- Catalogue of Books for Secondary Schools.
- Prize List, Education Committee, London County Council. Graded.
- Buckingham Palace Road Library. Mr. Pacy.
- Cable Street, Stepney, E., Library. Mr. Roebuck.
- Descriptive Handbook to Juvenile Literature. Finsbury Public Libraries, Mr. Cannons.
- Group of Books for Schools. Librarian of the Cardiff Library. Mr. Ballinger.
As far as nature books are concerned, it will be found that local differences have to be observed; yet, though the British and American writers are bound to these limitations, they are none the less alike in their scope—to furnish the juvenile readers with a ready reference guide to objects around them. In the present instance, the list which has been compiled, voted upon, and arranged, may suit the English child as well as the American child, although certain local inclusions need to be balanced by the substitution of English counterparts. The American school story, per se, will never supplant its English predecessor in “Tom Brown at Rugby,” or even “The Crofton Boys.” The American library shelves are stacked with the English make of book. And it must be acknowledged that, in point of scholarship, the English classics, given a library and literary format, surpass the school-book shape in every way. In this connection, it is well to heed the warning of Miss Moore:
“The choice of editions is not based upon extended comparative work. [What is said of her list applies as well to the present one.] It represents merely the editions which have come to my notice, some of them being quite unsatisfactory. This is an era of educational publications and, while many of these are admirably adapted to their purpose, we have need to be constantly on our guard not to overstock children’s libraries with books which have no artistic merit as to cover or general make-up, and which therefore fail to make a definite individual impression on the mind of the child and give to a children’s library the general appearance of book-shelves devoted to supplementary reading.”
Were this intended to be an exclusive list, many very rigourous omissions would have been the result; but it is better to err upon the generous side than to appeal to an exceptional taste. “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp” is the Browning philosophy, but in the climb upward the intermediate tendrils are necessary for holding on; nor must they be removed until something is assured to take their place. The removal of inferior books from the shelves will not remedy the matter, unless existing circumstances are such as to meet the case.
Where it is possible, the least expensive edition has been adopted; although it is often a fact that no choice has been given. A good edition for a library is the most desirable, and those committees are unwise which sacrifice quality for quantity. On the other hand, it is unfortunate that a more suitable arrangement cannot exist, whereby the artistic books, which, by reason of their decorative character, are perforce expensive, could be offered at less exorbitant rates to an institution of such social importance as a library.
II. A List of Selected Books for Children.
PICTURE-BOOKS AND PICTURES
(The Nister Picture-Books are sold in this country by Dutton.)
Bedford, Frances D.—Book of Shops. (Verses by E. V. Lucas.) Dutton, $2.50.
Bradley, Will—Peter Poodle, Toy Maker to the King. Dodd, $1.50 net.