S:t-^ HoUinger Corp, pH8.5 LB 1042 .F6 Copy 1 .432 STORY-TELLING IN THE HOME PREPARED BY WILLIAM BYRON FORBUSH, Ph.D., Litt.D. PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHILD LIFE IN CONSULTATION WITH MANY AUTHORITIES UPON THIS SUBJECT sj * tJ f. ^ ''? J/ i,-^ MONOGRAPH OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHILD LIFE 1714 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia Monograph Aua A DUTCH ..RANDMOTHKR TELLING STORIES WLl H IHK HKLH OK THE PICTURED TILES STORY-TELLING IN THE HOME. "World-old and beautiful stories, Which I once, when little, From the neighbor's children have heard When we, on summer evenings, Sat on the steps before the house-door. Bending us down to the quiet narrative With little listening hearts." — Heinrich Heine. The Value of Story-telling— Stories that Children Like— How to Tell Stories to Children — Continued Stories — The Relation of Stories to Play — How to Tell Bible Stories — Story-Telling Devices — Where to Find Stories — Stories in the Home — References. The Value of Story-Telling. Of late we have come to take story-telling seriously. It is one of the oldest of arts and one of the most valuable. "Everything argues," says Dr. Richard M. Hodge, "that the story is par excellence the language of childhood. Children love a story as they do no other form of address. It is their most characteristic form of expression and our most direct and successful means of conveying to them our ideas. Stories are pictures of life and moving-pictures, talking pictures, colored pictures, at that. Their meaning lies on the surface. They reveal every phase and principle of life. The ideas expressed are charged with emotion and consequently affect the will. Stories have plots and plots are providences. When angels or fairies figure in a plot they are ministers of justice. Stories leave nothing to explain. Aspirations and conduct portrayed in them do not have to be applied to the lives of the hearers. The story no less than the drama holds the mirror up to nature, and the hearer is 'as one who beholds his natural face in a glass.'" Story-telling has its physical value. At the end of the day in the home, or in the midst of commotion in the school, it calms the mind, rests the perturbed spirit, and even helps to prepare the body either for sleep or for renewed activity. It is the most concrete method of teaching and the most interest- ing. By means of the story the story-teller appeals not only to the intellect but to the feelings, and adds to the intellectual value of the tale the power of his own personality. Intellectually the stoty helps the imagination, leads to the love of good books and helps the child, as he retells the story himself, in his free and accurate use of language. It is a source of joy, both now and through life. A source of joy is a source of strength. Says a great story-teller : 'Tn the school the story is used for language, composition and other formal work; but in the home we can tell a story for pure pleasure, and we should give children an opportunity to tell and retell stories. Children like to create and whether it be with sand, wood or words, the processes underlying it are the same. For a child to retell a story, means that he enters into the spirit of it, that he sees clearly the mental picture, that he feels the underiying life of the story." The story is of social value. It interprets life to the child and, as it arouses his sympathies, enables him to live more broadly. As a disciplinary agency it is unexcelled. It is far better than scolding, it is often clearer than a command, and it has the great advantage of drawing the child in bonds of affection to his elder. Beyond this advantage, is the added charm of the personal ele- ment in story-telling. When you make a story your own and tell it, the listener gets the story, plus your appreciation of it. It comes to him filtered through your own enjoyment. Says Mrs. John D. Morris: "In story-telling as in every other relation between mother and child the former should make herself assured that she is always extending the invitation, 'Come unto me.' There is nothing that gives readier entrance to the innermost chambers of the little one's heart, reveals the ideals budding therein and gives greater opportunity for the mother to make herself in reality instead of merely in sentiment the child's most confidential friend than the simple story." Miss Sara Cone Bryant gives a pretty little incident of her suc- cessful endeavor by means of stories to win the confidence and affec- tion of a shy young niece. The evening effort did not seem to succeed, but it was different in the morning, after she had assisted at the little girl's toilet, with some more stories : "When the curls were all curled and the last little button buttoned, my baby niece climbed hastily down from her chair, and deliberately up into my lap. With a caress rare to her habit, she spoke my name, slowly and tentatively, 'An-ty Sai-ry?' Then, in an assured tone, 'Anty Sairy, I love you so much I don' know what to do !' And presently, tucking a confiding hand in mine to lead me to breakfast, she explained sweetly, 'I didn' know you when you comed las' night, but now I know you all th' time !' " The story has moral value. Truth in an ethical statement is dead, in a story it lives, because the story shows how it has been lived by actual men and women. The confidence which the story suggests gives vital power to the child. Says Frances J. Olcott: "At story-telling time a child's mind is open to the deepest im- pressions. His emotions may be swayed towards good or bad. His imagination is active, making a succession of mental pictures. Through story-telling he may be taught the difference between right and wrong, and his mind may be stocked with beautiful mental images." Louise Seymour Houghton adds: "The story is particularly valuable because it makes truth attractive. I am not now referring to fact but to truth. The truth, for example, that no pagan is neces- sarily excluded from the household of God is not particularly interest- ing to the thoughtful mind. But embody it in the story of Ruth, and how beautiful, how picturesque, poetic, pathetic, dignified a truth it becomes ! And though upon the mind of the little child the story will probably make a larger impression than the truth, yet is a seed truth which needs only the normal degree and kind of care to spring up in the mind of any boy or girl and fructify in that comprehensive interest in the human race which must underlie all future civilization." "Have you stopped to consider," asks Seumas McManus, the famous Irish story-teller, "that these two things which story-telling evokes are two of the greatest factors, one human, the other super- human, that have been put into man's care ? When you hold the mag- net over a mass of steel filings they assume order and beauty imme- diately. Sympathy is the mighty magnet that reduces to coherence and order and beauty the human filings that fill the world. Yet these two things, in the eyes of the utilitarians, are valueless because they do not teach man that his highest destiny is to become a cog in a perpetual motion machine. If you ask me to tell you in three words the benefits of story-telling, I will reply in ten words that besides giving the neces- sary mental occupation, story-telling will make the child father to a kindlier, more enthusiastic, a more idealistic, man than the one who is taught to scorn story-telling. If you took two groups of children and taught one to love story-telling and the other to scorn story-telling, it is very obvious which group would furnish the greater percentage to the jails and the workhouses of the country. The story-telling nations of the world are the cheerful, social, enthusiastic, idealistic nations, and this is because story-telling to the child brings out all the better qual- ities, — sympathy, imagination, warmheartedness, sociability." And Dr. Richard M. Hodge adds: "We admire qualities before persons and persons only