Children's Books Reviewed by Children
The Book of the Bear. By Jane Harrison and Hope Mirrlees. (Nonesuch. 16s.)
(Reviewed by Crystal Herbert, aged eleven.) THIS book, called The Book of the Bear, which is by a Russian author, Alexey Michailovich Remizon, has lately been trans- lated by Jane Harrison and Hope Mirrlees. It contains various different stories of a bear's life ; the author has got the living touch, he seems to be living among them, as if he was one of them. But once or twice he seems to forget and become just an ordinary writer.
For example, in the second story he begins with "ft was stifling hot in the night nursery," as if he :was- writing' the beginning of a story out of Tots' Own instead of leading a wild bear's life in Russia. Some of the stories are especially good, the first one which is called "The Bear and the Crane and the Horse," in which it tells you of a bear called Mishka, who is caught by a hunter, who takes Mishka with him when he goes hunting. Then when they get into the wood he lets the bear off his chain. One day, after he had been let off li chain, his master whistled for him to come back, but no hea came, and his master was very upset about him; and he wen on looking for the bear for several days, but the bear nev Came back. Then he was told that the-bears had been in t village again, and that the peasants were going to surrou the wood so as to catch them.
So the master got on to his horse and went very quickly t the wood, but he was too late, the peasants had :dread started. Just as he was getting to the wood he saw a be° that was covered with blood, he recognized him as Mishk he got down and ran to him. The poor animal was so over come that he fell down, he licked his master's hand, and look lovingly at the crane and horse, then there was a rattle in 11 throat and he died. That, I think, is, on the whole, the be story. - But the one about the gipsies ought to have the next PIO There you have a story on rather the same idea, where t gipsies are going to shoot all th,c. bears, And thrg.i.i..one vc old bear with only one eye, who belonged to the oldest man in the camp, and he was very fond of his old betir, so did not want him to be killed. So he untied him and was about to shoot him himself, but he was so overcome with grief that he fell down. Then the young men got their muskets and shot the bear, while the poor animal put his hands before his eye so that he might not see the gun.
Perhaps for little children some of these stories would not be appreciated, because some of them are rather sad. In one of his bits of poetry which is called "The Bear's Dinner-Party," he hasn't quite got the right metre in one part, which rather spoils it, because the rest of it has got such a good swing. Except for these few points I think the book is very good.
The pictures are very good indeed, too, they arc so realistic and have got such nice bright colours. I think books with pictures are much nicer than without, because they show you the kind of thing the author means. '
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