The first paper of the session was by Miss Caroline M. Hewins, and in her absence was read by Miss Helen E. Haines. It dealt with
BOOK REVIEWS, LISTS AND ARTICLES ON CHILDREN'S READING: ARE THEY OF PRACTICAL VALUE TO THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN?
(See[ p. 57.])
The subject was discussed by Miss Haines, who said:
Miss Hewins' criticisms and deductions are so sound that there is little to add to what she has said, except in the way of assent. The children's librarian who relies only upon what she can find in print to tell her what she ought to think about children's literature, leans upon a broken reed. In general, reviews in this field are valueless, owing to lack of discrimination and of good taste, and to indifference. The reason for this is the unimportance of the subject, from the standpoint of the average reviewer or literary editor. Miss Hewins has stated with entire fairness the conditions that control reviews of children's books. Christmas time—the "rush season"—is practically the only time when they are given attention, and then owing to the great mass of review copies to be handled, notices are most inadequate. Indeed, most of these notices are evolved from material supplied by the publisher with the book—the trail of the publisher is over them all.
There is not yet among children's librarians a sufficient "body of doctrine"—critical judgment, knowledge of books—to produce satisfactory library lists. Such lists are too often made up from hearsay, or through selection from other lists, which is almost always unsatisfactory. The most prevalent and serious defect in these annotated library lists is the use of too many words which mean nothing. In this work especially "the adjective is the enemy of the substantive." Even the Carnegie list, excellent as a whole and probably the best of the kind yet published, is crude in some respects, and would stand pruning. There is too frequent use of such phrases as "a wholesome book," "a cheery tale," "a children's classic," and there is too great a preponderance of American books, of commonplace "series," of books in what may be called the public-school rut. As an example of "what not to do" in book annotation, extracts may be given from a recent annotated list of children's books, which included the following:
Warner, S. The wide, wide world.
Miss Warner is one of the best friends a young girl can have as chaperone into the delightful kingdom of romance.
Weyman, S. The house of the wolf.
A modern English version of a curious French memoir written about 1620.