because they appear to possess the qualities which we already admire. We cannot adore God until we adore the qualities which he possesses. An untruthful man for instance cannot in the nature of the case worship God for his veracity. For adoration is unqualified admiration. Children then must adore divine qualities before they can worship God. These qualities me the same as those of human character. All are illustrated in human life and the most direct and inspirational pictures of human life, outside of the observa- tions of the physical eye, are stories. We cannot tell a morally inspir- ing story therefore without kindling emotions of worship in our hearers." Dr. and Mrs. Partridge go so far as to say: "The story holds the central place in the teaching of religion. More than anything else it can give the breadth of experience, the imaginative grasp of the unseen world, and the moods which are the basis of religion in the child." But why tell rather than read stories ? Seumas McManus answers : "Story-telling is superior to the written story chiefly because the man who writes is not in touch with the audience. The story-teller talks to you, and has to make a story from beginning to end, and every sentence has to be a part of the story, because he is within range of a brickbat — and subject to the recall at any minute." And why tell children stories rather than encourage them to read them themselves? Of course we do both, but Mr. McManus answers again: "I think story-telling is to story-reading what the eating of a meal is to reading the bill-of-fare. The story-reading nations of the world are the morose nations, because the reader's a selfish man who goes away into a corner with his book, becomes oblivious to the world around him, and gives back to the world nothing. Talk about land hogs, car hogs, end-seat hogs — I think the worst of them all is the book hosf." Stories That Children Like. Richard T. Wyche, Founder of the National Story-Tellers' League, has made the following condensed statement of children's tastes in stories : "We find the child first in a poetic period, when he enjoys Mother- goose rhymes and jingles. Fairies and Santa Claus are the greatest characters in life to him. But then as he grows out of this period, he discovers that the cow did not jump over the moon, as the Mother- goose rhyme had it, and that Santa Claus is not as he thought at first. He becomes skeptical, an iconoclast. He wants to know if the story is true. Give him then heroic stories and history, like Hiawatha, Beowulf; the lives of pioneers and explorers like Columbus, Captain John Smith, and George Washington, Luther and Wesley. This period might range from eight to twelve years. "From that period he is growing into the adolescent period ; great changes are taking place both in his mind and in his body. He enjoys stories of romance, for he is in a romantic period. Give him the Arthurian stories, the whole of the Odyssey story and the great romances from the great story books of the world. He is going to read some romantic story, tell him the great romantic stories, the great classics from the great story books of the world, and he will not care to read the trashy story." Miss Frances J. Olcott differentiates the tastes of boys from those of girls, as follows: "As a boy's practical interest evolves, he being objective by nature, prefers stories of athletics, of daring adventures, thrilling dangers and escapes, also of gregarious life, such as the experiences of gangs, pirates and robber-bands, and members of secret societies and clubs. He enjoys history, biography and books that show him how to make and do things. "A girl with intense subjectivity, reads by preference stories of play, home, and school life; the burden of which too often is painful mental suffering over small sins, and misunderstandings. As she grows older, she enjoys simple love stories of a romantic nature. "The natural instincts of a girl are narrower than a boy's. They may be broadened, however, if some one whom she admires takes an active part in directing her reading, for the girl is a hero-worshiper, and is willing to be guided by the judgment of one whom she likes. On the other hand, a boy is cautious about taking advice from any one who does not agree with his definite likes for things and actions ; this is especially true of his reading." Miss Caroline M. Hewins has made the following careful study of the progressive tastes of children's literary appetite, which we con- dense from "The Congregationalist" : "The likings of children may thus be summed up : "First. Pictures and rhymes in broad and simple outlines, as primitive and elemental as the stories and drawings of the eave men. "Second. Poems and ballads, rhythmical and full of action. "Third. Wonder tales and also stories of everyday child life. "Fourth. Stories of heroes, mythological and historical. "Fifth. Stories of adventure, trial, and suffering that end well." After discussing the Mother Goose period she goes on as follows with the great story-telling years: "The second step in the child's enjoyment of books is when he enters into the comprehension of story-poems longer than Mother Goose rhymes. A good standard for poetry is one of the older collec- tions, like 'Our Children's Songs,' published by the Harpers more than twenty years ago. Children like the rhythm and swing of verse if it is not reflective or subjective, and sometimes feel the charm of melody in a poem which they do not understand, like Gray's 'Elegy,' Macaulay's 'Battle of Ivry,' or Rossetti's 'White Ship.' "The next step is prose stories. Every child delights in the old- fashioned fairy tales, if they are told in the old-fashioned way, such as was commended a few years ago by a reviewer in Blackwoods who defines their style as that of the first quarter of the nineteenth century, — a little stilted, and filled with such exclamations as, 'Vastly well, madam.' To test a fairy tale that a child will enjoy, compare it with the old stories or with Andrew Lang's revival of them in his fairy books. "At the time when children enjoy fairy tales they like stories of boy and girl life, if these stories are told in a straightforward manner, with a great deal of detail. "Wonder tales lead to hero tales, and a child begins to learn some- thing of the history of the world and of the lives of great men. He likes to hear about Romulus and Remus, King Alfred, and George Washington. He loves to read of the perils and privations of the early settlers of this country, and the Revolution. He has heard in school of knightly ideals and perhaps belongs to a Round Table." How TO Tell Stories to Children. The classics that appeal to children teach us how to tell them stories. Form and style to them are but little; sentiment and poetic description are annoying interruptions. First is personality. You must name and describe your hero. He is the child himself per- sonalized. Then comes action. There must be a journey, a combat, a plot. Next is mystery, suspense, surprise. Finally the solution. With these simple elements anybody ought to tell a tale. They are the elements of the classics. "The climax," says Miss Bryant, "is that which makes the story; for it all that precedes has prepared the way. It is the point upon which interest focuses. If a moral lesson is conveyed, it is here that it is enforced. Hence failure here means total failure. The reason why the 'good story' sometimes seems so dull when it is related by an appreciative hearer is that he has missed the point in re-telling it. It is for this that the story exists, and skill in dealing with it counts more for success than at any other point." "How to tell a story ?" says Mr. Wyche. "Tell it naturally, simply, directly. The audience, the place, the occasion and the story itself must in a large measure determine the way in which a story is told. However, there are some fundamental psychological principles under- lying all creative processes, whether it be telling a story or building a house. In telling a story