Most children are advanced enough at this age to prefer what is a little out of their own field; though here there will always be the differing tastes for adventure or character, and imaginative or matter-of-fact literature. What will fall flat with some will be appreciated by others; and, in general, what has been read to them is best liked. Explanations can be given, right intonations are explanatory in themselves, and foreign or unusual names are better understood.
64. Under the Lilacs. By Louisa Alcott. (Sampson Low) 2s.
A stray boy and poodle, escaped from a circus, arrive in the middle of a doll’s feast held by a widow’s little girls. The house becomes their home, and the scenes are delightful, especially when the poor dog is lost and comes back minus his tail.
65. On Angels’ Wings. By the Hon. Mrs. Greene. (Nelson) 5s.
Pathetic and tender. A deformed and sickly child in a German town has to part with her father on his summons to the war. Little Violet’s patience, the drolleries of her little friends, the kindness of the old policeman, and the thoughtlessness of her young nurse go to children’s hearts.
66. The Abbey by the Sea. By Mrs. Molesworth. (S.P.C.K.) 1s.
A furniture designer of evidently much cultivation with his little daughter by the sea-side. Perhaps too ideal, but refining.
67. The Golden Thread. By Dr. Norman McLeod. (Isbister) 2s. 6d.
This will also be found among the allegories, but it is, even as a mere story or romance, so charming to young listeners that it is here introduced.