Ten Years and Under
EVERY year there are dozens of Christmas books about which there is nothing much to say. They are made after good old. recipes.. They are all alike as. peas. And since children are thorough little gormandizers bn this old-fashioned food, I am not sure that they would like a new, strange, original kind of book any better. None the less, a book a little out of the common stands more chance of remaining in a child's memory as a peculiar treasure. There is a risk in choosing such a book. It may fall flat. On the other hand, you, may succeed in giving a quite unusual delight ; and that is the best thing of all to aim at. Of course, you can only judge properly by knowing the child whom you -are trying to please.
Let me mention, first of all, four books which have a freshness and individual quality about them, and at the same time seem to be very safe presents, certain to give pleasure. The great charm of Jason and the Princess, by Kathleen Colville (Chatto and Windus, 5s. net), is its matter-of-factness. The Princess Marigold smuggles herself on board a trading-ship, dressed as a boy. She makes a very brave and determined boy, in spite of all the hardships she goes through ; and she strikes up a heroic friendship with the captain's son. Everything is told so clearly and straightforwardly that, as we read, we are certain that it happened " just so." Michael of Ireland, by Anne Casserley (Faber and Gwyer, 5s. net), is excellent for a different reason—it is full of brightness and fancy. If Mr. James Stephens could write a fairy-tale book, with all his gaiety and wit unimpaired and with his quiet irony and acidity left out, it might be exactly such a volume as Michael of Ireland. There is a simpler vein of wonder and good fun in The Enchanted Oranges, by Agnes Froine (Oxford University Press, Is. net), and it is meant for children- a little younger than the others7--those -between three and seven would enjoy it most. It is a very jolly book, full of enchantments and absurd happenings. Wonder Tales from Windmill Lands, by Frances Jenkins .01cott (Longinans,.6s. net), is a selection of Dutch folk tales, With a little " history of Holland " thrown in, and a " tiny dictionary of strange Dutch. things."
Imaginative children will be delighted by The. Book of Epic Herois, by Amy Cruse (Harrap. 7s. 6d. -net). It is the best compendium of the world's great heroic stories that I have encountered. Tales from Northern Sagas, by Mr. Donald A. Mackenzie (Blackie, 5s. net), is stiffer ; but there is a fine large spirit in these accounts' of Vikings and Norse kings, Fairy Gold, by Mr. Ernest Rhys (Dent, 5s. net), is a reprint of one of the fullest collections of. old English fairy tales. They are chosen with an eye foi variety, romance, and wit.
Sometimes you can • find a child to appreciate. children's verse. There is no reason at all why a child should be instructed to like bad verse. The most poisonous kind is the half-unbending, half-sentithental, silly little fairy-and-butterfly stuff, and I regard the infliction upon an innocent mind of such gift-verses as plain villainy. There is no criticism to urge against Joan's Door, by Eleanor Farjeon (Collins. 7s. 6d. net). Some of these poems have a genuine and serious beauty f most of them are playful without being painful. There is a mixture of verse and prose, all by very famous hands, in Lady Cynthia Asquith's Christmas volunie, The' Treasure Ship (Partridge. 6s. net). Messrs. J. M. Barrie, John Galsworthy, Hilaire Belloc, A. A. Milne, Walter de ia Mare---the list Of
contributors is staggering. • _ .. •
And no one would go far wrong who chose one of the following books. The Strange Adventures of a Toy Soldier, by Mr. Cyril W. Beaumont (C.'W. Beaumont, 75 Charing Cross Road, 5s. net), is simply written' and beautifully produced. It ends sadly—which will be a grief to very sensitive children, Sharp Eyes, by H. E. Chapman, a fairy fantasy, and Joanna of Little Meadow, by Ierne L. Plunkett, a gentle historical tale, are both published at a shilling by the Oxford University Press. There are quaint and amusing animals in The Moorfolk by Winifred Simmons (Faber and -Gwyer,- Os. -;net), and engaging fables in A Road to Fairyland,-by Erica-Fay (Put' nam's. 5s. net). Messrs. -Dent have reprinted Thi Water Babies (5s. net), and Messrs. T. Fisher Unwin_ send The_Queen of
of Rumania's Faint -Book (100.- -ALAN -Poazza.
Previous page