one must be able to see clearly the mental pictures in the story and be able to create the picture anew each time the story is told in words that are current with his audience. If the story-teller sees clearly the picture, he can make others see it. But the story has something more than imagery. It has emotion and one must feel deeply the truth in the story. Feeling more than anything else will give one a motive for telling the truth. Frequently a story is told more than anything else to impart feeling. If we cultivate right emotions in the child, his deeds will be righteous." So important is directness as a method that the following sentence from Miss Sara Cone Bryant seems to the writer to be the most valu- able one ever written upon the subject: "I like to think of the story-teller as a good fellow standing at a great window overlooking a busy street or a picturesque square, and reporting with gusto to the comrade in the rear of the room what of mirth or sadness he sees ; he hints at the policeman's strut, the organ- grinder's shrug, the schoolgirl's gayety, with a gesture or two which is born of an irresistible impulse to imitate; but he never leaves his fascinating post to carry the imitation farther than a hint." This power of visualising is frequently emphasized by Mr. Wyche: "We must be able to visualize, to see clearly the images, the mental pictures in the story. If we are to tell the story of Ulysses we must see him." Again he urges : "To the extent that the story-teller can imagine these scenes, creating them anew as he tells the story, to that extent can he make his audience see them. He may rest assured if he does not see clearly the mental pictures, his audience will not. If the pic- ture is hazy and dim his words will be doubtful, inaccurate, and inar- tistic, but if he have a vivid mental picture his words will be graphic, and his use of them will give just the right shade and color, making the outward ring true to the inward. Therein is the difference in recit- ing a story and telling a story." Story-telling is thus, incidentally, most educative to the story- teller. The story-teller is like the guide who attempts to show Europe. He finds that he must not depend upon his haze of memories ; he must be able to state clearly, definitely and accurately the exact facts. It makes him a wiser man to be able to do it. So the story-teller dis- covers that perhaps he does not know the classics as well as he thought, that he has in fact forgotten the very point of a certain famous story, that he must keep up with his reading if he would keep in advance of his child. Story-telling has made many an adult ashamed of his read- ing, as he has noticed that his mental habits are to dwell in realms which would not be respectable company to a good story. But method in story-telling is secondary to matter. "The essential thing in a story is to make something happen." Miss Vostrovsky's suggestive study shows that in young children the interest in what was done leads all others, and that they put several times as much emphasis upon action as upon moral qualities, sentiment, feeling, esthetic details and dress combined, while the thought of the actors received no mention at all. It is well known that adolescent boys demand "something doing" in their books, and in adults interest in action has hardly decreased. "For these reasons," says Edna Lyman, "let me urge you, when 8 you are looking for stories to tell little children, to apply this threefold test as a kind of touchstone to their quality of fitness : Are they full of action, in close natural sequence ? Are their images simple without being humdrum? Are they repetitive? The last quality is not an absolute requisite, but it is at least very often an attribute of a good child-story." Continued Stories. It is a good thing, after awhile, to settle down to a continued story. Beginning with Colonial times, I have portrayed the adventures of a certain Colonel Lindsay, who fought in the Revolution, and then went over the Alleghanies to the Western Reserve and met a series of unparalleled adventures with the Indians in his home. To-night, for example, I am describing an attack on Marietta, that took place while our mythical hero was away. The eyes brighten as the gathering of the tribes is described. The children gather closer to me as Colonel Lindsay's capture far from home is related. The brave defense of the beleaguered garrison, under the lead of the Colonel's young son, brings cheers of approbation which arouse the dog. Then there is the Colonel's skillful, silent escape, and his return in disguise to the neighborhood of his home. The children look into the fire as the great battle day comes with its wild charges, the rolling up of the farm wagons, loaded with burning hay against the stockade, the break at the gate, and the almost miraculous appearance of the brave hero to save the day. We started with Lindsay as a lad, a scout under Washington in New Jersey saw him over the Alleghanies, stayed with his sons during the days of early settlement, and at last accounts we were dealing with his grandchildren in the times of 1812. We were over a year, at intervals telling this story. The Relation of Stories to Play. This relation of a child's play to his favorite stories, which Mrs. Richards noticed, has been made a special study by Prof. H. M. Burr of the Y. M. C. A. Training College at Springfield, with the idea of taking advantage of its possibilities in education. He has planned a graded course in stories as follows: "i. Race stories, especially Teutonic myths, legends and folklore. Stories appealing to the imagination and illustrating the attempts of the child race to explain the wonders of the world in which he lives. "2. Stories of nature ; animal and plant stories. "3. Stories of individual prowess ; hero tales, — Samson, Her- cules, etc. Stories of early inventions. "4. Stories of great leaders and patriots. Social heroes from Moses to Washington. "5. Stories of love, altruism, love of woman, love of country and home, love of beauty, truth and God." He suggests the possibility of associating with these stories, as appropriate means of expression, activities as follows : "With nature stories, myths, and legends would be associated tramps in the woods and every variety of nature study ; care of animals, plants, etc. "With stories of individual prowess would be associated the indi- vidualistic games, athletic and gymnastic work for the development of individual strength and ability, also, constructive work of the more elementary type, — work with clay, knife work, basket weaving, etc. "With the stories of great leaders and patriots would be associated games which involve team play, leadership, obedience to leader, and subordination of self to the group. "With the altruistic stories would be associated altruistic efforts in behalf of boys who are less favored." Story-telling soon develops a particular kind of self-activity, which might be called the story game. A good story would be acted out as a play the next Saturday. If the children saw a good drama, they insisted on adding some more acts to it at home. They begin to write stories themselves. I have borrowed the fol- lowing account of an actual method from my "The Coming Genera- tion." You should have a big blank book, on the title page of which you may write, "The New Crusoe." First, we imagine that we have been wrecked on an unknown island, and while we are drawing a rough sketch of the wreck, the children are deciding the best things to take ashore. Of course, in the haste of leaving, it is hard to think of everything, but as we cannot supply any needs later, except by our own ingenuity, we must be as self-possessed as possible. The leader's part all through is to listen and put down what is decided upon. He makes no suggestions him- self, unless everybody else is cornered. Indeed the story almost tells itself. ''" Each night the map of the country may be extended as far as they have explored it. The children shall name all