The preparation of these pages has been made easier and surer by the generous aid of Mr. Fred L. Homer, of the Central High School of Pittsburgh, and Mr. Homer L. Clark, a business man of Cleveland, in reading a greater portion of the manuscript; by Miss Emily Beal, of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, in information on illustrated editions of children's books; and by Mr. Ernest C. Noyes, of the Peabody High School of Pittsburgh, in reading the proof. For kind permission to use copyright material the author thanks Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Messrs. Doubleday, Page and Company for "Recessional"; Professor Richard G. Moulton for the arrangement of the selections of Hebrew poetry; Houghton, Mifflin and Company for the selections from Longfellow, Holmes, Emerson, and Whittier; and The Macmillan Company for the selections from Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Clough, and Rossetti. ORTON LOWE. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, May, 1914. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE v PART I. INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I. THE VALUE OF GOOD BOOKS 3 II. BOOKS AND LITERATURE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 11 III. THE LEARNING OF LYRIC POETRY BY HEART 18 PART II. SELECTIONS FOR MEMORIZING FIRST YEAR 33 SECOND YEAR 44 THIRD YEAR 56 FOURTH YEAR 67 FIFTH YEAR 81 SIXTH YEAR 96 SEVENTH YEAR 115 EIGHTH YEAR 134 PART III. SOURCES OF STANDARD PROSE FOR CHILDREN I. FAIRY TALES, HOUSEHOLD TALES, AND OTHER FANCIFUL TALES 159 II. CLASSIC MYTHS IN LITERATURE 176 III. BOOKS TO BE OWNED, TO BE READ AND REREAD 188 IV. ON THE PURCHASE AND CARE OF BOOKS 219 V. EDITIONS OF STANDARD BOOKS 232 BIBLIOGRAPHY 239 PART I INTRODUCTION LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN CHAPTER I THE VALUE OF GOOD BOOKS "The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments."