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WHAT BOOKS TO LEND
AND
WHAT TO GIVE
BY
CHARLOTTE M. YONGE
AUTHOR OF
‘THE HEIR OF REDCLYFFE’ ‘CAMEOS FROM ENGLISH HISTORY’ ETC.
[Illustration]
LONDON
NATIONAL SOCIETY’S DEPOSITORY
SANCTUARY, WESTMINSTER
[_All rights reserved_]
PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
[Illustration]
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 5
LITTLE ONES 16
JUNIOR CLASSES 19
SENIOR CLASSES 22
BOYS 29
DRAWING-ROOM STORIES 35
ON THE CATECHISM 41
ON CONFIRMATION 43
ON THE PRAYER-BOOK 44
BOOKS BEARING ON HOLY SCRIPTURE 46
ALLEGORIES AND ALLEGORICAL TALES 51
HISTORICAL TALES 55
MYTHOLOGY 68
NOVELETTES AND NOVELS 70
FAIRY TALES 75
MOTHERS’ MEETINGS 77
FOR MISSIONARY WORKING-PARTIES 85
IMPROVING BOOKS 88
HISTORY 93
BIOGRAPHY 96
CHURCH HISTORY 99
NATURAL HISTORY 101
SCIENCE AND INVENTION 104
RELIGIOUS BOOKS 106
MAGAZINES 108
PENNY READINGS 111
INDEX 117
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
WHAT BOOKS TO LEND
AND
WHAT TO GIVE.
INTRODUCTION.
Wholesome and amusing literature has become almost a necessity among the
appliances of parish work. The power of reading leads, in most cases, to
the craving for books. If good be not provided, evil will be only too
easily found, and it is absolutely necessary to raise the taste so as to
lead to a voluntary avoidance of the profane and disgusting.
Books of a superior class are the only means of such cultivation. It
has been found that where really able and interesting literature is to
be had, there is much less disposition to prey upon garbage. And the
school lessons on English have this effect, that they make book-language
comprehensible far more widely than has hitherto been the case.
A library is an almost indispensable adjunct to a school, if the children
are to be lured to stay at home instead of playing questionable games in
the dark, or by gaslight, out of doors; and an amusing story is the best
chance of their not exasperating the weary father with noise. If the
boy is not to betake himself to ‘Jack Sheppard’ literature, he must be
beguiled by wholesome adventure. If the girl is not to study the ‘penny
dreadful,’ her notions must be refined by the tale of high romance or
pure pathos.
The children at school are often eager readers, especially if they have
sensible parents who forbid roaming about in the evening. There ought
always to be a school library unless the children are provided for in
the general parish library; but even this requires careful selection.
Weak, dull, or unnatural books may be absolutely harmful when falling
into rude or scornful hands. For instance, a country lad should not
have a book where a farmer gives a prize for climbing an elm-tree to
take a blackbird’s nest, such a proceeding being equally against the
nature of farmers, blackbirds, and elms. Seafaring lads should not have
incorrectly worded accounts of wrecks; and where more serious matters
come in, there should be still greater care to be strong, true, and real.
Boys especially should not have childish tales with weak morality or
‘washy’ piety; but should have heroism and nobleness kept before their
eyes; and learn to despise all that is untruthful or cowardly and to
respect womanhood. True manhood needs, above all earthly qualities, to
be impressed on them, and books of example (not precept) with heroes,
whose sentiments they admire, may always raise their tone, sometimes
individually, sometimes collectively.
Men, however, must have manly books. Real solid literature alone will
arrest their attention. They grudge the trouble of reading what they do
not accept as truth, unless it is some book whose fame has reached their
ears, and to have read which they regard as an achievement.
Where grown men are subscribers to a library, it should have standard
works of well-known reputation.
Travels, biographies, not too long, poetry, histories of contemporaneous
events, and fiction of the kind that may be called classical, should be
the staple for them. It is hardly advisable to attempt to give a list
for them. Their books belong to general literature, with which I do not
wish to meddle, and besides, reading men mostly inhabit towns where
there are generally Institutes from which they can obtain books. In the
country, when the clever cobbler or gardener soars above the village
library, he will generally have a decided notion of what he wants, and
will respect a special loan from our own shelves. He may take to some
line in natural science, or have some personal cause for interest in a
colony; but in general, the labourer would rather smoke than read in his
hours of rest, and even when laid aside in a hospital, newspaper scraps
pasted into a book are often more welcome to him than more continuous
subjects. Above all, he resents being _written down to_ or laughed at;
and calling him Hodge and Chawbacon is the sure way to alienate him.
Books with strong imitations of dialect are to be avoided. They are
almost unintelligible to those who know the look of a word in its right
spelling, though they might miscall it, and do not recognise it when
phonetically travestied to imitate a local dialect, as for instance by
_ah_ for _I_. Moreover, they feel it a caricature of their language, and
are very reasonably insulted. They do not appreciate simplicity, but are
in the stage of civilisation when long words are rather preferred, partly
as a compliment, partly as a new language. Complicated phrases are often
too much for them, but polysyllables need not be avoided, if such are
really needed to express an idea, and will do it better than any shorter
word.