the points of interest. Several maps will be needed before we get through, to show particular districts more clearly. We camp the first night close by the shore under a tent of old tarpaulin. We are busy for a week in bringing our goods ashore before the ship broke up. But our tent was entirely unsheltered, and far from fresh water. As soon as we had cleared the wreck of every- thing, even the bolts and beams, we began to take short exploring trips. We followed up wandering Wiggle Brook until we came to a cool spring in the forest, on a considerable hill. This hill, since we found in the mud near the spring a human footstep, we named Foot-step Hill. Here we pitched our camp, hither removed our possessions. After awhile we pastured our flocks and herds in the Grassy Meadow to the east of us, but being much troubled by wild beasts, and still fearing wild men, we finally removed our whole establishment to a Tree House and stockade which we built on the higher hills farther from the water. We still overlooked the sea, however, and our Amer- ican flag waved constantly aloft as a signal to any passing ship. There is not time to tell you of the strange way a young Prince of the Island came and made his home with us, and first made us aware of the bloodthirsty tribe that lived over the lofty Donjon Mountains toward the south. Nor can I relate the life story of the venerable 10 , white hermit, believed by those savages a demon of witchcraft, who dwelt at the top alone, in his mountain cave. Are not all these written in the Chronicles of the New Crusoe by Archie, Davie, and Jack? The story still goes on. Often we take up the book and find, in a child's laggard handwriting, a new adventure or a bold sketch of some fresh affray. At any time of day or night, one needs only make some such remarks as, "Do you remember what we did the morning we found the charmed necklace at the foot of the tree in the stockade ?" and they are off like a shot. Sometimes they seem to live two lives alongside at once. All this, as may be imagined, makes an introduction not only to good books, but also to fullness of life. The way stories run on into dramatic play is subject for another monograph. The author once had an experience with a group of boys who became interested in Hiawatha and wanted to dramatize it. He supposed it was to be a month's task, but the preparations, involving all kinds of handicraft in scene-making and costumes, took all winter. There was, in his experience, hardly a lively story that did not appear soon in his children's play, and sometimes in distinctive dramatic efforts in the way of "family shows," that were both respectable and amusing. How TO Tell Bible Stories. The Bible is the greatest story-book in the world. It is the first in order of use. "This," says Louise Seymour Houghton, "is the value of the Bible stories for the child : that they give a religious meaning to all the experiences of his early life, and furnish the bond of unity, the centralizing focus of all the processes, intellectual, moral, and spiritual, of his maturing years. 'No other book finds me as the Bible does,' said Coleridge, and this is superlatively true of the child of any age. The Bible stories find him as no other stories do." Even the order of the books is appropriate to the stages of child development. It has been pointed out by others that the Bible repre- sents also a very significant genetic order. It is a spiritual history of the race, and it is also the story of the inner development of every individual. It begins with the story of the creation, a wonder tale that appeals strongly to the mind of the child. Next comes the period of pastoral life, affecting all the child's out-of-door interest. Then is the heroic stage, the story of the God of battles, the stern and just lawgiver and inflicter of punishment like the parent, a narration full of wonderful stories of which the child never tires. The story then moves on to picture? of civic splendour, to the days of degenerate city life, in which the old ideals for a time wane. Then comes the reign of Christ in the world, the story of the regeneration of society by the spirit of love and self-sacrifice. Last of all is the philosophic and theological stage, in which the story turns upon the doctrine of the church. Dr. Richard G. Moulton, himself a fine Bible story-teller, has given some suggestive special hints as to the wav to tell stories from the Bible : II "Our first duty to a Bible story is to love it; its effect we may leave to the divine Artist. "The proper preparation of the story-teller is that he should sat- urate himself with Bible story, but it must be story itself, not story and history mixed. "When the story has been carefully studied and assimilated, then the freest play of imagination should be used in the rendering. Like the actor, the story-teller is a translator, with the translator's double fidelity — to his original and to his audience. The question is not of translating out of one language into another. The question is but of one set of mental habits belonging to ancient life into another set of habits characterizing the modern hearers who are to be impressed. Greek drama, with exquisite instinct, realized this double fidelity in its institution of the chorus. Theoretically, a Greek chorus is a portion of the supposed audience in the theater transported into the age and garb of the story dramatized, which they follow from point to point with meditations calculated to voice similar meditations on the part of those watching the representation of the drama. Every teller of a Bible story must be his own chorus, moving through the scenes of the narrative with the outlook and emotions of the men or the children of to-day. "Some very effective tellers of scripture stories fill in details of modern realism with slang up to date. I have never myself felt the necessity of this ; but it is a fault in the right direction. The exact narrative of Scripture must be freely handled ; we may expand where the original is terse, emphasize clearly what the original takes for granted, alter altogether the proportion of parts. The condition is that we should first have been minutely faithful in our study of the story, omitting no hint, and wresting nothing out of proportion. This once secured, we become free agents in the translation of what has been learned into terms of modern thought." Concerning the grading and use of Bible stories for purposes of moral education, we have our wisest word from Mrs. Houghton: "First, at about three, the story in its simplest possible outline, and as much as may be in the Bible words. Then at about five an elemen- tary unfolding of its spiritual meaning, in answer to the child's impor- tunate *Why?' This is to be followed at about eight by careful co-ordination of the story with the child's first elementary knowledge of mythology and history. A year or two later the co-ordination of these stories with geography and elementary science may be in order, and not very much later, with the child's sense of language as illus- trated in poetry and wonder tales. At about twelve or thirteen the alert young mind, expanded from its earliest activity by ever expand- ing apprehension of spiritual truth, never having been confused by any contradiction between its Biblical and its secular acquisitions, always having been harmoniously active in its three functions of imagination, emotion and will, is ready for the theological and ethical interpretation of the story, in what may be called the grammar school grade of these interpretations, of which he has already had the elemen- tary grade. His more advanced historical work will enable him to put the stories in their proper place in history, and his studies in the classics and English literature to appreciate the literary character of the Bible, the place of each story in the history of literature, its oriental diction and forms of speech. "There will be no difficulty if this method has been pursued thus far, if neither the child's Bible