It goes without saying that each book is read carefully by at
least one member of the selection committee with special
reference to the home libraries. It is not enough that a
competent judge has read it without having that in mind. We are
constantly tempted to give these readers books a little too old
for them. They enjoy books which children who have always been
familiar with books would be ready for three or four years
earlier.
Visitors should be prepared for disappointment in the quality of
the reading that is done. At the beginning of my work with the
children I was delighted with their enthusiasm over the books. To
be sure their choice was often determined by the attractiveness
of the cover or big type, or the bigness or littleness of the
book. I soon found that it was a rare thing for a child to read a
book through. They would often say with pride "I read 30 or 60
pages" and were unwilling to take the book again, though claiming
to like it. It is a slow process, but now after over two years
they read with much more enjoyment and thoroughness. It was a
long step ahead when the brightest child in the group began to
read the continued stories in the St. Nicholas and to watch
eagerly for the next number.
I wonder if these children are not in a way a type of the readers
in our larger libraries. We fondly hope that there will be an
immediate and hearty acceptance of the good things which we have
spread out with such lavish expenditure of our own life, later we
learn that even among the educated classes the genuine reading
habit is the heritage of the few and among the many must be the
result of a slow and steady growth.
I think we have improved on the Boston plan in dealing with the
magazines. They take nine different periodicals and break the
year up so that with one library of 15 books the children have
parts of five periodicals. We put 18 books in each library and
subscribe regularly for each group of children for St. Nicholas
and Youth's Companion. In some of the groups the children have
not cared for Youth's Companion. It has been given a fair trial
since July, 1894, and we have just substituted Harper's Round
Table as an experiment. Other groups, however, are devoted to the
Youth's Companion. St. Nicholas is a prime favorite with all.
We do not buy cheap editions. Grimm's "Fairy tales" is selected
in the tasteful Macmillan edition with illustrations by Walter
Crane. Hawthorne's "Wonderbook" is given to them in the exquisite
illustrated edition of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. We consider the
illustrations and the dainty covers a part of the educative value
of the book. We do not cover the books permanently, but give them
covers which slip on and off easily that they may use them at
their pleasure. A good deal of pride is developed in each group
of children in having the little library clean when it passes on
to the next group.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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