Though men either read with strong appetites or not at all, their wives,
in these days of education, generally love fiction. They do not want to
be improved, but they like to lose their cares for a little while in
some tale that excites either tears or laughter. It is all very well to
say that they ought to have no time for reading. An industrious thrifty
woman has little or none, but the cottager’s wife who does as little
needlework, washing, or tidying as possible, has a good many hours to
spend in gossip or in reading. She may get cheap sensational novels,
and the effects on a weak and narrow mind are often very serious. The
only thing to be done is to take care that she has access to a full
supply of what can do her no harm, and may by reiteration do her good,
though the links between book and action are in many cases never joined.
Sometimes they are not connected at all, sometimes a strong impression is
unexpectedly made. But this class of women must have incident, pathos,
and sentiment to attract them. The old-fashioned book where Betty rebukes
Polly in set language for wearing a red cloak instead of a grey one, and
eating new bread instead of old, will meet with no attention. But if the
moral of the tale be sound, and the tone of the characters who bespeak
sympathy, high, pure, and good, the standard of the reader, however
frivolous, must be insensibly raised. At any rate, by withholding books
because the cottage woman ought to be too busy to want them, we do not
render her more industrious, but we leave her exposed to catering for
herself in undesirable regions.
There remain the thrifty, sensible, good women who, if they read at all,
do so in their Sunday leisure, and like a serious book. Neither variety
of woman likes a book manifestly for children lent to themselves, though
they do enjoy anything about a baby from the maternal point of view.
There are such different degrees of intelligence and civilisation among
the women who frequent mothers’ meetings that it is difficult to make
suggestions applying to all. Some of these meetings are attended so
irregularly that it is not possible to read anything continuous, whereas
in others a sustained interest promotes regularity. A little religious
instruction or exhortation, a little domestic or sanitary instruction,
and a lively or pathetic narrative seem to answer best, and I have
endeavoured to collect the titles of books useful in this respect. The
two first, however, are best given extempore if a clergyman will come for
the first, and a lady who has attended ambulance classes can be secured
for the second.
The lad or young man species comes next. There are a few of these with a
thirst for information, and it is important to supply this in a sound and
wholesome form. Some like poetry, but the general run can only be induced
to read at all by adventurous or humorous tales.
Those who act as Sunday school teachers may, however, be led to study
books bearing on the subjects they have to teach, or to get up for
certificates, and thus may be brought to take an interest in religious
literature, which may deepen as they grow older.
There is always, too, a certain proportion who have a strong turn for
fact, and like to have solid truth before them. Of course all these can
read the same books as the elder men, and even more difficult ones, as
their education has gone farther; but they need more that is light, easy,
and inviting, and a lending-library or reading-room requires a supply
fitted for both.
It is a pity there is not more good biography suited for this purpose.
The popularity of Miss Marsh’s ‘Hedley Vicars’ showed what a book written
without too much detail and with general interest might be. Some of
Smiles’s biographies come near the mark, also some American ones, and
those shilling books of Cassell’s called ‘The World’s Workers,’ also some
published by Nelson and by Blackie.
Good books of travels, too, are increasing favourites; also such books
as ‘Her Majesty’s Mail,’ and ‘Engine-Driving Life.’ In fact, whatever
_wholesomely_ interests our own households may well be sent into the
club-room, provided it do not presuppose too much culture. Many of these
books may be bought second-hand at a cheap rate from the Libraries.
And there should be a good stock of standard fiction: Scott, Dickens,
Fenimore Cooper, are all to be had at almost any price, and would pretty
well supply in themselves the requirements of reading-room fiction.
The corresponding class of girls and young women are for the most
part indiscriminate devourers of fiction, and, like the women before
mentioned, need to have their appetite rightly directed. But there is
more hope of them than of their elders, and their ideal is capable of
being raised by high-minded tales, which may refine their notions. The
semi-religious novel or novelette is to them moralising put into action,
and the most likely way of reaching them.
We must not be too hasty to condemn their frivolous tastes. Whether in
business or in service, they are tired, the book is recreation, and
they cannot be expected to want to improve themselves when their brains
and bodies are alike weary. Still we can supply them with books that
will not give them false views of life, and that will foster enthusiasm
for courage and truth, make vulgarity disgusting, and show religion as
the only true spring of life. Through classes for Sunday teachers, and
Communicants’ or Bible classes, some spirit of religious study may be
infused.
As to secular self-improvement, the students will always be few and far
between, and the experience of most libraries is that there is little or
no demand for improving books. So much is _taught_ that there is little
inclination to learn. A reaction sometimes comes to men, but seldom to
women, whose home industries and occupations necessarily absorb them so
that their reading must be either devotional or recreative.
Thus there is very little call for improving books in the lending
library, in proportion to those meant for recreation; but I would urge
that they should be used for prizes. At present, the usual habit is
to choose gay outsides and pretty pictures, with little heed to the
contents, but it should be remembered that the lent book is ephemeral,
read in a week and passed on, while the prize remains, is exhibited to
relatives and friends, is read over and over, becomes a resource in
illness, and forms part of the possessions to be handed on to the next
generation. Therefore, after the infant period, the reward book should
generally be of some worthiness, either religious, improving, or at least
standard fiction. Weakness and poverty of thought should be avoided,
especially as these books may fall into the hands of clever, ungodly men,
and serve to excite their mockery. It should be remembered that the child
to whom the book is given will not always remain a child, and therefore
that it is better to let the new and cherished possession go beyond its
present level of taste or capacity.