nor his religion has been kept as a thing apart, unrelated to his school work or his weekday life, reserved for Sunday or forgotten entirely — there will be no difficulty, when this method has been pursued till his fifteenth or sixteenth year, carrying it farther, and relating it to his higher study of ethics and philosophy, as well as of history and literature, and making it an illumination of both, instead of, as too often sadly happens, a stumbling-block and cause of blind bewilderment." Story-Telling Devices. The following special "tricks of the trade" are chosen from some of our most practical authorities and are inserted without comment. St. John says: "One of the most important of these literary de- vices is the use of direct rather than indirect discourse. Through its use a certain vivacity of style is gained, and it adds movement and life- likeness to the tale. There is no easier way to give the semblance of reality to an imaginary tale than by letting the characters speak for themselves. The personality of the narrator is less intrusive, and the effect upon the hearer is that of looking on at a scene in real life." Miss Bryant says: "Explanations and moralizing are mostly sheer clutter. Some few stories necessarily include a little explanation, and stories of the fable order may quaintly end with an obvious moral. But here again, the rule is — great discretion." St. John says : " 'Take your time.' This suggestion needs ex- plaining, perhaps. It does not mean license to dawdle. Nothing is much more annoying in a speaker than too great deliberateness, or than hesitation of speech. But it means a quiet realization of the fact that the floor is yours, everybody wants to hear you, there is time enough for every point and shade of meaning, and no one will think the story too long. This mental attitude must underlie proper control of speed. Never hurry. A business-like leisure is the true attitude of the story-teller." The most important device, no doubt, is repetition. Says Miss Bryant: "The charm of repetition, to children, is a complex mat- ter; there are undoubtedly a good many elements entering into it, hard to trace in analysis. But one or two of the more obvious may be seized and brought to view. The first is the subtle flattery of an un- expected sense of mastery. When the child-mind, following with toil- ful alertness a new train of thought, comes suddenly on a familiar epithet or expression, I fancy it is with much the same sense of satis- faction that we older people feel when in the midst of a long pro- gramme of new music the orchestra strikes into something we have heard before." And Mr. St. John adds: "A very helpful device is the rhythmic repetition of certain significant words or phrases from time to time through the progress of the tale. In the fairy and folk-tales, this fre- quently appears, as in case of the 'hoppity-kick, hoppity-kick,' of the little half chick, the 'trip-trop, trip-trop' of the three goats crossing 13 the bridge, and the various remarks of the big bear, the middle-sized bear, and the little wee bear. In such cases, the story gains an added quaintness of form which has value in itself. The little child, puzzled by much that is unfamiliar, remembers the rhythmic phrase and wel- comes it as we greet an old friend in a strange city," Of course the most valuable kind of repetition of a story is by the children themselves. Using the repetitious phrases as crutches to memory, they will be heard telling the stories over to their dolls or to their young playmates, who attend "with little listening hearts." Miss Meta Eloise Beall, one of the Field Secretaries of our Institute, who has had successful experience with story-telling hours for chil- dren, tells us how her method soon makes the children not only uncon- scious of themselves, but eager both to assist in the story-telling and to repeat and even go on with stories of their own: "I ask my grown- ups to be 'little folks just for the time being,' and it never fails to please. Then comes a story for the 'wee folks.' Whenever this hap- pens to be a 'repetition' story, before I'm half through the children join in the part that repeats — perfectly unconscious of the fact that there are many grown-ups near. In the Story Hour given here some of the children were so eager to tell themselves a story Uncle Nat had written them about, that I let them 'take the floor,' and they delighted ever>-- body." The child's desire, through repetition, to be sure he masters his favorite story leads him to read it. Says Mrs. Morris: "Not long ago I came upon a child with his head buried in the pages of a story which I had told him many times, and upon asking him why he was reading that story, he replied: 'I'm reading the things I did not understand when you told it.' The little one had understood the tale from the first, but in the intervening months his understanding had broadened to a fuller meaning of many of the expressions." Where to Find Stories. Besides the elaborate references at the close of this article the fol- lowing specific hints from experienced story-tellers will be helpful. Edna Lyman suggests as stories to read aloud: "Such books and stories as the following seem to represent worthy examples of the things desirable for reading aloud: Van Dyke's 'Other Wise Man,' Parkman's 'Oregon Trail,' 'Uncle Remus's Stories,' Hawthorne's 'Great Stone Face,' 'Wonder Book' and 'Tangle- wood Tales' ; Hale's 'Man Without a Country' and 'In His Name,' Kingsley's 'Greek Heroes,' Lamb's 'Tales from Shakespeare,' Irving's 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow,' portions of 'Gulli- ver's Travels' and 'Pilgrim's Progress,' Stein's 'Gabriel and the Hour Book,' Dickens' 'Christmas Carol,' 'Cricket on the Hearth,' and enough of many other novels to serve as a good introduction, perhaps begin- ning with 'Oliver Twist,' Ruskin's 'King of the Golden River,' Poe's 'Fall of the House of Usher,' 'Gold Bug' and 'Purloined Letter'; Scott's 'Ivanhoe,' 'Quentin Durward' and 'Guy Mannering' ; Mark Twain's 'Prince and the Pauper,' and Lanier's editions of 'Froissart' and 'Malory,' Morris's 'Sundering Flood,' 'Famous Adventures and Escapes of the Civil War,' Hughes's 'Tom Brown's School Days,' H Baldwin's 'Golden Age,' which is an excellent introduction to the Odyssey; F. Hopkinson Smith's 'Captain Joe,' La Motte Fouque's 'Undine,' and Kipling's 'Drums of the Fore and Aft.' "There is so much humor in the ballads of 'Robin Hood,' so much spirit and thrill to Morris's 'Sigurd the Volsung,' so much breadth of Joaquin Miller's 'Columbus,' such daring and courage in Macaulay's 'Lays,' and Longfellow's ballads, so much adventure and romance in Scott's 'Lady of the Lake' and 'Lay of the Last Minstrel,' that if there is any music in the reader, any feeling for what he is reading, any lesponse to the spirit of the great out-of-doors, it will inevitably be reflected in those who listen to him." The following stories have been told to boys at the West Side Y. M. C. A., Cleveland: "The Dog of Flanders," Ouida; "Lobo" ("Wild Animals I Have Known"), Thompson; "Rollo Learning Not To," T. S. C. Abbott; "Chimes from a Jester's Bells," Burdette; "A Man Without a Country," Hale; "Timothy's Quest," Kate D. Wiggin; "Christmas Eve in a Lumber Camp"; "Black Rock," Chapter I, Ralph Connor; "Gallagher," Richard H. Davis; "700," Kipling; "The Walking Delegate," Kipling; "Sonny," Chapters I and HI, Ruth Mc- Enery Stuart; "Meko, the Mischief Maker," Long; "Ways of the Woods Folks," Long; "The Monkey That Would Not Kill," Drum- mond ; "Editha's Burglar," F. H. Burnett ; "Following the Deer," Long ; "What a Boy Saw in the War"; "Riki-Tiki-Tavi," Kipling; "The Boy Recruits" (St. Nicholas), Willis B. Hawkins; "His Duty" (The Mis- sionary Sheriflf), Octave Thanet; "Joel, a Boy of Galilee," Annie Fellows-Johnston. "Nothing is more helpful," says Edna Lyman, "to a novice in story telling, for obtaining familiarity with the principles of construction and the essential qualities of a narration, than the