GIFT-BOOKS.
CHILDREN'S BOOKS.* Under Greek Skies' is one of a " series of stories for young people designed to make English children fully acquainted with children of other nationalities." This is no small task, but even if a "full acquaintance" requires more effort in the achievement than the reading of story-books, we can recom- mend this little volume for the charm of its style and the liveliness of its narrative. The three stories in the book, though each is complete in itself, are linked by the golden chain of the beautiful country in which they are set. Mme. Dragoumis tells us of Athens and the islands. She makes the scent of the hot hillsides live again in a bit of crushed thyme, and has the power of waking the nostalgia of the Mediterranean in those readers who love the "lands of summer across the sea." Her characters stand out clearly on her well-drawn backgrounds. First we have Mattina, a child from the island of Poros, who goes to Athens as a maid-of-all- work, and there meets with many people, both good and bad. The third story is also about the working people of Athens, and in it we can follow the bard but exciting life of an engaging little shoeblack and newspaper boy. The middle story is of an Athenian doctor and his little nephew Pavlo. The latter spends an exhilarating summer at Poros with a family of merry boys and girls, and their adventures are many and thrilling. Greek words and turns of thought are cleverly introduced, and give a pleasantly " foreign " aspect to the stories, but not in such a way as to worry a young reader. There are a few notes, which explain, very shortly, various points of interest on which we are glad of enlightenment. The book has a coloured frontispiece and several black-and-white illustrations.
Nipping Bear 2 begins with the familiar episode of a little girl setting forth on a journey through an enchanted forest, where she falls in with various friendly creatures. The story then goes on with more than a touch of seriousness to teach lessons of unselfishness, and to show the power and influence of imagination, panic, cruelty, and love. These attributes are, of course, personified, and help and hinder Iris in her pilgrimage. The bear of the title is a beast of high character, who rules the forest world in which he lives.
In Shaggy the Great,3 by the same author, Iris is again the heroine, and wanders through even more difficulties and dangers than she did in the other book. She is dismayed, but never daunted, by Fear and Panic, and comforted and brought safely home by Imagination. The old story of Beauty and the Beast is here given a new setting, and though the mating of the bear-man and the she-wolf before the coming of Beauty is perhaps more in accordance with natural history than the old-fashioned version, we are inclined to prefer the ancient interpretation of Beauty's powerful spell. Though there are many exciting incidents in these stories, the suspense is not unduly drawn out, and even a timid reader will only have momentary fears for Iris's safety.
In the next two books on our list we leave the land of enchantment, for, we had almost said, everyday life. But luckily for us "grown-ups," the adventures that befall the story-book children do not often occur in ordinarily " well- regulated families," or the unfortunate parents would perish of nervous exhaustion. For instance, in Lickle-Tickle" Mrs.
• (1) Under Greek Skies. By Julia D. Dragoumis. Illustrated by Margaret D. Webb. London: J. M. Dent and Sons. [3s. 6d. net.]—(2) Nipping Bear. By H. L'Estrange Malone. Illustrated by Gordon Robinson. London : Charles H. Kelly. [3s. 6d. net.]—(3) Shaggy the Great. Same author, illustrator, publishers, and price.—(4) Lickle-Tickle. By Jean Lang (Mrs. John Lang). London: T. Nelson and Sons. 12s. 6d.]—(5) The Strange Little Girl. By Bella S. Woolf. Illustrated by P. Et. Hickling. .‘ The Story Box Series." London : Duckworth and Co. [Is. net.]— (6) The Magic Dragon. By Baldwin S. Hervey. Illustrated by Harry Rountree. Same series, publishers, and price.—(7) The Adventures of Spider and CO. By S. IL Hamer. Illustrated by Harry Rountree. Same series, publishers, and price. —(8) Peter Pink Eye. By H. Rountree and S. IL Hamer. Same series, publishers, and price.—(9) Wanted—a King. By Maggie Brown. Illustrated by H. Furniss. Same series, publishers, and price.—(10) The Buccaneers. By A. E. Bonser. Illustrated by J. R. Monsell. Same series, publishers, and price.—(11) The Four Glass Balls, Germs and the Magic Castle, and The Fortunate Princeling. Same series, publishers, and price.—(12) The Book of Baby Dogs. Illustrations by E. J. Detin old. Descriptions b./ Charles Kaberry. Loudon : Henry Frowde and Hodder and Stoughton. [63. net.l—(13) Jack and Jill. By Cecil Aldin and May Byron. Seine publishers and price.— (14) In the Country of the Story. By J. A. Staunton Batty. Illustrated by Margaret Walker. London : Mowbray and Co. [2a. net.]—(131 Santa Claus's Treasury. By Florence Bone. London : Religious Tract Society. [10. 6d. net.]—(16) Games for Playtime and Parties. By Stanley W. Wilma,,. Illustrated by Margaret Tarrant. London: T. C. and E. C. Jack. [3s. 6d. net.]—(17) Half-Holiday Pastimes for Children. By Gladys Beattie Crozier.