The elder lad, whose schooldays are over, sometimes begins to waken to
intelligence, and to be ready to seek information, in some cases being
glad of really deep reading on scientific, political, or theological
subjects, and it is all-important to preoccupy his mind with sound views
before he meets with specious trash. Many indeed both of lads and men are
absorbed in actual practical life and never read at all, or nothing but
newspapers. Yet even these when laid low by illness will accept a book to
pass away the weary hours.
Nothing, of course, can equal the effect of personal influence, from
schoolmaster, clergyman, or lady, but each of these may find books, lent,
recommended, or read aloud, of great assistance.
Some books of advice deprecate reading aloud in Sunday schools. My own
experience, now of many years, is that it is of great assistance in
impressing the scholars, and gives great pleasure. I have been told of my
old pupils mentioning it as one of the enjoyments of their younger days;
and when a part of a story has been missed by absence, the connection is
eagerly supplied by the listeners who have been present. Moreover, those
books in the lending library are always most sought after which have been
read aloud, and sometimes elucidated, either at the Sunday school or at
the mothers’ meeting.
But books for this purpose must be carefully selected, with a view to
the capacities and tastes of the listeners, and be read really well and
dramatically, watching the eyes of the hearers—a rapid or monotonous
utterance is almost useless, and inattention leads to bad habits.
There is no reason against giving tales about persons in different
stations of life from that of those who receive them, and in fact they
are often preferred; but it is as well to avoid those that deal with
temptations or enjoyments out of reach of the school-child; or which
dwell on beauty, finery, dainties, or any variety of pomps or vanities as
delights of wealth or rank. The enjoyment that authors have in describing
a lovely, beautifully-dressed child in a charming attitude should be
sacrificed in writing for children of any rank, unless they are to learn
vanity and affectation, or else be set to covet such pleasures.
It is curious to find how many stories have become obsolete. Not only
have the tales where vanity is displayed by wearing white stockings and
A bonnet cocked up to display to the view
Long ringlets of curls and a great bow of blue,
become archaic; but the stories of the good children who are household
supports and little nurses, picking up chance crumbs of instruction, have
lost all present reality such as the younger and less clever children
require.
Elder ones, if they have any imagination, prefer what does not run in the
grooves of their daily life, and some are much more willing to listen to,
or to read, what is not too obviously written for them. A book labelled
‘A tale for—’ is apt to carry a note of warning to the perverse spirits
of those to whom it is addressed.
Historical tales and those of other lands require a certain degree of
cultivation and imagination, to be appreciated. To some, even the best
are distasteful, to others they supply the element of romance. Those that
have a charm about them of character and adventure, fitting them for
almost all readers, have been put into the groups intended for the age
they suit, as well as into their places as illustrations of history.
I endeavour to give here a classified list that may be an assistance in
the choice of books. It is _not_ an advertisement. Most of the books I
have personally proved. No doubt many readers will be disappointed at
omissions, but it is quite impossible to answer for all the books in
existence, and my object here is to suggest the fittest for the purposes
of lending, reading aloud, or giving. It is no condemnation of a work
that its name does not appear in this list—only it has either not become
known to me, or has not appeared to me so eminently desirable as the
others.
The lists of books in the present work have been drawn up in different
gradations, a great number of them having been actually proved by reading
aloud. There are many very fairly suitable for _lending_, not equally
good for reading aloud, as lengthiness, description, and over-moralising,
hang on hand with a mixed class; and, in other cases, the reader seems to
be inculcating with authority all that is uttered, and thus gives a sense
of preaching instead of amusing.
The tales that have any dissenting bias, or which appear to involve false
doctrine, are of course omitted, though all those here mentioned do not
belong to the same school of thought within the Church.
The classified list then includes books for:—
_Little Ones._—Fit to be read or given to children from four to eight.
_Junior Classes._—Children from seven or eight to ten or eleven.
_Senior Classes._—From ten upwards.
_Boys._—The books may be read by girls also, but most boys will not read
girls’ books, therefore their literature is put separately.
_Drawing Room Stories._—The best are mentioned here, but all, though
excellent, are, on experience, out of the ken of the school child.
_On the Catechism._
_On Confirmation._
_On the Prayer Book._
_On the Bible._
_Allegories._
Stories on Church History.
” English History.
” General History.
_Mythological Tales._
_Novelettes._
_Fairy Tales._
_Mothers’ Meetings._
_Mission Working Parties._
_Descriptions of Countries._
_Adventures._
_Biography._
_History._
_Church History._
_Natural History and Popular Science._
_Religious Books._
_Magazines._
_Penny Readings._
It should be clearly understood that nobody is urged to have anything
like all the books here mentioned, but that the object is to answer the
oft-recurring question—Where shall I find a book suited for such and such
a purpose?