study of a few of the world's great short stories, such as Daudet's 'Death of the Dauphin,' Hawthorne's 'Great Stone Face,' Kipling's 'Man Who Would Be King,' Dickens' 'Child's Dream of a Star,' Stevenson's 'Markheim,' Maupassant's 'Necklace' and his 'Coward,' Balzac's 'Passion in the Desert,' Irving's 'Rip Van Winkle, and Poe's 'Gold Bug' or his 'Black Cat.' " Stories in the Home. The story is the cadence of the day. It lifts the reunions of the supper table to a higher level. It explains the day's misunderstand- ings. It is the mutual expression of common loves and common cares. It voices aspirations as truly as does a hymn. It sends the child, unwilling to depart, with a smile to bed, and it leaves its echoes even after they sleep. In one home which the writer knows the parents usually go around to see that the lads are safe for the night. The oldest has pinned a picture of Giant Grim out of "Pil- grim's Progress" on his door as a guardian, and sleeps uneasily, with his percussion-cap pistol in his grasp. In the next room his younger brother is still wearing his baseball cap on his head, while incongru- ously clasping his doll to his breast. The bed of the youngest is empty. He is found on the floor nearby, stretched out in calm repose, with stains on his cheeks that speak of ginger cookies, and an odor of sanctity that suggests salt codfish. 15 REFERENCES. Note. — Any book mentioned in these monographs will be freely loaned to any member of the Institute upon request. They may also be purchased, if desired. The principal sources for this monograph are as follows : STORY-TELLING. The Children's Reading, by Francis Jenkins Olcott. A most admirably comprehensive guide for mothers. It has chapters covering the entire realm of children's literature, each one with a good introductory portion discussing the place of that particular kind of litera- ture in a child's life and then giving a carefully annotated list of books. Unique features of the volume are a list of one hundred stories and where to find them and a purchase list of books with prices. How TO Tell Stories to Children, by Sara Cone Bryant. This book is written in a style which will make its strong appeal to mothers and teachers of little children. It is charmingly written, and there are many practical helpful suggestions as to the manner of telling stones. It is particularly adapted to the younger children. It contains a good bibliography for story-tellers, and a number of stories gathered from various sources and personally adapted by the author. A Mother's List of Books for Children, by Gertrude Weld Arnold. This helpful list is graded year by year for children from two to fourteen years of age. Each book is very carefully described by a woman of taste and judgment who has evidently read each one of them carefully. The little book has a fine literary tone, and there are many pleasant quota- tions in the chapter headings and scattered through the descriptions. Some Great Stories and How to Tell Them, by Richard Thomas Wyche. Mr. Wyche is President of the National Story Tellers' League and there is no better authority on such subjects as to the choice and use of stories and the best way to tell them. The mother or teacher who desires to increase her power through the use of stories will find this book of great service to that end. Stories and Story-Telling in Moral and Religious Education, by Edward Porter St. John. This book is good in its general discussion of the art of Story- Telling. It states clearly the large constructive principles which underlie the oral presentation of the story. The primary^ object of the book is to show the relationship of stories to moral and religious education. To this end his choice of Bible stories, and especially of the parables of Jesus as illustrating clearly the simple and effective telling of a story which teaches a valuable lesson, is excellent. The analysis of the story interests of child- hood of early and later adolescence is especially good. These are good suggestion for first-hand study, which will be helpful in the preparation of material for the story hour. Stories and Story-Telling, by Angela M. Keyes. Story-Telling: What to Tell and How to Tell It, by Edna Lyman. This is an excellent treatise on the art of Story-Telling. It is broader in its scope than many of the books dealing with this subject. It is written for non-professional Story-Tellers, who have not always time to gather the source material for themselves. The suggestions are very simple and definite and the models given by way of illustration are very practical, for the author shows very clearly how to adapt the original material to a story hour. There is an excellent chapter on the value of reading aloud to children and the author's suggestions about hero stories, the great epics and how to use them are very good. She gives the detailed plan of procedure, the sources, and definite reasons why they are good to use in story work. i6 Story- Telling in School and Home, by Emelyn Newcomb Partridge. A great fund of practical information and valuable suggestion to teachers and parents, and plenty of good stories of various types to tell, are brought together in this volume. Calls for help in this field are constant. In response, comes this practical book; simple and direct in manner, informed with a spirit of broad culture and fine taste, and rooted in the experiences of experts and writers in the story-telling field. Part I is connected with the origins and ways of telling stories. Part II contains the stories themselves. Telling Bible Stories, by Louise Seymour Houghton. A most useful supplement to Miss Bryant's "How to Tell Stories to Children." STORIES TO TELL. The After School Library, Volume 2, "Myths and Legendary Heroes"; Volume 3, "Classic Tales and Old Fashioned Stories," by H. W. Mabie and D. E. Wheeler. Some of these in Volume 3 are a little too long for telling. Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag, by Louisa M. Alcott. These collections of short stories contain many good, sensible home stories which may readily be adapted by the story-teller, and which will meet a demand for simple stories of real life which children 7 to 10 ask to hear. The Blue Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang. A very good general collection of the most familiar old fairy tales. Book of Ballad Stories, by Mary Macleod. Prose versions of thirty-four old English and Scotch ballads. Attractive illustrations. Book of Folk Stories, by Horace Elisha Scudder. "Three Bears," "Puss in Boots," "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty" and nearly all the famous fairy tales. Book of Legends Told Over Again, by Horace E. Scudder. "St. George and the Dragon," "The Flying Dutchman," "The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus," "Wilhelm Tell," "The Legend of St. Christopher" and others. Bulletin of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Vol. 12, No. 1, Januarj% 1907, Reading Circles for Boys and Girls. The Child's Treasure Trove of Pearls, by Mary W. Tileston. An excellent collection of stories which have been gathered from sources of a past generation and hidden away in folk lore of various countries of thirty to sixty years ago. It includes some simple realistic stories not well known and some very excellent versions of old folk tales like the "The Three Goslings," "The Pancake" and "The Honest Penny." These have not lost their original quaintness in the retelling. Cruikshank Fairy Book. The original Cruikshank illustrations. Contains "Cinderella," 'Puss in Boots," "Hop O' My Thumb" and "Jack and the Bean Stalk." Don Quixote, edited by Mary E. Burt and Lucy L. Cable. Donegal Fairy Book, by Seumus MacManus. English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs. Fables and Folk Stories, by Horace Elisha Scudder. 