It would be hard to estimate the amount of gentleness and mercy
that has made its way among us through these slight channels.
Forbearance, courtesy, consideration for the poor and aged, kind
treatment of animals, the love of Nature, abhorrence of tyranny
and brute force--many such good things have been nourished in the
child's heart by this powerful aid. It has greatly helped to keep
us ever young, by preserving through our worldly ways one slender
track, not overgrown with weeds, where we may walk with children,
sharing their delights.
DICKENS.
ANDERSEN, H.C.
Fairy Tales from Hans Christian Andersen.
Translated by Mrs. Edgar Lucas.
Illustrated by Thomas, Charles, and William Robinson.
Dutton. 2.50
Most truly rendered in the edition by Mrs. E. Lucas, (p. 99)
illustrated by the Robinsons.
Mrs. H.L. ELMENDORF.
Mrs. Lucas is well fitted for her office of translator, although there
are a number of tales in this selection which, in the opinion of the
compiler of this List, might well have been omitted because of their
horrible character. The pictures are so remarkable that in them the
stories live again.
BALDWIN, JAMES.
A Story of the Golden Age.
Illustrated by Howard Pyle.
Scribner. 1.50
Mr. Baldwin's object, as he tells us, has been to pave the way to the
enjoyable reading of Homer. He has depicted for us the boyhood and
youth of Odysseus, taking the various legends relating to the causes
of the Trojan War, and weaving them into one continuous narrative,
ending where Homer begins.
CHAPIN, A.A.
The Story of the Rhinegold.
Harper. 1.25
A little volume intended for the use of children who may be taken to
hear the operas of Richard Wagner. It gives briefly, in an interesting
manner, the great myth upon which Wagner based his famous production,
the Ring of the Nibelungs, following the lines of the operas. The
musical motifs accompany the text.
CHAPIN, A.A. (p. 100)
Wonder Tales from Wagner.
Harper. 1.25
This companion to The Story of the Rhinegold relates the legends of
the Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, and
the Mastersingers of Nuremberg. The musical motifs accompany the text.
DIXON, E. (Editor).
Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights.
Illustrated by J.D. Batten.
Putnam. 2.50
In Europe they were not known till 1704, when a learned
Frenchman, Antoine Galland, who had travelled widely in the East,
put them skillfully, if not too accurately, into the language of
his own people.... Within a comparatively few years, an ancient
manuscript in the Louvre at Paris has been found to remove from
Galland the long-standing reproach that he introduced into his
Arabian Nights stories which really did not belong to the
collection, but were taken from other Eastern sources.... It will
not be easy to change the form of the names which, through
Galland's agency, have become classic words.--_Introduction to
Stories from the Arabian Nights._
The text of the present selection from the Arabian Nights is that
of Galland, 1821, slightly abridged and edited. The edition is
designed virginibus puerisque.
E. DIXON.
Mr. Dixon presents these famous Oriental stories most acceptably, and
Mr. Batten's remarkable illustrations are all that can be desired. His
genii are genii indeed, and his fairy princesses creatures of grace
and beauty.
HARRIS, J.C. (p. 101)
*Uncle Remus; His Songs and His Sayings.
Illustrated by A.B. Frost.
Appleton. 2.00
I have endeavored to give to the whole a genuine flavor of the
old plantation. Each legend has its variants, but in every
instance I have retained that particular version which seemed to
me to be the most characteristic, and have given it without
embellishment and without exaggeration.--_Introduction._
All children should have the opportunity to know and to love Uncle
Remus, as they cannot fail to do if they are familiar with his
narratives. The Negro dialect often makes it desirable to have these
read aloud.
HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL.
Tanglewood Tales.
Houghton. .75
In this second Wonder Book Hawthorne again tells us in simple language
of great heroes of Greek mythical days. The Minotaur, the Pygmies, The
Dragon's Teeth, Circe's Palace, The Pomegranate Seeds, and The Golden
Fleece, comprise the contents of the volume.
HODGSON, GERALDINE.
Rama and the Monkeys.
Illustrated by W.H. Robinson.
Macmillan. .50
In fine and picturesque language, retained from the Indian original,
Geraldine Hodgson has given us this adaptation from the Ramayana. We
learn, with delight, to know the monkey hosts: "Hanuman, that strong,
forgiving, wise, brave, and humble Ape," and "Sugriva, that best (p. 102)
of Monkeys."
KIPLING, RUDYARD.
The Jungle Book.
Century. 1.50
Telling of Mowgli, the child of the jungle, and his brethren, the wild
creatures of the forest; together with other marvellous animal
stories.
"Oh, hear the call!--Good hunting all
That keep the Jungle Law!"
LANG, ANDREW (Editor).
The Green Fairy Book.
