“As far as I can judge, girls and boys of this age enjoy Jules Verne,* Charles Wagner, H. Gréville, H. Malot, E. About, Erckmann-Chatrian,* Anatole France, Daudet, and La Fontaine, the two I have starred being special favourites with boys. Of course, I would not recommend for children everything by these authors. I have suggested many books in the Bibliothèque Rose; there are other writers in that collection, such, for example, as Mme. Cazin, Mlle. J. Gouraud, Maistre, Mayne-Reid, Mme. Pape-Carpantier, Mme. de Stolz, and Mme. de Witt,—all of whom have done some excellent juvenile work. But a parent should not be satisfied with a recommendation; personal judgment is the surest test.
“Regarding poetry, there are many short pieces by Mme. Tastu, well adapted for very young children. In the anthologies which are published you are most likely to find such pieces as Victor Hugo’s ‘L’enfant,’ ‘Pour les pauvres,’ ‘Après la bataille’; Lamartine’s ‘L’automne,’ ‘Milly’; extracts from Corneille and Racine; and Chateaubriand’s well-known ‘Combien j’ai douce souvenance.’ Then there are a number of Coppée’s poems; Bérenger’s ‘Les souvenirs du peuple,’ and ‘A mon habit’; André Chénier’s ‘La jeune Captive’; Hégésippe Moreau’s ‘La Voulzie’; Brizeux’s ‘La pauvre fille’; Theuriet’s ‘La Chanson du Vannier’; and poems of Mme. Desborde-Valmore. This will give some idea of how rich the field of poetry is, which, with La Fontaine alone, would supply children with untold enjoyment.
“The educational value in most of the books which I have suggested consists chiefly in the attractive manner in which they are written; there is no ‘leçon de morale’ in disguise in the style, yet such books are more than well-written stories. Children read Mme. de Ségur’s books with much more pleasure than they do the old-fashioned Berquin’s, which are ‘ennuyeux.’ Such stories as Mme. de Ségur writes make a deep impression, since they teach agreeably to love the qualities which we grown-ups wish to see in children, and to dislike those faults which we would blame in them, even if, sometimes, the naughty child in the story is made attractive.
“You will see, we have no special books of animal stories, such as you publish in England and in America—unless you consider, of course, La Fontaine’s fables, which do not give any practical knowledge of animal life. Books which appeal to the heart, or to the imagination, are very popular with French children, who are naturally sensitive and imaginative; but, after all, is it not so with every child, French or English or American?
“It has been my experience that American children (the very young ones), if they were able to read the French books French children of the same age read, enjoyed them quite as much. The difference in national temperament develops later on. The American boy or girl grows up more rapidly than the French boy or girl; acquires the practical sense sooner; has a more real view of life. Perhaps this is due largely to the fact that the French child has little independence, and hence is unpractical. But there is a compensation somewhere, for the French child’s mind is subtler, and his imagination more vivid. I do not think we have any library system at present where children’s work is a specialty; in fact, our public libraries are mostly frequented by grown-up people. I have never seen children, as far as I can recollect, in any of our libraries.”—Mlle. Emilie Michel, in a letter to the author.
Both Brentano and Dryrsen & Pfeiffer (successors to Christern), as well as W. R. Jenkins Co., New York, issue complete catalogues, French and German, in which illustrated books, magazines, and series of special volumes are suggested. They differ so markedly in prices, that no uniformity can be reached. But except in the case of illustrated albums, it may be claimed, generally, that the prices are reasonable.
About, Edmond—Le Roi des Montagnes.
L’Homme à l’oreille Cassée.
Carraud, Mme.—La petite Jeanne. Bibliothèque Rose.
Daudet, Alphonse—Tartarin de Tarascon.