Evening star., 1937-06-26
Stimulate
Interest In
Fine Books
Find Cause for Child
Reading One Story
All the Time.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

THERE are many 1ne books for
children OF all ages. No child
need be without good reading Still
We hear teachers and librarians and
mothers saying sadly. If only that
child would read We can't get him to
read anything but" and there
follows the name of some Juvenile.
harmless enough, but Of no special
weight
1t would be good idea to study the
beloved juvenile and try to find its
appeal to the child who reads 1t to the
exclusion Of all other reading. You
can be certain that there is an appeal
to this particular child in this book,
something that speaks to his nature
and so makes it his book.
One boy would read no book except
one about school boy who did mar
velous things on the foot ball field.
He read the story until the book fell
apart and asked for another copy for
his birthday. 1t was then that his
mother thought it would be we'll to
study the book to discover its secret.
All she could find in 1t was the rather
improbable tale Of the boys struggle
and triumph on the foot ball team.
Il can't see anything in the silly story,
but he likes it. 1t is childish. Why
doesn't he grow up into another sort
of bookp"
Because he had not grown up to
the place he wanted to be in and was
trying to be in that place as much as
possible, through his book. Children,
and most grown people, enjoy reading
stories that offer them a chance to be
the sort of person they inwardly long
to be; to do the things, to win the
admiration, that the hero expresses so
we'll. When book expresses the de-
Sires and ambitions. prejudices and
tastes Of its reader that book becomes
the readers chosen way of recreation
II not inspiration. 1t becomes his book
The boy was longing to shine among
his schoolmates and had found no way
to attract their attention. The foot
ball hero was himself. gave him the
comfort he needed When he found a
way Of shining, he took up another
kind of book.
Grown people have definite ideas
about good reading for children. A
good book Is one that sets high stand
ards of behavior, implants a desire for
right living, forms good taste In
reading. Children are uniformed and
each of them is in q different phase
Of development. Each of them will
develop In a different way toward .
different level Of achievement and Of
living. The ideal book Is essential, as
. goal, but before we reach 1t we have
to be content with the one that the
child can accept and like That means,
very often, the innocuous series. Why
not?
To teach . child anything We have
to begin where he stands, not where
we intend to have him arrive. Let him
have the book Of his heart always, pro-
vided that it is decent. Study what
he seems to like, and use that liking
for his growth. Don't try to fight it.
You can't fight child into growth.
You can feed his growth, stimulate it,
encourage 1t, but you cannot lay violent
hands upon it and get anywhere worth
while.
Place good books about the house.
Talk about them occasionally. Praise
them. Then study how to build up
the child's need for better books. You
may have to begin with ones you dis
like, but it is child,s need and a
child's taste that is in question. Center
On that