The primary aim of this book is to furnish the little learner reading
matter that will excite his attention and give him pleasure, and thus
make lighter the difficult task of learning to read. The ruggedness of
this task has often been increased by the use of disconnected
sentences, or lessons as dry and uninteresting as finger exercises on
the piano. It is a sign of promise that the demand for reading matter
of interest to the child has come from teachers. I have endeavored to
meet this requirement in the following stories.
As far as possible the words chosen have been such as are not difficult
to the little reader, either from their length or their unfamiliarity.
The sentences and paragraphs are short. Learning to read is like
climbing a steep hill, and it is a great relief to the panting child to
find frequent breathing places.
It is one of the purposes of these stories to make the mind of the
pupil familiar with some of the leading figures in the history of our
country by means of personal anecdote. Some of the stories are those
that every American child ought to know, because they have become a
kind of national folklore. Such, for example, are “Putnam and the Wolf”
and the story of “Franklin’s Whistle.” I have thought it important to
present as great a variety of subjects as possible, so that the pupil
may learn something not only of great warriors and patriots, but also
of great statesmen. The exploits of discoverers, the triumphs of
American inventors, and the achievements of men of letters and men of
science, find place in these stories. All the narratives are
historical, or at least no stories have been told for true that are
deemed fictitious. Every means which the writer’s literary experience
could suggest has been used to make the stories engaging, in the hope
that the interest of the narrative may prove a sufficient spur to
exertion on the part of the pupil, and that this little book will make
green and pleasant a pathway that has so often been dry and laborious.
It will surely serve to excite an early interest in our national
history by giving some of the great personages of that history a place
among the heroes that impress the susceptible imagination of a child.
It is thus that biographical and historical incidents acquire something
of the vitality of folk tales.
The illustrations that accompany the text have been planned with
special reference to the awakening of the child’s attention. To keep
the mind alert and at its best is more than half the battle in
teaching. The publishers and the author of this little book believe
that in laying the foundation of a child’s education the best work is
none too good.
The larger words have been divided by hyphens when a separation into
syllables is likely to help the learner. The use of the hyphen has been
regulated entirely with a view to its utility. After a word not too
difficult has been made familiar by its repeated occurrence, the
hyphens are omitted.