Longmans. 2.00
This, the third of the colored fairy books, contains, as do the
others, tales from many sources, among them The Half-Chick, The Magic
Swan, and King Kojata.
PYLE, HOWARD.
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights.
Illustrated by the Author.
Scribner. 2.50
Mr. Pyle has related these great legends right worthily. The
illustrations are full of interest, and while the text is suited to a
narrative of this early period, it is well within childish
comprehension.
Blow trumpet, for the world is white with May;
Blow trumpet, the long night hath roll'd away!
Blow thro' the living world--"Let the King reign."
"Shall Rome or Heathen rule in Arthur's realm?
Flash brand and lance, fall battleaxe upon helm,
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand! Let the King reign."
TENNYSON.
RUSKIN, JOHN. (p. 103)
The King of the Golden River.
Heath. .20
An exquisite legend, beautiful in spirit and language.
There have been written in our English language a few tales
bearing a rich moral lesson that are an unfailing source of
delight, alike to childhood and to youth, and that are at the
same time not without interest to the adult. The King of the
Golden River is one of these.... Its lessons are not obtruded;
the reader is really not explicitly conscious of them at
all.--_Introduction._
STOCKTON, F.R.
Fanciful Tales.
Scribner. .50
Mr. Stockton had a wise, humorous style of his own. In this small
volume, which contains some of his best writing for children, will be
found Old Pipes and the Dryad, The Bee-Man of Orn, and The Clocks of
Rondaine.
STORIES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS.
Houghton. .60
From centuries and peoples almost as different from those we know
as the North and the South Poles are far apart, through the
overthrows of dynasties and the movements of whole races of men,
by the work of Arabian scholars when printing was unknown, and by
the labors of Europeans almost in our own day, these stories have
survived to transport us into a world of splendor and
magic.--_Introduction._
A carefully edited selection of thirteen of these famous tales, with
which, of course, every child should be familiar.
THACKERAY, W.M. (p. 104)
The Rose and the Ring.
Edited by E.E. Hale.
Illustrated by the Author.
Heath. .25
But in the meanwhile, and for a brief holiday, let us laugh and
be as pleasant as we can. And you elder folks--a little joking
and dancing and fooling will do even you no harm. The author
wishes you a Merry Christmas, and welcomes you to the Fireside
Pantomime.
M.A. TITMARSH.
This fairy extravaganza--Thackeray's only production for children--was
written for a little sick girl.
POETRY, COLLECTIONS OF POETRY AND PROSE, AND STORIES ADAPTED FROM
GREAT AUTHORS.
Children are lucky to be children nowadays, for the idea is
pretty well disseminated that the very choicest from all the
garnered riches of the great world of literature should be given
them, that they may early be possessed of thoughts and feelings
that are true and large, sweet and beautiful.
RICHARD BURTON.
GAYLEY, C.M., and M.C. FLAHERTY (Editors).
Poetry of the People.
Ginn. .50
Poems illustrative of the history and national spirit of England,
Scotland, Ireland, and America.--_Title-Page._
The compilers have given us a volume of verse chosen from that (p. 105)
which is "most simple, most hearty, most truly characteristic of
the people, their tradition, history, and spirit; ... poetry sometimes
by, and sometimes not, but always for, the people; poems that were
household words with our fathers and mothers, and lay close to the
heart because _of_ the heart."
HAWEIS, M.E. (Mrs. H.R. HAWEIS).
Chaucer for Children.
Illustrated by the Author.
Scribner. 1.25
Mrs. Haweis begins with an account of Chaucer's life and the London of
his day. Portions of a number of the Tales follow, the original and
the modern text being given in parallel columns, with prose
abridgments connecting the selections. There are eight full-page
colored pictures and a number of small woodcuts. Though possibly only
an exceptional child will enjoy the book, it helps to bring the
youthful reader closer to the time of Chaucer than any other version
for children.
RASPÉ, R.E.
*Tales from the Travels of Baron Munchausen.
Edited by E.E. Hale.
Heath. .20
"Some travellers are apt to advance more than is strictly true;
if any of the company entertain a doubt of my veracity, I shall
only say to such, I pity their want of faith."
Raspé was scholar enough to mix up with the real Munchausen's (p. 106)
amusing burlesques, exaggerations and fancies which are centuries
older, and which can be cited now from the crabbed language of
the Middle Ages.--_Note._
SWIFT, JONATHAN.
Gulliver's Travels.
Educational. .40
His voyage to Lilliput, his stay with the little people, and his
adventures later among the giants of Brobdingnag, are classic. Written
as a political satire, the narrative has served a gentler purpose than
its original one. The littleness of the Lilliputians and the greatness
of the giants appeal strongly to children.
And lo! the book from all its end beguiled,
A harmless wonder to some happy child.
BULWER-LYTTON.