Maude Radford Warren’s Tales Told by the Gander is one of those books for children that adults find interesting, too; and there is a new series of children’s books by May Byron, concerning which I must say a few words. The series is called “Old Friends in New Frocks” and here are a few of the titles:
Billy Butt’s Adventure: The Tale of the Wolf and the Goat.
Little Jumping Joan: The Tale of the Ants and the Grasshopper.
Jack-a-Dandy: The Tale of the Vain Jackdaw.
These books are noteworthy for their beautiful illustrations. Each volume has an inspired and fanciful frontispiece in colours by E. J. Detmold and line illustrations by Day Hodgetts. Moreover, there are end papers and the binding has a picture in colour that begins on the back and extends all the way around in front. Naturally they are for very young children—shall we say up to seven years old?
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On April 29, 1922, the Philadelphia Public Ledger printed a letter from twelve-year-old Marion Kummer, as follows:
“Dear Mr. Editor: My father asked me to write you a story about him and they say at school that I am good at stories, so I thought I would. I think he thinks I can write and become a great writer like him some day, but I would rather be a great actress like Leonora Ulrick. I saw her in a play where she went to sleep and they stuck pins in her but could not wake her up, which part I should not like. But at that I would rather be an actress because acting is pleasanter and more exciting and you do not have to write on the typewriter all day and get a pain in your back. Daddy says he would rather shovel coal but he does not, but snow sometimes, which has been very plentiful about here this winter, also sledding.
“When he is not working, he goes for a walk with the dogs, or tells us most any question we should ask almost like an encikelopedia. He is very good-natured and I love the things he writes, especially plays. Daddy has just finished a children’s book called The Earth’s Story about how it began millions of years ago when there was a great many fossils, so nice for children. Also about stone axes. My brother Fred made one but when he was showing us how it worked the head came off and hit me on the foot and I kicked him. So stone axes were one of the man’s first weapons. Daddy read us each chapter when it was done and we helped him except baby brother who wrote with red crayon all over one chapter when no one was there, and he should not have been in Daddy’s office anyway. Daddy has to draw horses and engines for him all the time. He gets tired of it but what can he do?”
Now this is very pleasant, for here on the table is the first volume of The Earth’s Story—The First Days of Man by Frederic Arnold Kummer; and this book for children has a preface for parents in it. In that preface Mr. Kummer says: