New-York tribune. [volume], December 11, 1915, Page 9, Image 9

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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BOORS AND AUTHORS REVIEWS AND COMMENT
If Well Chosen Books Increase in Value and In?
terest with Each Succeeding Day, and
Every Book Is the Nucleus of
a Possible Library.
Tilia is the season of books par excellence.
Enter any bookstore in the city and be convinced.
Books are living companions if once one begins to
cultivate their acquaintance. Theirs is an infinite
variety that nothing can stale. The taste for read?
ing, once formed, is a pleasure of life that endures
to the end.
BUY BOOKS, READ BOOKS, GIVE BOOKS!
And books are an inexpensive pleasure, the
most easily attainable luxury of modern civiliza?
tion. Their cost bears no relation to their value.
One can have the best, the highest that human
wisdom, knowledge, imagination has written for
a few cents. All that may be had in finest dress of
paper, type and binding, but it is to hand, mod?
estly, on any book counter. Too many respect
literature at a distance, as something solemn, to be
approached with much worshipful preparation.
In reality it is a friendly, an intimate art, ready to
ingratiate itself if only one will open its pages.
Don't treat literature too seriously; consider it as
you consider the drama, an evening's relaxation
from the work of the day.
CONSULT THE BOOKSELLER WHO
KNOWS HIS WARES.
nose who enter bookstores only on festive
rxc . 'ions should consult the bookseller. Habit?
ual book buyers need not be told. Don't look for
keys to a dark mystery. The field of literature
ma>' be approached from any side. You can link
your reading to your newspaper, your magazine
?trace what interests you in the news of the day
to its sources. You can approach poetry through
the Elizabethans or Noyes, Masefield, Masters;
or you can make a beginning with Tennyson, the
Brownings and Whittier. It does not matter
whether you begin in fiction with Bret Harte or
Dicken9 or Trollope, or start with the moderns,
with Mrs. Wharton, Winston Churchill, Wells,
Ernest Poole, or Mr. Howells, that master delin?
eator of nineteenth-century American life in
transformation.
HAVE BOOKS IN RESERVE IN YOUR
HOUSE!
Wait for the mood, the opportunity. Have
hooks within reach even though your interests lie
f-lsewhere. These may fail you on some rainy
?lay or stormy evening, in days of convalescence.
The occupants of your shelf will patiently await
?"heir time. They ask no more than to be an add?
ed interest in your existence. Buying books with
0!-?* * definite intention of reading them, or with
the vague one of reading them "some time"?
buying them merely as inexpensive and most dec?
orative furnishings, even, is a good habit. For
tew can live with books without coming under
their influence, without learning to appreciate
their resources in some degree, however slight.
And even in the least bookish family there is al?
ways one member who is born with the blessed
taste for reading, whether it be a taste for fiction
?^d poetry or a thirst for knowledge. And there
-?re very few books that do not satisfy both.
BOOKS FOR ALl AGES, ALL TASTES,
ALL PURSES.
In these practical days, returns on invest
toentf are so much considered and discussed that
loul.uu-xl on past cle-rea, 7th sad otit oluuma.
^??^??
DRAWING I'.V M M Kl? | I . BOWER.
trro_ ilr?. B'jrnetfg "Thg Lnat I?B ?"i Th? ?'-iiury (..rr.pany.1
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS
The Old and the New?Perennial Favorites -
Biography for Younger Readers?An
Excellent New Anthology.
The new children's books
again confronting us In Be
i rank?. Whether they are le?
number than last year, who
itell? Nor does It matter. C
' hood haa Its own classics to ?
upon; the old books are certain!
! good as the new. The folklor
' the race was long ago relegate
the nursery; it will live as Ion
new generations are born and r
the "Tell me a story" stage of
Therefore let a new edition, ?
i
t popular price, of the Andrew I
, Fairy Books be mentioned 1
Of Mother Goose there is, of coi
no end In new editions; and tl
are some Ingenious novelties in
way of painting books, drav
books and what may be called p
, ing books, among these a serie;
scenes from "Alice in Wondrrlai
to bo cut out and pieced toget
From a-Esop and La Fontaine
nursery may proceed to the rt
. ments of natural history in sue'
' book as "Baby Birds and Beas
and there is a capital book on "H<
I ers Without Hands," attractiv
illustrated in colors, which rani
i all the way from amazing, but ;
doubtedly authentic, stories of I
I intelligence and docility of the t
phant to the work of bees and si
worms, with. In between, tales
' the service rendered to man
camels, horses and draft cattle, dr
' keys and mules, reindeer, polar doi
j police, ambulance, milk cart a
! sheep dogs, and even the Chinamai
use of the cormorant in fishir
; And from year to year there w
iJways be happiness, and a deep
I love of animals, wherever Erne
i Thompson-Seton's "Animals I Ha'
Known" la placed In the hands i
childhood.
