Books are as essentially a part of the home where boys and girls are
growing into manhood and womanhood as any other part of the furnishings.
Parents have no more right to starve a child's mind than they have his
body. If a child is to take his place among the men and women of his
time he needs to know the past out of which the present grew, and he
needs to know what is going on in the world in which he lives. He needs
tools for his brain as much as for his hands. All these things are
found, and found only, in books.
The child is helpless to provide himself with these necessaries for
life. The majority of parents are eager that their children shall start
early and right on that road which leads to honorable success. But it is
impossible for any parent, by no matter how liberal an expenditure, to
collect books that shall adequately cover all a child's needs and
interests. This is the task of experts.