APPENDIX

Mother Goose.Marigold Garden.Under the Window.A. Apple Pie.

Mr. Walter Crane's

Baby's Opera,Baby's Bouquet,

and various toy books.

Four favorite books of comic verse are Edward Lear's

Book of Nonsense.More Nonsense.Nonsense, Songs and Stories.

Four books, more recent, which come nearer to poetry than anything already mentioned, are—

A large collection of verse of the kind already described, with the addition of ballads, open-air rhymes, animal verses and other matter—intended to pave the way to real poetry—exists in

A Book of Verses for Children.Another Book of Verses for Children,

compiled by E. V. Lucas. After these, we come to collections containing real poetry, two excellent ones being

There is also

a collection for boys. Selections from Tennyson, Browning, and other poets, intended for children, have been made, but most young explorers of poetry like to have the completeworks and hunt for themselves. Other popular books of poetry are—

Many boys also like the humorous stories inBarham's Ingoldsby Legends.

To this section, which is suited more particularly for girls, belong a large number of stories of a very popular kind: stories describing the ordinary life of children of to-day, with such adventures as any of us can have near home. Years ago the favorites were—

But these are not read as they used to be, partly because taste has changed, and partly because so many other books can now be procured. But fifty and more years ago they were in every nursery library.

The Swiss Family Robinson,

the most famous family book of all, will be found in the adventure section, to which perhaps really belong

Feats on the Fiord,The Settlers at Home,

by Harriet Martineau, although these two, and

The Crofton Boys

may be included here. Here also belong Maria Edgeworth's

Moral Tales for Young People.The Parent's Assistant,

which, although their flavor is old-fashioned, are yet as interesting as ever they were.

Another writer whose popularity is no longer what it was is Jacob Abbott, the author of a number of fascinating stories of home life (on farms and in the country) in America in the middle of last century. The Franconia stories are these:—

Beechnut.Wallace.Madeline.Caroline.Mary Erskine.Mary Bell.Stuyvesant.Agnes.

And this is the Rollo series, intended by Mr. Abbott for rather younger readers:—

The Little Scholar Learning to Talk.Rollo Learning to Read.Rollo at Play.Rollo at Work.Rollo at School.Rollo's Vacation.

A list of other books, which come more or less rightly under the head of "Stories about Children" follows, the earlier ones being better suited to younger readers, and the later ones to older, the age aimed at in this chapter (and indeed in the whole book), ranging from five to fifteen.

By Kate Douglas Wiggin:—

Polly Oliver's Problem.Timothy's Quest.

By Louisa M. Alcott:—

Little Women.Good Wives.Eight Cousins.Rose in Bloom.Spinning-Wheel Stories.Little Men.Jo's Boys.An Old-Fashioned Girl.Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag.Comic Tragedies.

The Little Pepper Series, and the Elsie Books.

By Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett:—

Little Lord Fauntleroy.Editha's Burglar.The Captain's Youngest.Sara Crew.

By Mrs. Whitney:—

We Girls.Faith Gartney's Girlhood.The Gayworthys.Leslie Goldthwaite.

By Gelett Burgess:—

Goops, and How to be Them.More Goops, and How Not to be Them.Goop Tales.The Lively City o'Ligg.The Burgess Nonsense Book.

This section is necessarily more incomplete than any of the others, since it is impossible to keep pace with the great number of stories of this kind which are published every Christmas. But a few more may be added:—

Here also belong many of the stories of Miss Yonge, and we might perhaps placeUncle Tom's Cabinhere too.

In this section are placed stories of modern boys, either at home or at school, and their ordinary home or school adventures. Among the best are—

and

Others are—

The best school story will probable always be

Among the books of this kind meant rather for grownup readers, but read also by boys, are—

This is the largest group of books usually described as "for boys," although girls often read them too with hardly less interest. The first place in this class will probably always be held by Defoe's

Robinson Crusoe,

and it is likely that most votes for second place would go to

The Swiss Family Robinson.

After these we come to modern authors whose books have been written especially for boys, first among whom is the late Mr. R. M. Ballantyne, the author of, among numerous other books,

The Coral Island.The Gorilla Hunters.The Dog Crusoe.The Pirate City.Ungava.The Wild Man of the West.The Iron Horse.Fighting the Flames.Erling the Bold.Martin Rattler.The Fur Traders.The Red Man's Revenge.

Many of Ballantyne's readers make a point of going through the whole series of his books. The other titles can be collected from the advertisement pages at the end of these volumes. With R. M. Ballantyne is usually associated the name of the late W. H. G. Kingston ("Kingston and Ballantyne the brave," Stevenson called them in the verses at the beginning ofTreasure Island, another book which comes high in this section). Kingston's stories were also very numerous, but it will serve our purpose here to mention only the following six:—

Peter the Whaler.The Three Midshipmen.The Three Lieutenants.The Three Commanders.The Three Admirals.From Powder-Monkey to Admiral.

