first place, only a limited number of these prospective teachers were in
any real sense acquainted with what may be called the basic traditional
material. Rhymes, fables, myths, stories were so vaguely and
indistinctly held in mind that they were practically of no great value.
It was therefore not possible to assume much real acquaintance with the
material needed for use with children, and the securing of such an
acquaintance seemed the first essential. After all is said, a discussion
of ways and means must follow such a mastery of basic material.

In the second place, there was the difficulty of finding in any compact
form a body of material sufficient in extent and wide enough in its
range to serve as a satisfactory basis for such a course. No doubt the
ideal way would be to send the student to the many authoritative volumes
covering the various fields dealt with in this collection. But with
large classes and a limited amount of time such a plan was hardly
practicable. The young teacher cannot be much of a specialist in any of
the various fields of knowledge with the elements of which he is
expected to acquaint children. The principles of economy demand that the
brief courses which specifically prepare for teaching should be such as
will make the work in the schoolroom most helpful and least wasteful
from the very beginning. Hence this attempt to collect in one volume
what may somewhat roughly be spoken of as material for a minimum basic
course in Children's Literature.

The important thing about this book, then, is the actual literary
material included in it. The notes and suggestions scattered throughout
are aimed to direct attention to this material either in the way of
pointing out the sources of it, or helping in the understanding and
appreciation of it, or suggesting some ways of presenting it most
effectively to children.

In the case of folk material, an effort has been made to present
reliable versions of the stories used. Many of the folk stories, for
instance, appear in dozens of collections and in dozens of forms,
according to the artistic or pedagogic biases of the various compilers.
As a rule the most accessible stories are found in versions written
down to the supposed needs of children, and intended to be read by the
children themselves. Even if we grant the teacher the right to make
extensive modifications, it is still reasonable to insist that some
correct traditional form be used as the starting