BOY SCOUTS AND CAM
GIRLS.
Mr. Seton's name brings up. (
course, the literature of the Bo
i Scout movement. There la a rl
j in the lute just now, but that doe
i not affect the books devoted to th
' propaganda. They are numerou*
I even more numerous than the Cam
, Girl books, and can be had from an
j bookseller. The Boy Scouts hav
I even begun the publication of ai
. Everyboy's Library, which airead;
contains a number of capital books
among them Emerson'a Hough';
"Story of the Cowboy," a classic foi
grown-ups in which youngsters will
revel, and Frederic Remington';
"Crooked Trail?" Then there i?
' "The Boy Scouts' Year Book,"
whose list of contributors includes
President Wilson, Colonel Roose?
velt, Admiral Peary, Orville Wright,
William T. Hornaday and Paul J.
Rainey, Walter Camp, Postmaster
General Burleson, Dr. Henry van
Dyke and ever so many others,
among them Dan Beard, a "good
i scout," indeed, as delightful s com?
panion as our boyi can find to-day,
with his "handy books" in field and
1 forent, in csmp, indoors and out.
Anothei writer for the young whoie |
books retain their Interest is Fran?
cis Rolt-Wheeler. His "Boy" series
?the Boy with tlfe United States
Survey, Census, Foresters, etc.?
conveys a vast amount of useful in?
formation concerning the workings
of our government undc a pleasant
coating of adventure. His latest is
"The Boy with the United States
Lifesavers." Is your boy interested
in wireless telegraphy, in aeronau?
tics, in submarines, in motors?
there are books on all the?e subjects
And, appealing to an interest of an?
other kind, there is "The Wonder
f
DRAWING BY \V. DEATH ROBINSON.
<rrvtn Kl.-jg.lRj'a T*_ \Vi_-t r.a"??" II mil,', n. \t Btl C I? 1*1.7 1
land of Stamps," to which the en
of the war may give new zest.
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
First place on the list this year i
the field of biography for young?
readers belongs incontestably t
Jacqueline Overton's "Life of Rob
ert Louis Stevenson for Boys an
Girls," which, be it added, is wert
their seniors' attention as well. A
excellent series of "True Stories o
Great Americans," admirably wel
adapted to the viewpoint and th<
enthusiasms of Its readers, now con
tains eight volumes: Columbus
Davy Crockett, Benjamin Franklin
Nathan Hale, William Renn, Cap
tain John Smith, Robert Fulton and
Robert E. Lee. Other publishers
give us lives of Daniel Boone, Kid
Carson and Buffalo Bill, whose pict
uresqueness must not be allowed to
fade from the memory of a new gen?
eration; and there are children's
lives of Grant, Lir.coln (by Helen
Nicolay), Paul Jones, of all the
heroes of American history. Still
another seriea is that of the "True
Stories," of the Father of His Coun?
try first of all and of Franklin next.
Then the historians. Here fiction
often is used to convey facts, and
generally to good purpose. Bvch
authors as Joseph A Altsheler
Molly Klliot Seawell, Kverett T.
(Twmiiuion, Jamea Barnes, EibridgeJ
S. Brooks, join hands with his
toiians who, without the guise o
romance, tell the story of our arm;
2nd navy. And there is s rousinj
good volume of American bravery
"The Road to Glory," by E. Alex
under Powell, which ranges from thi
heroes of the winning of Texas
Florida and the Louisisns Territory
to Matthew Galbraith Perry's expe
dition to Japan. Mr. Powell insist?
that there can be no reasonable
doubt of Marcus Whitman's clsln
to glory as the aavlor of Oregon
And, certainly, the tale of his win
ter ride If a rousing romance.
