en for children in recent years is difficult, but if the
teacher has a keen appreciation of good literature and is guided by the
likes and dislikes of her pupils, she probably will not go far astray.

_Supplemental reading._ If the teacher examines the juvenile books
offered for sale by the book dealers of her town or city, she probably
will discover that most of them are trash not fit to be read by anyone,
and she will realize the importance of directing parents in the
selection of gift books for children. A good way to get better books
into the book stores and into the hands of children is to give the
pupils a list of good books, with the suggestion that they ask their
parents to buy one of them the next time a book is to be bought as a
present. Such lists of books also will improve the standard of books in
the town library, for librarians will be quick to realize the importance
of supplying standard literature if there is a demand for it.

3. STORY-TELLING AND DRAMATIZATION

_Story-telling._ Most stories are much more effective when well told
than they are when read, just as most lectures and sermons are most
effective when delivered without manuscript. To explain just why the
story well told is superior to the story read might not be easy, but
much of the superiority probably comes from the freedom of the "talk
style" and the more appropriate use of inflection and emphasis. Then,
too, the story-teller can look at her audience and is free to add a
descriptive word or phrase occasionally to produce vividness of
impression. Some stories, of course, are so constructed that they must
follow closely the diction of the original form. "Henny-Penny" and
Kipling's _Just-So Stories_ are of this type. Such stories should be
read. Most stories, however, are most effective when well told. The
teacher, especially the teacher of one of the primary grades, should not
consider herself prepared to teach literature until she has gained
something of the art of story-telling.

_Selection of stories._ Never attempt to tell a story that you do not
like. You are not prepared to interest pupils in a story, however
appropriate it otherwise may be, if you are not interested in it
yourself. Try to choose stories adapted in structure and content to the
age and experience of the children of your grade. For the first or
second grade, choose a few simple fables, a few short, simple fairy
tales, and a few short, simple nature stories, such as "