en we
spend millions teaching children to read, we should be willing to go
to some expense in order to provide them with what is worth reading.
It is impossible for those who have not studied the subject to realize
the quantity of inane trash with which many children stultify their
minds. They read so much that their thought is confused and they
cannot even remember the names of the books whose pages are passing
before their eyes. The market is flooded with books ranging from the
trivial to the harmful which, unless he is properly directed, will
divert the child from the real books which he should read and read
again. "Ninety children out of one hundred in the public schools below
the high school," says Caroline M. Hewins, "read nothing for pleasure
beyond stories written in a simple style with no involved sentences.
Nine out of the other ten enjoy novels and sometimes poetry and
history written for older readers, and can be taught to appreciate
other books, but not more than one in a hundred, has a natural love of
the best literature and desires without urging to read the great books
of the world," and she adds "Stories of the present day in which
children die, are cruelly treated, or offer advice to their elders,
are not good reading for boys and girls in happy homes."

To form an impression on the white page of the child's mind is a great
privilege as well as a grave responsibility. He who makes sin
attractive in a child's book or dims the clear-cut distinction between
right and wrong will never be able to measure the far-reaching
consequences of his work. The child's reading should be constructive
rather than destructive. He should learn what to imitate rather than
what to avoid, but it is preferable that he should get necessary
knowledge of the evil side of human nature from a classic like Oliver
Twist than from his own experience or from cheap thrillers. The boy
needs to be kept from the vulgar cut-throat story, the girl from the
unwholesome romance. Girls should read books that exalt the sweet
home virtues. Cheap society stories are not necessarily immoral but
they give false ideas of life, warp the mind and encourage
selfishness.

The normal boy reads the easiest and most exciting thing that comes to
hand, he devours detailed accounts of baseball and football matches
and is familiar with the record of every player. The books he reads
deal with deeds rather than descriptions. He likes a story that he can
act o