Public-domain ebook
Language: en1,574 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Children's Anthologies·Children & Young Adult Reading·Teaching & Education
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #24857.
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 10: The Guide is a comprehensive instructional manual aimed at parents, teachers, and anyone responsible for a child’s literary development. The opening pages present a meticulously organized framework, listing everything from introductions and picture‑use lessons to detailed sections on close reading, poetry, and even recitations for special school days. The book’s structure is laid out in a series of numbered chapters, each promising systematic guidance on how to select, present, and discuss classic works, illustrated by portraits of authors such as Longfellow, Hawthorne, and Irving. Its purpose is explicitly stated: to unite home and school in fostering good reading habits, with an emphasis on the moral and intellectual impact of “good books” versus “bad books.”
Written in the earnest, didactic tone of early‑20th‑century educational literature, the text combines scholarly cataloguing with a heartfelt appeal to adult responsibility. Its language is formal yet accessible, peppered with moral exhortations and practical advice. Readers who appreciate historical pedagogy, curriculum design, or the cultural ideals of the 1920s will find this volume a valuable window into the era’s vision of literary instruction for children.
The opening · free to read
Journeys Through Bookland is what the title signifies, a series of excursions into the field of the world's greatest literature. Accordingly, the base of the work is laid in those great classics that, since first they found expression in words, have been the education and inspiration of man. But these excursions are taken hand-in-hand with a leader, whose province it is to explain, to interpret, to guide and to direct. Suiting his labors to the age and acquirement of the readers he helps them all, from the child halting in his early attempts to interpret the printed page to the high school or college student who wishes to master the innermost secrets of literature. In no small sense is this leadership a labor of love, for it follows an experience of twenty years of personal instruction in the public schools and among the teachers of the country.
Journeys Through Bookland must be considered as a unit; for one plan, one purpose, controls from the first page of the first volume to the last page of the tenth. The literary selections were not chosen haphazard nor were they graded and arranged after any ordinary plan. In this respect they differ in character and arrangement from the selections in any other work now upon the market.
Moreover, the notes, interpretations, original articles and multifarious helps are an integral part and are inseparable. In this respect, again, is the work original and unique.
Further, the pictures, of which there are many hundreds, were drawn or painted expressly for Journeys Through Bookland and are as much a part of the general scheme as any other help to appreciation. Again, the type page, the decorations, the paper, binding and endsheets, all combine to give an artistic setting to literary masterpieces and a stimulating atmosphere for literary study.
The masterpieces which make the field of the Journeys naturally fall into three classes. First, there is the literature of culture, those things which you and I and everybody must know if we expect to be considered educated or to be able to read with intelligence and appreciation the current writings of the day. To this class belong all those nursery rhymes, lyrics, classic myths, legends and so on to which allusion is constantly made and which are themselves the legal tender of polite and cultured conversation. Next, there are those selections whose power lies in the profound influence they exert upon the unfolding character of boy or girl. As a child readeth so is he. Masterpieces of this type abound in the books and it is by means of them that the author hopes and expects to exert his greatest influence upon his unknown friends among the children. The third group consists of the masterpieces which lend interest to school work and make it pleasanter, easier and more profitable. It is what some may call the practical side of literature. It is what, at first, appeals most strongly to those who have read little, but which ultimately appears of less value than the influence of cultural and character-building literature.
Any treatment of Journeys that is worthy of the name must consider the masterpieces themselves in their three great functions, as well as the devices by which the selections are made effective.
The table of contents at the beginning of each volume shows a wide selection of the best things that have ever been written for children--not always the new things, but always the best things for the purpose. The masterpieces are the tried and true ones that have long been popular with children and have formed a large part of the literary education of the race.
There are a host of complete masterpieces and many selections from other works which are too long to print here or which are otherwise unavailable. It has often happened that something written for older heads and for serious purposes has in it some of the most charming and helpful things for the young. For instance, Gulliver's Travels is a political satire, and as such it is long since dead. Yet parts of it make the most fascinating reading for children. Moreover, Swift and many other great writers defiled their pages with matter which ought to be unprintable. To bring together the good things from such writers, to reprint them with all the graces of style they originally possessed, and yet so carefully to edit them that there can be no suggestion of offense, has been the constant aim of the writer.
The books contain, too, many beautiful selections translated from foreign languages and made fresh, attractive and inspiring. Many of the old fables and folk stories have been rewritten, but others which have existed long in good form have been left untouched. In the great masterpieces no liberties have been taken with the text without making known the fact, and in every case the most reliable edition has been followed. It is hoped that children will have nothing to "unlearn" from the reading of these books.
There are not a few old things in the set that are really new, because they have heretofore been inaccessible to children except in musty books not likely to be met.
This is no haphazard collection made hastily, and largely at the suggestion of others. Everything in the books has been read and reread by the writer. True, he has availed himself of the help of others, and to many his obligations are deep and lasting; but in the end the responsibility for selection and for the quantity and quality of the helps is wholly his.
The contents of the books have been graded from the nursery rhymes in the first volume to the rather difficult selections in the ninth volume. In the arrangement, however, not all the simplest reading is in the first volume. It might be better understood if we say that one volume overlaps another, so that, for instance, the latter part of the first volume is more difficult than the first part of the second volume. When a child is able to read in the third volume he will find something to interest him in all the volumes.
