The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-27
Fairy Tales
Still Excite
Child Minds
Realistic Trend Growing,
However, Reports
Librarian.
BY HELEN LINDSAY


Sub-zero weather cleared the
children's room at the Indianapolis
Public Library for few days, but
the lure of adventures and fairy
tales is bringing youngsters flock
ing back.
Children read fairy tales because
they enjoy them Miss Zella
Spence, children's librarian at Gen.
trail Library, says. "They like eS-
pecially we'll to read about princes
princesses and their sumptious sur
roundings. This is true of children
of all classes, although Negro chill
dren prefer fairy tales and stories
Of religion to a marked degree"
Miss Spence agrees with the re-
port of the American Library As
ISOLATION, at its mid-winter confer
ence in Chicago, that there is a
growing tendency among juvenile
readers toward realistic books that
tell about the world.
Aviation Is Leader
Even younger children are ask
ing for fact books to satisfy inquir-
ing minds. The subjects in which
they are most interested are avia-
tons, cowboys and trains. Stories
about animals come next"
Books for older boys are popular
in the following order: Aviation,
Western life, Boy Scouts, boys of
the present day, sports, school life,
Indians, horses and dogs and mys-
terry stories, she says. Older girls
want modern stories about girls, and
after that, Western stories, fiction
about dogs and horses, mystery, adj
venture, stories about school and
college life, fiction on aviation and
interesting biography.
Even children who are too young
to read specify the subject in which
they are interested, Miss Spence has
found. But selection usually is
made by their parents, who do the
reading aloud To accommodate
the parents of small children, par
ticularly the large and increasing
number of fathers who now accom-
pany their children to the library,
special case has been prepared in
the Riley Room at Central Library
in which books for young children
are kept.
Effect of Depression
Sometimes, Miss Spence believes,
children in homes unable to buy
books hold an advantage over their
more fortunate playmates. FIRE.
quently the latter spend much time
reading interminable series" of
children's books which they receive
as gifts, and trade among their
friends. Children who must seek
the library to find reading matter
have better selection, she says.
L. L. Dickerson, librarian, believes
the depression brought great
number of child readers to the Ii
brary. Reviewing children's read
ing during the last year, Mr.. Dick
erson says: Children from families
which are having the hardest
struggle came to the Libraries for
advice and guidance in reading.
Their parents could buy few or no
books for them; no books were re-
ceived as gifts, and their neighbors
had no books which could be ex-
changed"
The American Library Associa-
tons report showed that project
work in schools has a strong in
f1uence on children's reading; so
much so that some librarians de-
plore the condition whereby unre-
stricted reading for pleasure seems
to be giving way to required read
ing for school assignments. Chill
dren, it is said, are being regimented
more and more in their reading
Lessons over the radio are cited as
an example.
Seek Advanced Books
In general, however, the report
showed that children are reading
more advanced books for their
years. Some of this is attributed to
the influence of adult magazines
available in homes, and some to the
interesting happenings in fields of
science and invention and in cur
rent events, such as airplane flights
around the world and war activities.
Children are more wide awake
to events going on around them and
want to read about Them" one Ii
brarian said. They are particular
what they read. No longer can one
say to a child, This is a good book
It must be backed by a substantial
reason.
However, if they are exposed to
worth while books that are creative,
have literary style and are attrac-
lively bound and illustrated, they
will grow to prefer them to the sem
sational books of impossible hap
penings. No child of his own &C
cord has the knowledge or discrim-
ination to select the best book. He
must be guided"