I have added a few suggestions of extracts for penny readings, but it
is not easy to collect enough that do not verge on buffoonery, or that
have no element of vulgarity; and indeed there is so much variation of
tastes according to the tone and training of the audience, that it is
hardly possible to tell what will be suited for hearers of each degree of
culture. Some delight in pathos or adventure, and others will do nothing
but laugh, and become noisy at anything that is not highly comic. Such
books for the purpose as I have seen, between difficulty about copyright
and desire of novelty and drollery, do not avoid vulgarity. N.B.—It is
advisable to inspect thoroughly everything offered by volunteers for
reading, recitation, or singing.
It has, however, been thought better not to enter upon the tracts and
sermons, such as a parish priest or district visitor would give for
private use or specific purpose, as they are devotional, and scarcely to
be spread broad-cast by the Library. Every librarian must cater for his
own clients according to their tastes and needs. No doubt much is here
left out that will be found useful in some places, but the attempt has
been made to offer suggestions, and to collect, from various quarters,
names that may serve to assist in the selection of books for the various
needs of a parish.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
LITTLE ONES.
The books in the following list are what have been read to
children from five or six to eight years old and proved to be
interesting to them. Their eyes and attention soon show whether
the book is liked. And, though it may hardly be believed, it
is more difficult to write a story suited to them than to any
other class, since it must be perfectly easy and simple, and
yet have some interest in it, such as they can understand.
Stories that are in fact a study of children with peculiar
ways and odd sayings are of no use. The tale must take the
child’s point of view, yet without obviously writing _down_
to its level, and any moral must be pointed as tersely and
briefly as possible. Unluckily several of those I have found
most successful have gone out of print—namely, ‘The White
Kitten,’ and ‘Out in the Dark,’ in early packets of the books
Mr. Burns used to publish, and ‘Little Lucy’ and ‘A Tale of
a Tail’ (S.P.C.K.). I have looked over multitudes of tiny
books, but only a few have the special charm that will keep
a whole class devouring the reader with their eyes, and be
welcomed even if read over and over again. I have not here
mentioned Mrs. Ewing’s beautiful series of verse-books for
children, with their charming illustrations, because they are
really studies of childhood, and more fit for the drawing-room
than the cottage or school. The same may be said of the very
pretty Everyday Fables, the letterpress of which is quite
beyond little children. The best thing for the youngest class
of four, five, or six years old, is the ‘Child’s own Picture
Paper’ (Dean), Aunt Louisa’s books (Warne), and the ‘Child’s
Illustrated Scripture History’ (S.P.C.K.), 4 parts, price 1_s._
each. Or, if the class be too large for showing them pictures
in a book, detached ones on an easel are useful. One or two
sacred ones, well explained, are enough, and a few secular
ones may follow. Let me hint that undraped figures, shown to
poor children, are undesirable, and that if there is a mistake
in the accessories, by some fatality, they are sure to admire
it. Cassell’s ‘Little Pet’s Posy,’ 1_s._ 6_d._, or ‘Little
Chimes,’ 1_s._ 6_d._, will give amusing bits to read to the
tiny children, but _lending_ is of no use unless they are ill.
A complete set of pictures illustrating the Gospels, or the
lessons for nearly every Sunday in the Christian year, can
be arranged from the stores of the S.P.C.K., the R.T.S., and
Cassell’s ‘Child’s Bible and Life of Christ,’ 7_s._ 6_d._
=1. Children’s Album.= (Cassell) 1_s._ 6_d._
=2. Baby’s Album.= (Cassell)
=3. Miss Angelina.= (S.P.C.K.) 1_d._
A doll, lost by a young lady, and prized by a poor little cripple till
the owner is discovered, and there is a great struggle of honesty on the
one hand, generosity on the other.
=4. Tales for Me to read to Myself.= (Masters) 2_s._ 6_d._
The little boy who has to take a donkey cart to market for the first
time, and is teased by rude companions, excites unfailing interest.
=5. Langley Little Ones.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 2_s._
This contains several short tales mentioned below: ‘Fanny’s Doll,’ ‘Bully
Brindle,’ ‘Snowdrop’s Eggs,’ &c.
=6. Our Ethel.= (S.P.C.K.) 6_d._
Should be read to small children apt to be put in charge of smaller ones.
=7. Little Men and Little Women.= (Walter Smith) 2_d._
Rather disjointed, but fit for the tinies.
=8. Quack, Quack.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
Inculcating the penny savings bank.
=9. Patz and Putz, or the Story of Two Bears.= (S.P.C.K.) 1_s._
Interests a little class.
=10. Tumble-down Dick.= (S.P.C.K.) 1_d._
Birds’-nesting. A wholesome lesson.
=11. A Miller, a Mollar, a Ten o’Clock Scholar.= By C. M. YONGE. 3d.
On playing truant.
=12. Fanny’s Doll.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
For small children.
=13. Idle Harry.= (Walter Smith) 3_d._
=14. Leonard the Lion Heart.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 9_d._
On boasting.
=15. The Apple Tree.= (Walter Smith) 1_d._
A naughty and a good little boy under temptation. I have known of an
impression made by it.
=16. Playing with Fire.= (Walter Smith) 1_d._
A wholesome warning.
=17. Little Susy’s Six Birthdays.= By Mrs. PRENTICE. (Nelson) 2_s._
Popularity proved. Circumstantial enough to be delightful to little
children.
=18. Fanny Sylvester.= By Mrs. CUPPLES. (Nelson) 9_d._
A lonely town child transplanted into the country.