Same publishers. net.]
John Lang gives ns an amusing account of a merry, mischievous little girl's adventures. This child was an expert at the art of making her parents anxious, and of creating extraordinarily awkward situations, as when she spent the night in a shop-window, or arranged a jellyfish as an appetizing luncheon dish for Aunt Amelia. The book is full of fun and good spirits, and it is a real pleasure to meet light-hearted people, even if they are only in a child's story-book. There are some fall-page coloured pictures, besides many amusing little black-and-white marginal illustrations.—The Strange Little Girl' was really a Princess of Vavonia, and the remark- able way in which she came to live with an English family at Putney is made into an attractive story by Miss Bella Sydney Woolf, the writer of that engaging work, The Twins in Ceylon. The family in which the little Princess suddenly found herself was that of a "city gentleman," whose wife and elder children were sometimes pleasant and some- times grumpy, while the father himself and his youngest little girl were always kind to Zelda (the Princess). Of course in the end the King comes triumphantly into his lost kingdom, and the people who were kindest to the "strange little girl" are suitably rewarded.—The Magic Dragon' is a capital story. The creature himself is a dictatorial beast, of excellent qualities and parts, but with the somewhat trying foible of repeating his own verses in season and out of season. He takes a little boy with him on an exciting journey, during which they make friends with a bard-working magician and his family, and come safely out of various adventures.— In The Adventures of Spider and Co.7 we follow the doings of a party of tame but shipwrecked animals. At first they very much enjoyed their freedom, and the kindly -welcome given them, when they were washed ashore, by such wild creatures as a wart-hog, a zebra, and a toucan. But after a while they all tired of their strenuous independence, and were glad to find their own little master and mistress again.—Peter Pink Eyes is also about animals, and tells of the adventures of a conceited mouse who goes out to seek his fortune.—In Wanted—a King9 the people of the nursery rhymes come to life in a little girl's dream, and behave in accordance with their time-honoured characters.—The Buccaneers: a Tale of the Spanish Main,0 by A. E. Bonser, is a grim little story of pirates and ill- gotten gold. It is told in the traditional language of buccaneering, and the characters, who are all wicked and cunning, range from English leaders to negro and Greek sailors, not to mention a ghost, and an island full of fierce savages. The pirates of children's books and games, with whom we are all familiar, and of whom Captain Hook is a fine example, are generally shown to us with a comic side to their dark doings, but in this little book the black flag waves menacingly. The tragic, if well- deserved, fate of the buccaneers is somewhat of a shock to a reader accustomed to the usually suave ending of children's hooks.—The Four Glass Balls, Gervas and the Magic Castle, and The Fortunate Princeling" are pleasantly written little stories of children, fairies, and enchantments of all sorts. All the volumes of this " Story Box Series" are prettily bound and illustrated.
