Children and Their Books | Page 7

boy takes up fads; for a while
all his interests are concentrated in boats, then in postage stamps, then
in something else. His mind must be occupied, if we cannot fill it with
good the bad will get in. Encourage the boy to read books like Tom
Brown, or Captains Courageous which show moral worth expressed
through physical activity. When he has been interested in the deeds
described in such a book have him do something of a similar character
to impress the lesson on his mind, for, as Herbert Spencer states:--
"Not by precept, though it be daily heard; not by example, unless it be
followed, but only through action, which is often called forth by the
relative feeling, can a moral habit be formed," and Edward Thring
says:--
"Boys or men become brave, and hardy, and true, not by being told to
be so, but by being nurtured in a brave and hardy and true way,
surrounded with objects likely to excite these feelings, exercised in a

manner calculated to draw them out unconsciously. For all true feeling
is unconscious in proportion to its perfection." Building up knowledge
without cultivating the power to use it is of small value. Impression
should go hand in hand with expression. Knowledge does not become
power until you use it. Children should read a great deal and reading
should be made attractive to them. The amount of real literature suited
to their taste and comprehension is not large and as much as possible of
it should be read. Matthew Arnold says that school reading should be
copious, well chosen and systematic. There is often a great difference
between the books which the child reads when under observation, and
those to which he resorts for solace and comfort and turns over and
over again when he is alone. The latter are the ones that stamp his
character. The school and the public library can never take the place of
the home library. It is the books that we own that influence us. The
child should know the joy of the ownership of books and there is no
better way to interest him in them, than by giving them to him one by
one as he reads them. He should have a place where he may keep them
in safety and should be taught to respect them and to keep them clean.
His books should have all the charm that pretty and durable binding,
clear type and bright pictures can give them. When trash is served up in
so many alluring forms something must be done to make literature
attractive. It is not enough that the child is reading what will do him no
harm, his attention should be concentrated on the permanent classics
which are suited to his comprehension and taste. He who does not read
Aesop and Robinson Crusoe and the Wonder Book in youth will very
likely never read them at all. There are a number of books like The
Pilgrim's Progress, which are constantly referred to but seldom read. A
great deal of the time and mental energy of children is wasted. The total
freedom from books and from all other refining influences during
vacations is as unnecessary as it is deplorable. An hour a day wisely
employed and directed during the summer would give a boy or girl an
acquaintance with Longfellow or Hawthorne, that would be a joy and
inspiration in all after life. The study of the author's biography in
connection with his works has an educational value which nothing else
can replace. Consider the influence of a thorough acquaintance with
Longfellow or Lowell. The atmosphere which surrounded them, the
things that interested them, the sources of their inspiration, the way in

which the common experiences of life grew beautiful under the
influence of their poetic imagination would be a civilizing force
throughout life. That chance is to but a small extent a factor of success,
that nothing is attained by the brightest mind without that infinite
patience and labor which in itself is genius, the brave way in which
such men met trial and adversity:--these are lessons which are not
studied as they should be.
Because the imagination is developed early, children are able to find a
real delight in poetry even when it is beyond their complete
understanding. Sir Walter Scott says:--"There is no harm, but, on the
contrary, there is benefit in presenting a child with ideas beyond his
easy and immediate comprehension. The difficulties thus offered, if not
too great or too frequent, stimulate curiosity and encourage exertion."
As a melody once heard keeps on repeating itself in the ears, so a
beautiful thought makes an impression upon the mind that may never
be effaced. Charles Eliot Norton says:--
"Poetry is one of the most