=19. Bully Brindle.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
Two small children sent out in the dark to fetch help after an accident.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
JUNIOR CLASSES.
_For Children from Eight to Ten Years old._
The books here given are of a somewhat homely and simple order,
such as are understood and liked by children without much
cultivation or knowledge of the world—average ones, in fact;
for the intelligent and eager ones, or those who have some home
culture, need something of a higher order.
=20. Louie White’s Hop-picking.= By AMABEL JENNER. (Griffith, Farran &
Co.) 6_d._
A good picture of Kentish hopping, introducing a brisk little London
maiden, as inferior to her homely cousins in practical usefulness as she
is superior in knowledge.
=21. The Lion Battalion.= By MARY HULLAH. (Hatchards) 2_s._ 6_d._
Several short stories. The first is of a tiny German boy who makes
imaginary soldiers of buttons and abstracts a whole brilliant regiment
from his little friend’s jacket. It is less good than the second, ‘The
Fireman’s Little Maid,’ a friendship between a fireman and a little
neglected girl. Read aloud, it has charmed a third standard class and a
mothers’ meeting.
=22. Smuts and Diamonds.= By SELINA GAYE. (Remington) 5_s._
The first tale is on Christian brotherhood; the second, ‘Who did It?’
is of the mysterious painting of the effigy of a pig hung at the pork
butcher’s. It is my resource when I have to keep a mixed troop of
children quiet while waiting. The third, ‘Three Little Sisters,’ is a
warning to little nurses to be faithful.
=23. Golden Gorse.= By FLORENCE WILFORD. (S.P.C.K.) 1_s._ 6_d._
A London child’s first visit to the country, with her help to her more
backward cousins.
=24. The Heavy Sixpence.= (S.P.C.K.) 3_d._
An overcharge, weighing down the conscience.
=25. Missy and Master.= By MARY BRAMSTON. (S.P.C.K.) 2_s._
Missy had been a member of a circus troupe. Master was the pony she used
to ride. Her taming down in an orphan asylum is well told.
=26. The Christmas Mummers.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
This story preserves the old Hampshire custom of ‘Mumming.’
=27. Langley School.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_s._
=28. Lads and Lasses of Langley.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 2_s._
=29. Langley Adventures.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 2_s._ 6_d._
‘Langley School’ was written many years ago. The others are of the
present day, of examinations, &c.
=30. Pickle and his Page Boy.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 2_s._
A boy and a Skye terrier who try to be faithful.
=31. Godmother’s Whim.= (S.P.C.K.) 4_d._
A treasure concealed in a ball of worsted.
=32. Michael the Chorister.= (Walter Smith) 6_d._
One of the first tales of little choristers, and with a great simplicity
and beauty.
=33. A Bright Farthing.= By S. M. SITWELL. (S.P.C.K.) 1_s._
A good child’s story of the temptation to conceit and self-exaltation.
=34. Grannie’s Wardrobe.= (S.P.C.K.) 9_d._
A case of curiosity and untruth, well told.
=35. The Railroad Children.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 6_d._
May be a help with unbaptised children.
=36. The Secret of a Ball of Wool.= (S.P.C.K.) 2_d._
Is the same idea as the ‘Godmother’s Whim,’ but is told by a Russian
nurse and is more amusing.
=37. Harriet and her Sister.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
A warning against concealing an accident; but the child left alone all
day in charge of a baby is a thing of the past.
=38. Snowdrop’s Eggs.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
Against pilfering.
=39. The Third Standard.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
The consequences of children copying each other’s marks in school.
=40. Wolf.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
Adventures of a set of Christmas carollers.
=41. The Wood Cart and other Tales.= By F. M. PEARD. (Walter Smith) 2_s._
Excellent tales of peasant life in France which delight English children.
=42. The Old Garden Door.= (Walter Smith) 2_d._
A little girl who gets into a scrape by aiding in surreptitious
transactions between a hawker and some boarding-school young ladies. The
children left at home to the care of a young elder are things of the
past, but the child nature is true in all times.
=43. Uncle Henry’s Present.= (Walter Smith) 2_d._
A droll lesson on curiosity.
=44. The White Satin Shoes.= (Walter Smith) 2_d._
Equally telling on vanity.
=45. Cheap Jack.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._
Adventures of some beads ill obtained.
=46. Mary and Florence.= By A. FRASER TYTLER. (Hatchards) 3_s._ 6_d._
This is an unfailing favourite, a children’s classic of fifty years’
standing.
=47. The Star in the Dustheap.= By the Hon. MRS. GREENE. (Warne) 3_s._
6_d._
Very touching.
=48. Froggy’s Little Brother.= By BRENDA. (Shaw) 6_d._ or 3_s._ 6_d._
A touching tale of street Arabs. Interest in it seems to be uncertain
among children—one class has liked it, another virtually hissed it by
inattention.
=49. Little Meg’s Children.= By HESBA STRETTON. (R.T.S.) 1_s._ 6_d._
More powerful than ‘Froggie.’ Also of London children in a garret, where
the faithful little elder sister struggles to take care of the little
ones till her father’s return from a voyage. This is as fit for mothers
as for children. There are multitudes more of these street Arab tales,
most of them written from fancy. It is possible to have too many of them,
so only the names of these two best are given here.