Several authors have carried on Ballantyne and Kingston's work. Chief among these are Mr. G. A. Henty and Mr. G. Manville Fenn. Here are six of Mr. G. A. Henty's stories:—

Out on the Pampas.The Young Colonists.The Young Franc-Tireurs.In the Heart of the Rockies.Maori and Settler.Redskin and Cowboy.

And here are eight of Mr. G. Manville Fenn's:—

Brownsmith's Boy.Bunyip Land.Bevon Boys.Dick o' the Fens.The Golden Magnet.Fix Bay'nets.Jungle and Stream.Menhardoc.

Mr. Max Pemberton, author of

The Iron Pirate.The Impregnable City.

"Q." (Mr. Quiller Couch), author of

Dead Man's Rock.The Silver Spur.

and Mr. David Kerr, author of

The Boy Slave in Bokhara.Lost Among the White Africans.The Wild Horseman of the Pampas.Cossack and Czar.Old Tartar Deserts.Prisoner among Pirates.

Jules Verne is a French writer, but his stories have always quickly been translated into English, many of them by Mr. Henry Frith. Their titles are a good guide to their subject, for Jules Verne goes to science for some wonderful invention, such as a submarine boat or a flying machine, and then surrounds it with extraordinary adventures. Among his best books are—

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.Round the World in Eighty Days.Five Weeks in a Balloon.The English at the North Pole.The Clipper of the Clouds.From the Earth to the Moon.The Mysterious Island.A Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

First of English inventors of fantastic stories of adventure is Mr. Rider Haggard. His three most popular books are—

King Solomon's Mines.She.Allan Quatermain.

The books already named, with the exception ofRobinson Crusoe, were written especially for boys. Other books which were not so intended, but have come to be read moreby boys than any one else, include Fenimore Cooper's Indian stories, of which these are four:—

The Last of the Mohicans.The Pathfinder.The Deerslayer.The Bee Hunters.

Other Indian stories are those of Gustave Aimard, translated from the French, among which are these:—

The Last of the Incas.The Trail Hunter.The Indian Scout.The Gold-Seekers.The Red River Half-Speed.The Border Rifles.The Trappers of Arkansas.

These are, of course, North American tales. Other North American tales are those of Captain Mayne Reid, which include—

The Boy Hunters.The Boy Slaves.Bruin, or The Grand Bear Hunter.The Bush Boys.The Castaways.The White Chief.The Desert Home.The Forest Exiles.The Giraffe Hunters.The Headless Horseman.The Rifle Rangers.The Scalp Hunters.

In this section belong the books of Mr. George Bird Grinnell, author of

Jack in the Rockies.Jack, the Young Ranchman.Jack Among the Indians.Jack, the Young Canoeman.Jack, the Young Trapper.

Also Harold Bindloss'

The Young Traders.

And to this section belong also stories of the sea, several of which have already been mentioned. High among these are Captain Marryat's

Poor Jack,Masterman Ready,

together with many of his tales intended originally for older readers, such as

Jacob Faithful.Mr. Midshipman Easy.Peter Simple.Snarleyyow.

Mr. Clark Russell's stories:—

The Wreck of the "Grosvenor."The Golden Hope.An Ocean Free-Lance.The Frozen Pirate.

Here also belong Mr. Kipling's

Captains Courageous,

and an old sea favorite—

Other good sea books, not fiction:—

New historical stories are published in great numbers every year. The most popular author of this kind of book for boys is Mr. G. A. Henty, among whose very numerous historical tales, all good, are—

At Aboukir and Acre.At Agincourt.Bonnie Prince Charlie.By Right of Conquest.The Dash for Khartoum.In the Reign of Terror.With Moore at Corunna.The Lion of St. Mark.Maori and Settler.St. Bartholomew's Eve.Under Drake's Flag.With Clive in India.With Frederick the Great.With Lee in Virginia.

By Rev. A. J. Church—

The Chantry Priest of Barnet.The Count of the Saxon Shore.Stories from English History.With the King at Oxford.

Other historical tales:—

By R. L. Stevenson—

The Black Arrow.Kidnapped.David Balfour.

By Charles Kingsley—

Hereward the Wake.Westward Ho!

By Conan Doyle—

Micah ClarkeThe White Company.The Refugees.

By Stanley J. Weyman—

The House of the Wolf.Under the Red Robe.The Man in Black.A Gentleman of France.

By Mr. Andrew Balfour—

By Stroke of Sword.To Arms!

By Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper.Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.

There are also historical stories more particularly intended by their authors for grown-up readers, but which boys and girls can, however, find quite interesting enough, even if much has to be skipped. First among these are Sir Walter Scott's novels:—

Ivanhoe.Kenilworth.Woodstock.Quentin Durward.Rob Roy.The Abbott.The Monastery.The Talisman.

Other writers and books follow. By Alexandre Dumas—

The Three Musketeers.Twenty Years After.The Vicomte de Brageleonne.Marguerite de Valois.Chicot the Jester.The Forty-five Guardsmen.

