. are in each case admirably
suited to the story. Andersen's Fairy
Tales" are illustrated by Gustaf Teng-
gren, the Wonder Book" by Robert
Ward Johnson, BLACK Beauty" by H.
M. Stoops, Heidi" by Hildegarde
| Woodward, The Little Lame Prince"
and The Water Babies" by Hanson
Booth, and "Pinocchio" by Helen
Sewell. Andersen's Fairy Tales" are
the most famous and popular of all
fairy tales; Hawthornes Wonder
Book" gives children's versions of the
old Greek myths; BLACK Beauty" is
the most appealing of horse stories,
told by the horse: Heidi" is a story
of child life in the Swiss Alps; The
Little Lame Prince" a favorite for
over rs years, is the pathetic tale of
little Prince Dolor, son Of the King
and Queen Of Nomansland. who was
| cropped by his state nurse at his
christening and lamed; The Water
BABIES is a fairy tale about all the
| things which live in the water, writ
ten by Charles Kingsley for "a land
/ baby; ''Pinocchio" is the story of a
modern marionette. All seven are
books which have established their
claim to permanence in children's
! literature.
THE THORNDIKE-CENT JU-
NOR DICTIONARY. BY E. L.
Thorndike. New York: D. Apple
ton-Century Co.
DR.. Thorndike of Teachers College
Columbia University. believes that
adult dictionaries frequently not only
fail to give the child the information
he seeks, but also add puZzlement and
irritation to his ignorance. A child.
or adult, for that matter, who wants
| to know what electricity is would be
/ staggered by the definition. "A ma
ter1al agency which, when in motion,
exhibits magnetic, chemical and
/ thermal effects. and when at rest is
/ accompanied by an interplay of forces
between associated localities in which
it Is present." but would receive
mental illumination from DR.. Thorn
| dike's definition, An unseen force
which can give certain metals the
power to pull together or push apart
from one another and which can pro-
duce light and heat" Compare also
the definitions OF such simple thing
as candle: "A cylinder of com.
bustible substance inclosing a wick tc
furnish light and "A stick of talloV
or wax with a wick in it, burned tc
give light. Long ago. before there
was gas or electric light, people
burned candles to see by" accom-.
panied by picture of birthday cake
with 10 candles. Nearly $4,000 of ths
words in most common use have beer
selected for inclusion in this diction.
ary and about 500 pictures make the
definitions clearer and more interest
ing. The use of words is often ex.
planned by means of illustrative sen.
tenceS. Containing $40 pages, thumb
indexed, well bound and inexpensively
priced, this junior dictionary should
be personal possession of every child
between the ages of 10 and Is.
X
MOUNT PEACOCK. Or Progress In
Province. BY Marie Mauron
Translated by F. L. Lucas. New
York; The Macmillan Co.
AS village school mistress and
mayors secretary at Mont-P Paon, the