=50. The City Violet.= By C. WINCHESTER. (Seeley) 5_s._
There are violent improbabilities here, but children like the book, and
listen to it eagerly. The lesson of Christian love is taught by an old
bedridden woman to various classes of children, among whom are some of
the circus children, who have such a fascination for young readers.
=51. Little Lives and a Great Love.= By FLORENCE WILFORD. (Masters) 2_s._
6_d._
Four tales designed to illustrate the text, ‘The love of Christ
constraineth us,’ in a scale gradually ascending. Of the four, only the
first is historical.
=52. Helpful Sam.= (Griffith, Farran, & Co.) 6_d._
A very real and quaint young chimney sweep.
=53. The Beautiful Face.= By Mrs. MITCHELL. (Masters) 4_s._ 6_d._
A veritable child’s romance, not attempting to be historical, but
graceful, tender, and bright enough to delight children.
=54. Dandy=. (S.P.C.K.) 6_d._
A pleasant story of a lost dog.
=55. Ben Sylvester’s Word.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 3_d._ or 1_s._
The value of truth in a witness. The murder in this has secured its
popularity.
=56. Little May and her friend Conscience.= By Mrs. CUPPLES. (Nelson)
9_d._
A debate with conscience.
=57. Tim’s Basket.= (Nelson) 6_d._
Might cheer a crippled child.
=58. Story of a Needle.= By A.L.O.E. (Nelson) 1_s._ 6_d._
Autobiographical.
=59. The Two Watches.= By the Author of ‘Copsley Annals.’ (Nelson) 1_s._
Didactic but lively.
=60. Baby’s Prayerbook.= By Mrs. SITWELL. (S.P.C.K.) 8_d._
A tiny girl unconsciously leading her elder brother to a right course.
=61. Wings and Stings.= By A.L.O.E. (Nelson) 1_s._
Once this was read to a class who delighted in it. Another year it fell
flat, owing, perhaps, to the children having less imagination.
=62. It’s his Way.= By the Author of ‘Copsley Annals.’ (Nelson) 1_s._
Very good for reading aloud.
=63. Northope Cave.= By MRS. SITWELL. (S.P.C.K.)
Seaside adventures, a brave little self-devoted fisher-boy among babies.
[Illustration]
SENIOR CLASSES.
_For Children from Ten Years old to Twelve: Fourth Standard and upwards._
Most children are advanced enough at this age to prefer what
is a little out of their own field; though here there will
always be the differing tastes for adventure or character, and
imaginative or matter-of-fact literature. What will fall flat
with some will be appreciated by others; and, in general, what
has been read to them is best liked. Explanations can be given,
right intonations are explanatory in themselves, and foreign or
unusual names are better understood.
=64. Under the Lilacs.= By LOUISA ALCOTT. (Sampson Low) 2_s._
A stray boy and poodle, escaped from a circus, arrive in the middle of
a doll’s feast held by a widow’s little girls. The house becomes their
home, and the scenes are delightful, especially when the poor dog is lost
and comes back _minus_ his tail.
=65. On Angels’ Wings.= By the Hon. Mrs. GREENE. (Nelson) 5_s._
Pathetic and tender. A deformed and sickly child in a German town has to
part with her father on his summons to the war. Little Violet’s patience,
the drolleries of her little friends, the kindness of the old policeman,
and the thoughtlessness of her young nurse go to children’s hearts.
=66. The Abbey by the Sea.= By Mrs. MOLESWORTH. (S.P.C.K.) 1_s._
A furniture designer of evidently much cultivation with his little
daughter by the sea-side. Perhaps too ideal, but refining.
=67. The Golden Thread.= By Dr. NORMAN MCLEOD. (Isbister) 2_s._ 6_d._
This will also be found among the allegories, but it is, even as a
mere story or romance, so charming to young listeners that it is here
introduced.
=68. Feats on the Fiord.= By HARRIET MARTINEAU. (Routledge) 1_s._ and
1_s._ 6_d._ (With 40 illustrations, 2_s._)
Too lively and amusing to be out of date. Norwegian life is made perhaps
rather too rose-coloured, but the adventures have a merit and interest
apart from actual truth to nature.
=69. The Ghost of Greythorn Manor.= (Nelson) 6_s._
May be useful where children or servants fear a haunted house.
=70. Little Rosa.= By Mrs. PRENTICE. (Nelson) 6_d._
Fittest for the poor children to whom Father is a word of fear.
=71. The Magpie’s Nest.= (Nelson) 6_d._
=72. The Children on the Plains.= (Nelson) 1_s._ 6_d._
Adventures on the Prairies with Red Indians; a good deal of religious
talk.
=73. Daughter of the Regiment.= (Sunday School Union) 2_s._
Children captured by Red Indians.
=74. Leila, or the Island.= By M. FRASER TYTLER. (Hatchards) 3_s._ 6_d._
Leila has always been an unfailing favourite. The second and third parts
of her story are unequal to the first volume, which is improbable enough,
but such pretty and pleasant reading, and so sound-hearted, that it is
quite a child’s classic.
=75. Mr. Burke’s Nieces.= (Cassell) 2_s._
Confusion of identity between two children brought home from India, one
of whom the Irish barrister believes to be his niece. It turns upon
jealousy.
