Within the last few years the interest that has been aroused throughout the country in "nature-study," has caused a great demand for this class of books. Writers and publishers have hastened to meet the demand and as a result the market has been flooded with books that were made to sell. Too often the writers have not been scientific persons, and as a result the books have been mere compilations, or were not true to facts. They lacked the true spirit of science. Other authors have not separated the element of fiction from that of science, thinking that the child could only be interested in nature by means of a story. The writer of this paper does not believe that science books should be made story books. "Tenants of an old farm," by McCook, is a good illustration of the combination of the science and story element. The author is a naturalist and whatever facts are presented may be accepted as being as nearly correct as it is possible to make them since they represent the results of careful personal observation. The author himself did not believe that the truths of nature were so unattractive that they needed to be woven into a story in order that the book might find its way to the general reader. Then why did he employ this method? He was persuaded by his friends to change the original plan of the book and presented it, after much hesitation, in its present form. The book has thereby lost much of its usefulness.
Another element that many authors have employed to a greater or less extent is personification. That the value of a book is lessened thereby and its power over the reader greatly decreased, is beyond question. There may be some excuse for a limited amount of personification in the treatment of bees, wasps, or ants, but the majority of forms of plant and animal life does not need the human factor in order to make clear life-relationships. Grant Allen, in his "Story of the plants," has described the use of the stamens and pistils as "how plants marry" and the modes of fertilization as "various marriage customs." Allen Gould, in "Mother Nature's children," speaks of the "snakehead" fish and its young as "Mr. and Mrs. Snakehead and their babies" and of the seed-vessels of plants as "ways the mother plants have of cradling their babies." This method of treating nature's truths does not make the facts any clearer to the child; it only tends to diminish the grandeur of that truth. Some writers have considered it desirable to embody the thought in terms that are already, or are supposed to be, familiar to the child, that he may be able to grasp the truth. The author forces upon the child a double task, since he must first get the thought as it appears and then search for the concealed fact. This process is not liable to be successful. Mrs. Dana, in "Plants and her children," uses the term "sweet stuff" for nectar, "watery-broth" for the cell-sap of plants. The food of plants is spoken of as the "plant's bill of fare," and in [expressing] the fact that the crude sap which is taken up by the roots needs to be converted into elaborated sap before it may be used as food, she says "When the watery broth is cooked in the sun, the heat of the sun's rays causes the water to pass off through the little leaf mouths. Thus the broth is made fit for plant food." Must not the child possess some scientific knowledge before he will be able to understand the author's meaning? "Plants and her children" is a valuable book, but would not its merits be greatly enhanced if the scientific facts were told in simple language? They certainly have interest enough in themselves to be attractive to the child. Books like Hooker's "Child's book of nature" should be discarded. They represent the old scientific thought. No sympathy or interest in life is aroused, no relationships are suggested, no adaptation to environment is shown, no incentive is given for personal observation. Why should we cling to the old when a book can be obtained that will more nearly satisfy our needs?
There is often a great difference in the individual merits of books by the same author. Mabel Osgood Wright's "Birdcraft" is valuable, while "Tommy Anne and the three hearts" and "Wabeno" are the reverse. The last two represent a type of book that should not be included in a science library. The fairy and story element so greatly exceeds the scientific as to render the books absolutely valueless, nor are they a success from a literary standpoint. No book in which the author wanders from one subject to another, in such rapid succession that the reader has difficulty in following the thought, or is so vague that an effort must be made to understand the topic treated, can be of much practical value. The greater number of the Appleton's "Home reading books" possess little merit. The selections were not written for children; they lack simplicity, are not attractive and are too technical. The article "The life of plants" in "Plant world" would require two or three readings by an adult in order to understand what the author was discussing. The best books in this series are Weed's "Insect world" and Holden's "Family of the sun" and "Stories of great astronomers." Such books as Fanny Bergen's "Glimpses at the plant world," Carpenter's "Geographies," Kearton's "Our bird friends," and Weed's "Stories of Insect life" represent the style of book that the elementary science of to-day demands. We do not wish to make scientists of the children, but by means of the best books on nature-study we would prepare the way for elementary science. Nature-study is not science, for science is classified knowledge. So far as possible let the elements of personification and fiction be omitted, do not select books that are too technical or vague, that are not well illustrated, and that are not true to science.
Then our libraries will contain books that will incite the self-activity of the child and arouse the spirit of investigation; books that will stimulate observation and inculcate a spirit of tenderness and love for all life.
Ella A. Holmes, Assistant curator,
Children's Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.
[BULLETIN WORK FOR CHILDREN.]
By Charlotte Elizabeth Wallace, Hazelwood Branch, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
The primary object of bulletin work is to direct the attention of the children to the books. The bulletin, like a poster, attracts the eye, arouses interest in a subject, and advertises the books treating of it. By means of picture bulletins interest may be awakened in topics before unnoticed; the children are curious to learn more about the pictures displayed, their curiosity is further excited by the short descriptive text, and as a result books relating to the subject are read. Thus, without rousing the children's suspicions, we are able to guide their reading.