To the dim and distant past ouj
boya and girls can fine no more en
gaging guide than Howard Pyle
with his books of the Arthurian
legends. And there is Scott?al?
ways Scott, in many editions, with
all sorts of Illustrations. Nor
should we forget James Fenimore
Cooper, whose "Spy" and "Pilot"
are reissued this season in most at?
tractive form. Since this survey has
drifted into the realm of historical
fiction for the young, mention may
be made here, also, of last year s
new edition of Captain Marryat's
tale of Cavaliers and Roundheads,
' The Children of the New Forest,"
which, and this is a disappointment,
has not been followed up this year
with a new issue of his Robinson
Crusoe-like story, "Masterman
Ready."
STORIES OF ALL KINDS.
A movement has been started this
season by Boy Scout leaders,
librarians and booksellers for some
measure of regulation of the quality
of the fiction for our boys and girls
This service to the next generation
is needed. It should begin at the
very beginning, with the correction
of slovenly English and the abuse of
slang; above all, with a correction of
the downward levelling of cultural
influences in many of these books.
And the ethical tone of many of
them has of recent years left much
to be desired. Material achievement
?success?has been all too often
depicted as the only test of merit.
Our writers for the young have
turned to realism. In girls' books
the changes produced and still go?
ing on under the influence of fem
:nism have resulted in chaotic con?
ditions. Home has been relegated
to the background; parents are suf?
fered only in the middle distance;
the new relations which the move?
ment is establishing have, as a rule.
been Interpreted or anticipated with
a deplorable lack of fidelity to facts.
As for the school and college
stories, these continue to lay stress
upon play and sports. As for in?
stance: "This volume relates the
experiences of the blithesome
Thomas Hav?and Hicks, jr.. at col?
lege. Casting aside for the moment
his banjo and his irrepressible gay
ety, he tackles the college's latest
problem?to persuade 'Deacon' Rad
ford a famous quarterback, to play
football at Bannister." Still, most
of these tales lay at least obligatoi
stress upon study?life at college i
a?as, not all play!?and most i
tnem, if not all, inculcate the spit
or clean sportsmanship. It is th
that gives Ralph Henry Barbour
books of school and college the
value. One can trust him implicit!
in this regard.
SOME OF THE SEASON'S NE\
BOOKS.
Burton Egbert Stevenson h;
made a capital anthology of h
"Home Book of Verse for Your
Folks," which begins with nursei
rhymes and progresses gradually I
Gray's Elegy, "T.hanatopsis," "Cros
ing the Bar," Henley's "So Be M
Passing," Stevenson's "Requiem
Browning's "Prospice" and Whi
man's "Joy, Shipmate, Joy!" A boo
that grows with its possessor, a
increasingly interesting companio
through childhood and youth, rep?
resentative of the highest and bes
that has been sung in Anglo-Amei
ican verse.
"Little Verses and Big Names
needs no further recommendatioi
than that the proceeds of its sah
will be devoted to the provision o
pure milk for sick babies and th<
maintenance of a visiting nurse?:
worthy American charity. There it
a little of everything here: vers?
?nd prose, stories and aphorisms
snatches of original music, anc
drawings. The contributors range
all the way from literary men and
women and artists of international
reputation to leaders in the world of
business and industry. Actors give
us lines of their own?in rhyme?so
do Governors of many states. F.
P. A. and Henry E. Krehbiel repre?
sent The Tribune; James J. Hill
contributes a limerick, Thomas A
Edison gome verses by his son, the
"family poet." The famous Oscar
helps the good cause along; Louise
Homer, jr., represents her mother
and grand opera; H. J. Heinz gives
five rules for the conduct of life from
a stock evidently more numerous
even than his products. Cardinal
Farley, Jacob H. Schiff and Andrew
Carnegie labor for the cause; Mrs
Vernon Castle's jewels, the tells us.
are not those of the mother of the
Gracchi, but goldfish, a bird and
Kickapoo, her "wee little dog." And
President Wilson introduces them
all. There is music by Horatio Par?
ker, Lillian Blauvelt, Victor Her?
bert and others: and there are draw?
ings by Gibson, Goldberg, Peter
Newell. Christy, Wisa and mar.y
more. There is also a "Who's
Who" of the most heterogeneous
company of celebrities that ever con
DRAWING Hi \. J. I SI III
(I**** it? u? *i a* - u 1.1*. Baaaaa * 0_j
WATCH /
THE ARROW
Books For ^ Donble-ay
r Page & Co.
thi CO-Clf\ZIHS
WALL PAINTING I?\ 4LBERT BERTER.
(Finin ? Hit l!*?-! - U J- eK. lad C bar**": J. Jt. UpplaoaM lorupan*-.)
tributed to a single volume. And
remember that you are aiding a good
cause.