=76. Little Hinges.= (Cassell) 2_s._ 6_d._
A child’s disobedience in apparently a small matter leads to great family
misfortunes. A sound lesson against ‘doing right in our own eyes.’
=77. The Thorn Fortress.= By M. BRAMSTON. (S.P.C.K.) 1_s._
This will be classed among historical tales, as it belongs to the period
of the Thirty Years’ War, but the interest is sufficient to win children
quite ignorant of the history of the period. The inhabitants of a village
in the track of the armies have a refuge in the forest, impregnably
fenced with thorn bushes. The adventures of a little maiden, who falls
into the hands of the marauders, and wins their heart by her innocent
sweetness, are enjoyed by all readers and hearers.
=78. Max Krömer.= By HESBA STRETTON. (R.T.S.) 1_s._ 6_d._
The Siege of Strasburg from a child’s point of view.
=79. Lost in Egypt.= By Miss M. L. WHATELY. (R.T.S.) 4_s._
The adventures of the little daughter of an English engineer, suddenly
left an orphan in a remote place, and abandoned by the servants. She is
adopted by a peasant woman, and afterwards has experience of several
Egyptian houses before she is recovered by her English grandmother. Here
and there it is lengthy, and some conversations might be spared, but it
has been listened to and read with great interest.
=80. The Blue Ribbons.= By ANNA HARRIET DRURY. (Kerby) 3_s._ 6_d._
Founded on the anecdote of Marie Antoinette acting fairy to the child she
met in the wood.
=81. Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates.= By MARY M. DODGE. (Sampson Low)
1_s._
Delightful scenes of Dutch winter life.
=82. The Oak Staircase.= By M. and C. LEE. (Griffith, Farran, & Co.)
3_s._ 6_d._
This is the best for reading aloud of the three historical tales by
these ladies. It begins with a child wedding in the days of Charles II.
The little bride (a Countess) is sent to school at Taunton, where the
mistress, a Huguenot, is enthusiastic in Monmouth’s cause, and the poor
girls are among ‘the maids of Taunton.’ The young husband intercedes, but
goes into banishment with the Jacobites, and his wife has in after times
to procure his pardon, after which they begin their married life. The
book has been found very attractive to children.
=83. The White Chapel.= By ESMÉ STUART. (S.P.C.K.) 2_s._
A dreamy child’s adventure, very prettily told, connecting the little
white curtained bed with the white chantry chapel in a cathedral.
=84. The Carved Cartoon.= By AUSTIN CLARE. (S.P.C.K.) 4_s._
This has been much enjoyed when read aloud to somewhat intelligent
Sunday-school children in the country, and Londoners always like it. The
title is unfortunate, for a cartoon cannot be carved, and what is meant
is a copy of a cartoon made by Grinling Gibbons, whose adventures in the
Plague and Fire of London are made very interesting.
=85. Ivo and Verena.= (Masters) 2_s._
A beautiful little Fouqué-like tale of early Christianity in the North.
=86. Peggy and other Tales.= By FLORENCE MONTGOMERY. (Cassell) 2_s._
This may be useful where temperance tales are required, though we rather
wonder at the father who chose such a subject to amuse his little
children.
=87. The Ambition of Kate Hicks.= (S.P.C.K.) 4_d._
Useful for girls going out to service.
=88. The Grey House on the Hill.= By the Hon. Mrs. GREENE. (Nelson) 2_s._
6_d._
A lonely page-boy falsely accused.
=89. I must keep the Chimes going.= By Miss ELLIOT. (Seeley) 1_s._ 6_d._
A very beautiful story of a girl in a hard place, but with a cheerful
spirit.
=90. Friarswood Post Office.= By C. M. YONGE. (Walter Smith) 2_s._ 6_d._
A history of a workhouse lad, founded on fact.
=91. The Pink Silk Handkerchief.= (Walter Smith) 2_d._
A useful tale of deceit and vanity.
=92. The Girls of Flaxby.= By C. R. COLERIDGE. (Walter Smith) 2_s._
Pupil-teachers shown in a manner useful to them and still more so to
those who have to deal with them.
=93. Lads and Lasses of Langley.= By C. M. YONGE. 2_s._ (See No. 28.)
Stories of village life, chiefly for the elder children; curiosity and a
few other follies shown up.
=94. Polly Spanker’s Green Feather.= By Mrs. WALFORD. (S.P.C.K.) 4_d._
Droll disaster with finery.
=95. Sowing and Sewing.= By C. M. YONGE. (W. Smith) 1_s._ 6_d._
An endeavour practically to illustrate the Parable of the Sower.
=96. Stories of Youth and Childhood.= (Walter Smith) 2_s._
These first appeared in the ‘Magazine for the Young,’ and are very good.
Phœbe, who is sent to the hospital, is our special favourite.
=97. Copsley Annals.= By Miss ELLIOT. (Seeley) 1_s._ 6_d._
These are unusually interesting. The supposed ghost, which turns out
to be a clock whirring, excites breathless interest. The last story is
better fitted for mothers than children.
=98. The House of the Little Wizard.= (Hatchards) 3_s._ 6_d._
=99. Goldhanger Woods.= By M. AND C. LEE. (National Society) 2_s._
This calls itself a child’s romance, and has some exciting adventures.
