STORIES FOR THE YOUNG Snt,—As librarian of a school—a county
secondary school for girls from both town and country—I think I can answer Miss Janet Adam Smith's question about the popularity of Mr. Ransome's stories. They are popular with all types of girls from every kind of home. Juniors
perhaps read them more, but there are several Ransome fans in the Vhh form. There are generally long waiting lists and the books are read so vigorously that they have to be replaced or rebound more often than the books of other authors.
Few of these girls live in the world of nannies, cooks and private boat- houses." It would, therefore, appear that the young, as do their elders, read to escape from everyday life, and so prefer to read about the kind of people they are unlikely to meet. Other popular books like Little Women, Four Plus Runkle, Mary Poppins provide a picture of a different
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