By Charles Dickens—

Barnaby Rudge.A Tale of Two Cities.

By Lord Lytton—

Rienzi.Harold.The Last of the Barons.The Last Days of Pompeii.

First among the animal books are Mr. Kipling's twoJungle Books. Two other beast stories by Mr. Kipling are "Moti Guj, Mutineer," the tale of a truant elephant, which is inLife's Handicapand "The Maltese Cat," a splendid tale of a polo pony, which is inThe Day's Work. Next to these comes Mr. E. Thompson-Seton'sWild Animals I Have Known.The lives of animals by themselves, or by some one who knows everything about them, are always favorite books with small readers. Among the best are these:—

The best tale of a bear is perhaps Bret Harte's "Baby Sylvester," which will be found in one of his volumes of short stories. Good animal stories are scattered about other collections of short stories. In Mr. Anstey'sPaleface and Redskinare stories of dogs.

Mr. Lang's

Red Book of Animal Stories

has both dogs and cats in it, and many other creatures too. Here also should be placed Mr. Warde Fowler's

Tales of the Birds.

Other very popular animal books are Mr. Joel Chandler Harris's

Nights with Uncle Remus,Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit (largely illustrations),Mr. Rabbit at Home,

and the same author has written also

The Story of Aaron,Aaron in the Wild Woods,

which are stories not only of animals, but of people too; and here, perhaps, may be placedÆsop's Fables.

is an attempt to do for English wild life somewhat the same service that Mr. Kipling performed for India.

Other open air and animal books are:—

By the Rev. J. G. Wood—

By Back-yard Zoo.Pet Land revisited.Pet LandA Tour Round My Garden.

Also

A series of very interesting scientific books, under the general title "The Romance of Science," is published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Among these volumes are—

The same publishers also issue a series of "Natural History Rambles," including—

There is also a new series, called "The Wonder Books of Science," of which

The Wonder Book of Volcanoes and Earthquakes, andThe Wonder Book of the Atmosphere

are the first.

Other good scientific yet very entertaining books:—

A good deal of more or less truthful history will be found in the section given to historical tales (seepage 380). Here follows a small list of more serious historical books which also are good reading:—

It is not important that travel books should be written especially for young readers. Almost all records of travel contain some pages of interest, whatever the remainder may be like. The fact that a book describes wanderings in a far country is enough.

But the books by Commander Robert E. Peary and his wife deserve mention.

Snowland Folk.The Snow Baby.Children of the Arctic.

On this page is given a copy of the book mark which a clergyman, Mr. Henry Maxson, prepared for the use of the readers in the children's section of a library in Wisconsin.

BOOK MARKOnce upon a time a Library Book was overheard talking to a little boy who had just borrowed it. The words seemed worth recording, and here they are:—"Please don't handle me with dirty hands. I should feel ashamed to be seen when the next little boy borrowed me."Or leave me out in the rain. Books can catch cold as well as children."Or make marks on me with your pen or pencil. It would spoil my looks."Or lean on me with your elbows when you are reading me. It hurts."Or open me and lay me face down on the table. You wouldn't like to be treated so."Or put in between my leaves a pencil or anything thicker than a single sheet of thin paper. It would strain my back."Whenever you have finished reading me, if you are afraid of losing your place, don't turn down the corner of one of my leaves, but have a neat little Book Mark to put in where you stopped, and then close me and lay me down on my side, so that I can have a good, comfortable rest."Remember that I want to visit a great many other little boys after you have done with me. Besides, I may meet you again some day, and you would be sorry to see me looking old and torn and soiled. Help me to keep fresh and clean, and I will help you to be happy."

BOOK MARK

Once upon a time a Library Book was overheard talking to a little boy who had just borrowed it. The words seemed worth recording, and here they are:—

"Please don't handle me with dirty hands. I should feel ashamed to be seen when the next little boy borrowed me.

"Or leave me out in the rain. Books can catch cold as well as children.

"Or make marks on me with your pen or pencil. It would spoil my looks.

"Or lean on me with your elbows when you are reading me. It hurts.

"Or open me and lay me face down on the table. You wouldn't like to be treated so.

"Or put in between my leaves a pencil or anything thicker than a single sheet of thin paper. It would strain my back.

"Whenever you have finished reading me, if you are afraid of losing your place, don't turn down the corner of one of my leaves, but have a neat little Book Mark to put in where you stopped, and then close me and lay me down on my side, so that I can have a good, comfortable rest.

"Remember that I want to visit a great many other little boys after you have done with me. Besides, I may meet you again some day, and you would be sorry to see me looking old and torn and soiled. Help me to keep fresh and clean, and I will help you to be happy."

In making a book of this kind, it is impossible to think of all the things that ought to be mentioned. Every reader is certain to know of some game or pastime that has been left out. In order that you may yourself bring this collection nearer completeness, the following Appendix of blank pages has been added. Some reference to everything that is written in the Appendix ought to be made, if only in pencil, in both the body of the book and in the Index.

Back to Index Next