Evening star., 1955-02-06

up one book after another, WI
a girl detective, a boy explorer
real people,"
Obviously, even in the best
planned series, some titles are
not as well executed as others.
This is true of such distin-
guished contributions to the
adult field as Rivers of Amer
ica." Also, it is true that the
value of any particular book is
often determined by the read
er's individual interest in SCI
ence, or romance, or the arts.
Encouraging Discrimination
1t should be equally obvious
that it is just as foolish to
condemn any series of books,
in toto, as it is to accept it
without discrimination. Dis
elimination is the key word,
both for adults and children,
and I am a firm believer that
children can be encouraged to
discriminate.
AS Paul Hazard says in his
delightful Books, Children,
and Men," Children defend
themselves, I tell you. {.
They would be wholly in
capable of defining the faults
that displease them; but they
cannot be made to believe that
a book which displeases them
should please them in spite Of
themselves"
The important thing, as I
see it. is to expose our young
and avid readers to as rich
and varied a diet as we can
manage. Since February is
the month of heroes and holi-
days, let us look at some of
the new biographies.
New Stamp Books
Most welcome for 10-year-
olds and under are the new
"Highlights of History" stamp
books. The best of these is
Irwin Shapiro's Golden Stamp
Book of Abraham Lincoln"
(Simon & Schuster, SO cents.
Shapiro has already made a
name for himself in picture
story books about John Henry
and Stormalong. He has real
feeling for the robust Ameri-
can scene and has given us a
tender, tragic, lovable Abra-
ham Lincoln. Well versed in
Americana, Shapiro has not
hesitated to use source ma
terial in his brief .highlights of
significant scenes from the
life of Lincoln. This is selec-
tive writing at its best, and
should be appreciated by adults
and children. even though the
formal of the book is ex-
pendable.
Three other heroes are in
cluded in these new historical
stamp books. The one about
Napoleon may well answer
questions about the real"
Napoleon by children who see
the movie, "Desiree. The story
of Marco Polo by Washington
author Eloise Lownsbery, is an
excellent introduction to this
pioneer world traveller. The
biography of George Wash
ington is by jeanette Eaton.
an authority on our first Presi-
dent, who stresses the political
career rather than the man.
Woshineton's Home Life
For the home life of George
Washington. readers over 10
will enjoy "The Story of Mar
tina Washington" by jeanette
c. Nolan (Grosset & Dunlap;
$3.50. This biography en-
phasizes happy days at Mount
Vernon and the brief but i'm
portant hours that Washing
ton spent with his grandchil-
dren. 1t is good to know
as a family man,
as well as Commander in Chief
and Presidents
The recent visit of the Pres
ident of Haiti may serve as
added reason for turning to
Katharine Scherman's story of
Toussaint Louverture, "The
Slave Who Freed Haiti" (Ran-
iom House; $3.50. Papa
rousSaint, as his followers af-
fectionately called him, had
% struggle against savage
ignorance and treach-
cry. 1t is a dramatic and pow
,rful story. Although Tous-
saint died in prison, his de-
lance of Napoleon eventually
Won freedom for Haiti and in
1uenced the sale of Louisiana.
One Of the most encourag-
ng trends in modern biog-
Apply for children is the en-