The Book of Baby Dogs" is a large and handsome volume. Mr. Detmold's full-page illustrations are in his well-known and accomplished style. By the exercise of a wise restraint in the matter of colour, he has tamed the enormities of the three-colour process, and subdued it to the service of his brush. The picture of the Samoyed puppy is delightful. Its expression is full of the appearance of inscrutable wisdom appropriate to extreme youth, while the softness of the whites and greys of the colouring, combined with the decision and subtlety of the drawing, produce a really charming effect. The collie is also an attractive picture, and here Mr. Detmold has successfully introduced warmer shades of colour into his work. Occasionally, however, as in the mastiff and the black- and-tan terrier, the colouring is not harmonious, and interferes sadly with the enjoyment of the drawing. Mr. Charles Kaberu has written amusing anecdotes and descriptive sketches of the various breeds of dogs. That queer little creature, the Griffon Bruxellois, is described as a sturdy and active pet, and one wonders how many of these friendlf, good-tempered dogs will survive the German occupation of their country.—It is interesting to turn from Mr. Detmold's animal portraits to Mr. Cecil Aldin's lack and Jill.13 Here the creatures, while retaining moat of their natural characteristic;
are made to serve as the hero and heroine of a story, and we therefore see certain human qualities sometimes appearing in their expressions. The assurance of Mr. Aldin's style is appropriate to the straightforward story told by Mrs. May Byron, and we follow the cat and the dog's arduous journey from Devonshire to London with interest. Both the creatures are lifelike, and behave appropriately in the vicissitudes they endure, which eventually come to a happy conclusion. The full-page pictures are in strong but not vivid colours, and Mr. Aldin has made striking use of clever composition and economy of detail. We would particularly call the reader's attention to the drawing of the cat in the act of jumping from a wall, in which movement and rigidity are wonderfully well combined. These two animal picture-books will give as much pleasure to grown-up people as they will to children.
In the Country of the Story'* is well written, and tells of the doings of pleasant, natural people of the present day. There is a good deal of originality in the manner in which Church of England teaching is woven into the narrative- The children of the story are the supposed orphans of an agnostic, and have spent their early years in the pursuit of a somewhat dry form of knowledge which is not at all to their liking. Then they fall in with some excellent people, who teach them the elementary truths of Christianity with much sympathetic kindness, and eventually are reunited to their father, who has, meanwhile, also become a Christian. The author has cleverly succeeded in treating this difficult theme in an attractive manner, and without either the flip. panty or• the " goodiness" which too often mar those so-called " Sunday " books which, as a very young critic remarked " one can't read." The book has a few little black-and-white illustrations. Santa Claus's Treasury," "a book for a Christmas stocking," is also pleasantly didactic. The heroine is an attractive little girl, who wins her way to the heart of a grim uncle, and proves the means by which he and a long-lost love are happily restored to each other. She also brings pro- sperity to a poor but deserving family. Santa Claus and Peter Pan play appropriate parts in the story, which is told with plenty of lively dialogue. It has a coloured frontispiece.
Games for Playtime and Parties" is a delightful collection of games, most of them set to music, such as our old friends "Bobby Bingo" and "Nuts in May," and others which can be played when there is no available pianist, as, for instance, " Up Jenkins " or " Trotting to Tutbury." The tunes and words of the singing games are traditional, and the arrange. ment of them is so attractive that a young performer• will find pleasure in playing the accompaniments for his companions The book is full of pretty, fanciful pictures, some in black-and- white, and many in colours which, though bright, do not degenerate into garishness.—Half-Holiday Pastimes for Childrenn contains a great deal of good advice on all sorts of things, from bulb-growing to the making of various small presents, and from acting and dancing to the taking and developing of photographs. In it we can learn, among many other cm-ions and remarkable performances, to teach a " tame rat to climb into its owner's pocket," to frame pictures in the " passe-par•tout " manner, and to weave with beads. There is also a short list of the shops where the necessary appliances for working at these arts may be bought, and a large number of illustrations and diagrams. It is altogether a very useful handbook to children's industries and activities.
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