17 The Fairy Ring, by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora D. Smith. Designed by its editors to be a standard fairy book for children. The educational value of the fairy story cannot be denied in its healthy stimulus of the child's imaginative power. Here Grimm, Andersen, Joseph Jacobs, Laboulaye, PerrauTt and Dascent have yielded their richest stores, but the editors have not confined themselves to these better known sources. They have gone far afield, have read and examined all existing books of fairy literature, sifting all material till they have made a generous selection which is inclusive of the very best that has ever been written. Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen. Illustrated by Thomas C. and William Robinson. Translated by Mrs. E. V. Lucas. Fanciful Tales, by Frank R, Stockton. Fairy Tales, by Jacob L. K. Grimm and W. K. Grimm. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Translated by Mrs. E. Lucas. These standard collections are part of everv child's heritage in the world of story Fairy Tales from the Far North, by P. C. Asbjomsen. Fairy Tales a Child Can Read and Act, by Lillian Edith Nixon. Written originally as supplementary reading material for children of the second grade, the success of the book has justified its publication as children's classics in dramatic form. The good, old wonder tales are presented with the utmost simplicity, and their dramatic quality has proved invaluable as a means of training the imagination, of quickening literary appreciation, and of giving power of interpretation through the development of the play instinct of childhood. Fairy Tales Children Love, by Charles Welsh. An excellent collection of familiar tales with a splendid introduction which has many suggestions as to origin and value of the stories that will be useful to the story-teller. Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin. A collection of historic tales. They are told concisely and simply with good dramatic feeling. They contain such familiar tales as "King Alfred and the Cakes," "Dick Whittington and His Cat," etc. Finding List of Fairy Tales and Folk Stories, Boston Public Library. About one hundred volumes are indexed in this list. The First Book of Stories for the Story-Teller, by Fanny E. Coe. As the title indicates, a primary book for the use of beginners in story-telling and beginners in listening. Forgotten Tales of Long Ago, by E. V. Lucas. A valuable collection of twenty tales of the period 1790-1830, which show the quaint and stilted language and proper conduct of this period. Of use to the story-teller who wishes to give an idea of the stories of long ago. For the Children's Hour, by Carolyn S. Bailey and Clara M. Lewis. E. Hassler's Graded List of Stories for Reading Aloud, Public Library Com- mission of Indiana, 1908, including both whole books and selections, which will prove stimulating and helpful, particularly in the beginning of the eflFort to introduce children to books. The Golden Spears and other fairy tales, by Edmund Leamy. A collection of Irish fairy tales, full of delicate and humorous imagina- tion and the weird love of Irish folk tales. Golden Windows, by Laura E. Richards. Very short stories to tell to very small children. i8 Granny's Wonderful Chair, by Frances Browne. This is a delightful little collection of fairy stories written by a woman who was born blind. They are told in clear, simple language, and the word pictures are full of life and color. Granny's wonderful chair which carried the little snow flower to the King's court, and at her bidding each night tells a tale to the King and his court, is a very quaint and clever way of binding these fairy pastorals together. The whole plan of the book makes it a beautiful story source for the story-teller. Grimm's Popular Tales. Introduction by John Ruskin. Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, by Mary Mapes Dodge. Heroes and Heroines Children Love, by Charles Welsh. Herakles, the Hero of Thebes, edited by Mary E. Burt. In the Days of Giants, by Abbie Farwell Brown. Index to Short Stories, by Grace E. Salisbury and Marie E. Beckwith. Stories are alphabetically indexed according to the subjects, with refer- ences to the books in which they are found. There are twenty-two stories on courage, twenty-four on contentment, forty-nine on Christmas, six on gratitude, nineteen on kindness, three on courtesy, etc. Several hundred topics appear in the list. Japanese Fairy Tales, by Yee Theodora Ozaki. Japanese Fairy Tales, by P. Williston. The Japanese stories lend themselves to story-telling because of the peculiar child-likeness of conception and delicacy of imagination. Jungle Books, by Rudyard Kipling. Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling. These stories are truly Kiplingesque in quality, and are very popular in story hour because of their unique humor. They need to be told in the author's own words. King Arthur and His Knights, by Mary Macleod. A List of Good Stories to Tell to Children under twelve years of age, Car- negie Library of Pittsburgh. There are references to books in which the stories may be found. The list includes twenty-five Bible stories, sixteen fables, fourteen myths, four- teen Christmas stories. LoBO, Rag and Vixen, by Ernest Thompson-Seton. Magic Casements, by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora D. Smith. This volume, as companion of the "Fairy Ring," completes that volume and makes with it the most exhaustive collection of fairy lore available for young readers. The editors, with their unerring gift of selection, which in itself amounts to genius, have gathered these stories that have in^ them the greatest degree of that glamor which in the language of Keats "opens magic casements" on the world of Fairyland. These two are uniform with Tales of Laughter and Tales of Wonder in "Crimson Classics." More Mother Stories, by Maud Lindsay. Miss Lindsay says: "My stories of the happy outdoor world were written in response to the needs of the little children with whom my lot is cast. * * * I have striven to keep them true to Froebel's ideals for Childhood, Truth, Simplicity and Purity." The author has succeeded in her purpose, for these Mother Tales are simple, pure and true. More English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs. 19 \ Mother Stories, by Maud Lindsay. A few simple stories for mothers aj^d children embodying some oi ui. truths of Froebel's Mother Play. Nights With Uncle Remus, by Joel Chandler Harris. These stories are the Simon pure of the negro classic so far as source material of their folk lore is concerned. The tales are very characteristic of the folk who originated them. They are quaint, whimsical with an incongruous sense of humor, and a childlike crudeness of vocabulary which makes the word picturing delightfully vivid. Nowhere does one find such a curious, childlike, humorous personification of the animal creation as in these folk tales of the negro people. The customs and characteristics of these "born story-tellers" are well brought out in Uncle Remus, who is a composite photograph of the best old Southern darkey. This book is peculiarly adapted for reading aloud and as such is suited to all ages, from the little six-year-old to the grandfather in the family circle. It is one of the universal books. There are a number of whimsical illustrations. Norse Stories as Told from the Eddas, by Hamilton Wright Mabie. Norse Fairy Tales, by P. C. Asbjornsen. Selected and adapted from the translations by G. W. Dasent. Norse Tales Retold, by Ritza Freeman and Ruth Davis. For little children and others who care to read them. Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca, edited by Mary E. Burt. Once Upon a Time Tales, by Mary Stewart, with introduction by Henry Van Dyke. Russian Grandmother's Wonder Tales, by Louise Seymour. A good picture of the Russian home life and quaint tales told by the Russian grandmother to the little boy, told as her great-great-grandmother gave them to her. The tales are simple and quaint, told in very blunt, realistic fashion. St. Nicholas Christmas Book. An excellent collection of stories which are desirable from the stand- point of reality, that is, the stories are simple and homelike ones about real people, and while many are unique in adventure, yet all are about things which might have happened to any boys and girls, and this type of story- is greatly enjoyed by girls and boys 7 to 10. Spinning Wheel Stories, by Louisa M. Alcott. Stories read to a party of children during the Christmas holidays. Stories and Poems for Children, by Celia Thaxter, Celia Thaxter has a peculiar combination of the qualities of tenderness and childlikeness of nature which makes her stories and poems especially adapted to children. A freshness and simple kindliness of thought ripples through everything she writes. Her poems are simple homelike stories in rhymes and have a beautiful lyric qualit^^ Her songs of nature are peculiarly childlike. Stories Children Love, by Charles Welsh. The author has compiled a collection of the best known stories grouped in three divisions covering the Kindergarten period, the Grammar School period, and the High School period, thus enabling parents and teachers^ to select suitable stories for their individual needs. The stories are fitting for children in every stage from the nursery to adolescence, and are beautifully illustrated. Stories from Famous Ballads, by Mrs. Sara Jane Lippincott. New edition of a very successful narration of old ballads, retaining their charm and romance. Stories from Old French Romance, by Ethel M. Wilmot-Buxton. Contains "Aucassin and Nicolette," "Constans," "Roland and Oliver," "Death of Roland," "William the Werwolf," etc. The stories are charm- ingly told and some of them are not found elsewhere. Stories of Brave Dogs. A good collection of stories calculated to show the brave, loyal side of dog nature, and to bring out the fact that the dog is our friend and helper, the one who "shares our family life, and knows us indoors and out." There is the story of Owney, the Post Office dog, "who did not attach himself to a single man or family, but to all the men of the postal service, and for years traveled about the country taking care of the United States mail bags." There are the tales of "Little Man Friday," a mongrel pup, and the schoolroom dog, as well as of many other interesting canine friends. Stories to Read or Tell, by Laura Claire Foucher. The author of this collection is one of the Children's Librarians at the New York Public Library, and this is a very good collection of myths, legends, fairy tales, fables and folk lore; fully illustrated. Stories to Tell to Children, by Sara Cone Bryant. A collection of simple stories and folk tales, chosen from many sources, and adapted by the author in response to many requests from teachers and mothers. Miss Bryant's wide experience with children as well as adults gives her a wide knowledge as to what stories are well adapted to meet the needs of many people. The retelling has the virtue of simplicity. Story Hour Courses for Children from Greek Myths, The Iliad and the Odyssey. Tales of Laughter, by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora D. Smith. A comprehensive collection of laughable tales gathered from well known sources and from out of the way places. Tales of Wonder, by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora D. Smith. The tales in this book are of many kinds of wonder, of black magic, white magic, and grey, ranging from the recital of strange and superhuman deeds and experiences to those that foreshadow modern conquests of nature and those that utilize the marvelous to teach a moral lesson. These two are uniform with the "Fairy Ring" and "Magic Casements" in "Crimson Classics." Thirty More Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin. Somewhat more advanced than "Fifty Famous Stories Retold," which were intended for very young children. Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings, by Joel Chandler Harris. Wonder Book for Boys and Girls, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Our great American novelist possesses a peculiar charm as a story- teller. When his imagination plays about a character or a story, it trans- forms it into a new creation. This is true in Hawthorne's retelling of the old Greek Myths in "The Wonder Book." The adaptation is both beautiful and picturesque, and his touch gives a fantasy and delicacy of interpretation found in no other collection. The story of Pandora is told with exquisite poetic power, and the narrative of Bellerophon, the Winged Horse, is delightful in its suggestions of freedom. The Miraculous Pitcher is one of the immortals in English literature in its tender portrayal of the kind old people Bancis and Philemon. 21 \s ■\^ BIBLE STORIES. A Book of the Christ Child, by Eleanor Hammond Broadus. A group of legends of the Christ Child from many sources, interwoven with ancient verses and illustrations from the masters. The stories are beautifully told and, while not collected for the purpose of religious instruction, they are full of spiritual symbolism which little children can deeply feel even if they cannot understand. The Castle of Zion, by George Hodges. This is a collection of the best Old Testament stories told with the same simplicity and vigor as the New Testament stories by the same author in the book entitled "When the King Came." This collection will be of especial interest to young children who are for the first time reading and becoming acquainted with the great Bible stories. Child's Christ Tales, by Andrea Hofer Proudfoot. This little book contains a collection of pretty stories and poems about religious subjects suitable for children, and it is illustrated with copies of famous paintings of the Christ Child. The Christ Story, by Eva May Tappan. The retelling of the Christ story is very beautiful. The narrative is ' natural, and the author tells the story of Jesus as she would tell it of any great man, and lets the Christ life make its own high appeal. The setting as to customs, environment, characters is vivid and picturesque. The book is well adapted to boys and girls 12 to 14, especially in the story-telling, because it gives the rich background without really touching the original beauty of the Bible story of the Christ. New Testament Stories Children Love, by Charles Welsh. Arranged and graded for children from 3 to 17. An Old, Old Story Book, by Eva May Tappan. This book is not an attempt to bring down the Scriptures to children. It is simply a collection of Old Testament stories, given in the words of the Bible, but arranged like other books in paragraphs rather than in verses. It is the Bible story in its original setting with the wise elimination of the parts not suited to the interest or welfare of young people. It is the best possible sort of an adaptation which can be made for Bible stories. Saints and Heroes, by George Hodges. Stories from the Old Testament for Children, by H. S. B. Beale. This is a strong and simple narrative of the Bible, using very largely the Bible language. It is profusely illustrated with colored pictures. Tell Me a True Story, by Mary Stewart. Bible stories for the children told by a gifted story-teller. Dr. Henry Van Dyke says: "This little book does a useful and much needed thing in a simple and beautiful way. It is written for children by one who understands and loves them. It brings the spirit and meaning of Chris- tianity down, or I should rather say up, to their level. It is not only plain in its language, but clear and natural in its thought and feeling." When the King Came, by George Hodges. On account of its simple, picturesque style, its pure and beautiful English, and its reverent attitude, this story of the life of Jesus for young people is to be most highly commended. The author's endeavor is to follow the order of the Gospel harmony, and to approach as far as possible the Scripture attitude and language. 22 \\ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS l!ll!lllililllU'ill;iill!ltil!ill:!il!!ill:il 021 364 621 7 V HoUingi pH 4I1 ■■ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 364 621 7 Hollinger Corp.