=100. My Great Aunt’s Cat.= (S.P.C.K.) 2_d._
A droll and wholesome warning against false excuses.
=101. Uncle Ivan.= By M. BRAMSTON. (National Society) 2_s._ 6_d._
Two sisters have to guard the papers of their uncle, a political exile,
against spies. Very amusing for rather advanced readers such as pupil
teachers.
=102. Wild Thyme.= (S.P.C.K.) 4_d._
=103. Susan Pascoe’s Temptation.= (S.P.C.K.) 4_d._
The first of these is very touching, the second its continuation and a
good lesson.
=104. Self Conquest.= By FLORENCE WILFORD. (S.P.C.K.) 1_s._
Another rescue from a circus.
=105. Marty and the Mite Boxes.= (Shaw) 3_s._ 6_d._
An American story of contributions to a church, and the exertions of a
rough little set of choir boys.
=106. Little Jeanneton’s Work.= By C. A. JONES. (Wells Gardner, Darton, &
Co.) 3_s._ 6_d._
A little shepherdess whom the young lady of the château nearly spoils by
making her Arcadian. Very prettily illustrated.
=107. A Peep behind the Scenes.= By Mrs. WALTON. (R.T.S.) 3_s._ 6_d._
A great favourite.
=108. Nimpo’s Troubles.= (Griffith, Farran, & Co.) 3_s._ 6_d._
This is an American story of a self-willed child, which children like
very much. She chooses during her mother’s absence from home to board
with people of her own selection, and gets into very comical predicaments.
=109. A Little Step-daughter.= By the Author of the ‘Atelier du Lys.’
(National Society) 3_s._ 6_d._
A child stolen by smugglers in the wild districts of Southern France in
the time of Louis XV., taken care of by a woman who feeds silk-worms.
Very interesting.
=110. Alone in Crowds.= By ANNETTE LYSTER. (S.P.C.K.) 3_s._
A youth bred up by his father on a desert island from early infancy. When
rescued and brought home he is utterly astray and perplexed in England.
=111. The Giant Killer.= By A.L.O.E. (Nelson) 3_s._
This is rather stilted, but has been much enjoyed by elder children. It
is much better than the second part ‘The Roby Family.’ As a rule, this
lady’s books are very religious, without Church teaching, and a little
too stiff in language, but useful.
=112. Bear and Forbear.= (Cassell) 2_s._
An excellent tale of an Edinburgh newspaper boy.
=113. Rhoda’s Reward.= By Mrs. MARSHALL. (Cassell) 1_s._
A young girl who overcomes a strong temptation.
=114. For Half-a-Crown.= By ESMÉ STUART. (National Society) 3_s._
This is the price of a poor Italian baby bought out of the slums of
Portsmouth, and bred up to be a very spirited and interesting little
person.
=115. Three Stories for Working Girls.= (S.P.C.K.) 1_s._
This, like ‘Kate Temple’s Mate,’ is chiefly fitted for the rough girls of
factories.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
BOYS.
Boys are here treated as separate subjects. The mild tales that
girls will read simply to pass away the time are ineffective
with them. Many will not read at all. Those who will read
require something either solid, droll, or exciting. There are
lads who will study books of real information with all their
might, and will take up pursuits of science, or enter into
poetry. This, however, comes (if at all) at the age when school
is over and labour has begun, so that intellectual occupation
is not the task but the refreshment. The solid, therefore, is
not attempted in the present list. What it aims at giving is
such a choice of books as boys will listen to with interest,
or if they read in quieter moments, or in illness, may find so
amusing as not to be tempted to think that nothing diverting or
stimulating is to be found beyond the Penny Dreadful. If their
taste can be kept unsullied during the time of growth, there is
more hope for it afterwards.
The books here mentioned are all suitable for circulation in
any general library, but are placed separately as an answer to
the oft-asked question, ‘Do you know of anything my boys _will_
read?’
Many well-intentioned and really pretty books are omitted, even
though written _for_ boys, because they do not seem to hit off
the peculiar taste of that large class. Others are omitted
because, though there is little harm in them, and we should not
object to seeing a lad reading them, if of his own catering,
yet parish libraries and school rewards give a kind of
recommendation to a book which makes it needful that it should
be beyond censure. For instance, that exciting and entrancing
tale, ‘King Solomon’s Mines,’ is marred by the falsehoods told
to the natives, and (more injuriously perhaps) by the constant
reference to bad language on the part of the naval lieutenant,
in a style to confirm boys in their notion of its being a manly
fashion. Its successor, ‘The Phantom City,’ has none of these
defects. Be it remembered that this catalogue is only intended
to suggest and assist, not to exclude, and likewise that the
works therein are not merely suited to lads, for though girls
will often greatly prefer a book about the other sex, boys
almost universally disdain books about girls.
=116. Robinson Crusoe.= By DEFOE. (Warne), 1_s._ 6_d._ (S.P.C.K.), 3_s._
6_d._ (Cassell), 3_s._ 6_d._ (Marcus Ward), 1_s._ 6_d._, 2_s._, 3_s._
We need only name this first and best of all desert island tales, which
ought to be read as an English classic by all young people—not boys alone.