W. Heath Robinson's delightful
illustrations make a new edition of
Charles Kingsley's "Water Babies"
worth mentioning. They have the
charm of childhood and appeal to
the imagination. The colored cover
behind isinglass, producing the illu?
sion of water, is a happy thought
Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The
Lost Prince" is certain to repeat the
success of "Little Lord Fauntleroy,"
thirty years ago. That story's sen?
ior, the late Mary Mapes Dodge's
"Hans Brinker," celebrates the fif?
tieth anniversary of its ?-.diminish?
ing popularity in a holiday dress that
is as typically Dutch as George
Wharton Edwards can make it, with
a colored cover as gay as a Dutch
' skating carnival can be, with colored
'?lustrations that are full of local
color and with end-papers of a
Delft tile effect. "For the first time,"
i say the publishers, "this book is
illustrated in colors." In English,
1 no doubt. But the Dutch transla?
tion was published nearly forty
years ago with just that pomp and
circumstance. "This book is dedi?
cated to the boys and girls of New
York," declared the author on the
flyleaf of the first edition. The
story's merits have dedicated it to
?dhood of the world.
"Tout ? la Russe." It was a fore?
gone conclusion that we should have
a volume of "Russian Fairy Tales"
this year, and an interesting one it
is, and handsome withal, bravely
illustrated in colors and black-and
white by Noel L. Nisbet. The trans?
lator, R. Nisbet Bain, assures us that
students of folklore "give the palm
for fun and fancy" to these
over the Maorekoa of Germany, but
that is a matter which does not re?
quire discussion. Sufficient to child?
hood will be the delight of these
tales, though, no doubt, its opinion
of the verdict of Mr. Bain's com?
parative folklorista would be worth
having.
In "Katrinka: The History of a
Russian Child," Helen Eggleston
Haskell ingeniously exploits our en?
thusiasm for the Rassian ballet. The
little heroine's parents are exiled to
Siberia when she is ten. She brave?
ly starts for St. Petersburg to ap?
peal to the Czar, attracts attention
by her graceful dancing, is taken
into the school of the Imperial Bal
let, advanced to the ballet itself, and,
of course, obtains her parents' liber?
ation. The plot, ranging from the
peasant's hut to the Winter Palace,
gives the author the opportunity to
tell a great deal of Russian life and I
customs and conditions, her sympa?
thies being, of course, with the lib
? ral cause.
A tender book
Rich in human charm and inter?
est, in quick humor and romance.
-< .uag. _ggggg,
The
Prairie
?H
^?y'Avi^t
/BOOKSELLERS1
! (TO THE WORLDi
*mm'
Any Book mtntioned
in thast columns ,
can bs obtained at
BRENTANO'S
Fifth Awnue. New Y6tk
n The Secret of Russia. ' ' e
THE
Way of Martha
AND THE
Way of Mary
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
\ ?-.It bOOh that ?*C**COla *t?*- inner
spirit ?if h irre .it na'i"n. T?> rrail it i
tu ktiuw tl i tu nn?l?*r
.stun.I the BOairCC "f hs*f p??w??r. Mr.
Graban has Used for many j'ar? aaaeog
the people of SrhoSS ha writes. Hi
booh i? ? truthful lnt?Tpr?-t,i'i?in of the
luiul.iin. ni .I Ides tad kh d of R*aa
M'.in I?j?*-.
"Ke.n analtf is <m<l -Ir,, ?, wmderttood
fug.' BottOU Transcript.
?CI
$200 THE MACMILLAN CO., Pabi, N. T
{Best* lur a i'l.rulm?ii c''i?a?4?(7W? i
An Ideal Holiday Gilt
The Monumental Book
oo
N. Y. CITY
The Iconograot.? of Manhattan Island
By I N. PHELPS STOKES.
A Pictorial Hiitory of New York City
from I 498 to 1909.
?'???- aii
? ??? anrl
llr ,t?<?
?-u.ur?
' - ' ?at Im ?
? end n.ap*.
.
An : '-m ?*nt on appl
ration.
Robert H. Dodd, Publisher,
443 Fourth Avenue, ?N. Y. City.
Fun and Frolic for the Kiddie*
? THE CHILD'S BOOK OF THE YEA?
JOLLY JAUNTS
WITH JIM:
TH?OUCH
THE
FIREPLACI
By Charles Hanson Town?
IHiiatratcd by H. DcVJtt Welsh
M All I.
SI? Sri tlit
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