What has been said, however, does not wholly explain the system of arrangement. Fiction, poetry, essays, biography, nature-study, science and history are all fairly represented in the selections, but no book is given over exclusively to any subject. Rather is it so arranged that the child who reads by course will traverse nearly every subject in every volume, and to him the different subjects will be presented logically in the order in which his growing mind demands them. We might say that as he reads from volume to volume, he travels in an ever widening and rising spiral. The fiction of the first volume consists of fables, fairy tales and folk stories; the poetry of nursery rhymes and children's verses; the biography of anecdotal sketches of Field and Stevenson; and history is suggested in the quaintly written Story of Joseph. On a subsequent turn of the spiral are found fiction from Scott and Swift; poetry from Homer, Vergil, Hay, Gilbert and Tennyson; hero stories from Malory; history from Washington Irving.
If, however, some inquiring young person should wish to read all there is on history, biography or any other subject, the full index in the tenth volume will show him where everything of the nature he wishes is to be found.
Another valuable feature of arrangement is the frequent bringing together of selections that bear some relation to one another. A simple cycle of this sort may be seen where in the eighth volume the account of Lord Nelson's great naval victory is followed by Casabianca; a better one where in the fifth volume there is an account of King Arthur, followed by tales of the Round Table Knights from Malory, and Geraint and Enid and The Passing of Arthur from Tennyson. By this plan one selection serves as the setting for another, and a child often can see how the real things of life prove the inspiration for great writers. Again, in the fourth volume is The Pine Tree Shillings, a New England story or tradition for girls; this is followed immediately by The Sunken Treasure, a vivid story for boys; next comes The Hutchinson Mob, a semi-historical sketch, followed in turn by The Boston Massacre, which is pure history. The cycle is completed by The Landing of the Pilgrims and Sheridan's Ride, two historical poems.
Graphic Classification of Masterpieces on page 14 will show more clearly what is meant by the overlapping of subjects. In the column at the left are given the names of the subjects under which the selections have been classified, running from Fables to Drama, and Studies, the last name including all the varied helps given by the author. Across the top of the table the Roman numerals, I to X, indicate the numbers of the ten volumes. The shading in the squares shows the relative quantity of material. In using the Classification, "read across to learn in which volume the subjects are treated; read down to find what each volume contains." Thus: The first volume contains (reading down), a great many fables, many fairy stories and much folk lore, a few myths and old stories, a little biography, some biblical or religious material, selections that may be classified under the heads of nature, humor and poetry; but there is no account of legendary heroes, no travel and adventure, no history, nothing of a patriotic nature and no drama. On the other hand (reading across), there are many fables in the first volume, a few in the second but none thereafter; a few myths and some classic literature are found in the first three volumes, more in the fourth and fifth, but the number and quantity decrease in the sixth and do not appear thereafter; nature work is to be found in all the volumes but is strongest in the seventh; drama appears in the eighth and the ninth. Biography has a place in all volumes, but is strongest in the seventh; while the Studies, appearing in all volumes, reach their highest point in the tenth.
As has been said, the chief factors in making Journeys Through Bookland unique and of greatest value are the many helps that are given the readers, young and old. These helps are varied in character and are widely distributed through the volumes. They must be considered one at a time by the person who would assist others to use them to the best purpose. These helps consist of what are technically known as studies, notes, introductory notes, biographies, pronouncing vocabularies, pictures, tables of contents and index. The following comments will make clear the purpose of each.
GRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION OF MASTERPIECES -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | Analysis | I | II |III | IV | V | VI |VII |VIII| IX | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ | | |++++|----| | | | | | | | | | Fables |++++|----| | | | | | | | V | | |++++|----| | | | | | | | o | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ l | | Fairy Stories |++++|++++|----| | | | | | | u | | Folk Lore |++++|++++|----| | | | | | | m | | |++++|++++|----| | | | | | | e | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ | | Stories Old |----|----|----|++++|++++|++++|++++|----|----| X | | and New |----|----|----|++++|++++|++++|++++|----|----| | | |----|----|----|++++|++++|++++|++++|----|----| i | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ s | | Myths and |----|----|----|++++|++++|++++| | | | | | Classic |----|----|----|++++|++++|++++| | | | a | | Literature |----|----|----|++++|++++|++++| | | | | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ G | | Legendary | | |----|++++|++++|++++| | | | u | | Heroes | | |----|++++|++++|++++| | | | i | | | | |----|++++|++++|++++| | | | d | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ e | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|++++|++++|----| | | Biography |----|----|----|----|----|----|++++|++++|----| f | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|++++|++++|----| o | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ r | | Travel and | | | |----|----|----|----|++++|----| | | Adventure | | | |----|----|----|----|++++|----| P | | | | | |----|----|----|----|++++|----| a | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ r | | | | | |----|----|----|----|++++|++++| e | | History | | | |----|----|----|----|++++|++++| n | | | | | |----|----|----|----|++++|++++| t | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ s, | | Biblical, |----|----| |----|----|----|----| |----| | | Moral, |----|----| |----|----|----|----| |----| T | | Religious |----|----| |----|----|----|----| |----| e | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ a | | | | |----|----|----|----|----|++++|++++| c | | Patriotism | | |----|----|----|----|----|++++|++++| h | | | | |----|----|----|----|----|++++|++++| e | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ r | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|++++|----|----| s | | Nature |----|----|----|----|----|----|++++|----|----| | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|++++|----|----| a | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ n | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----| d | | Humor |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----| | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----| S | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ t | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----| u | | Poetry |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----| d | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----| e | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ n | | | | | | | | | |----|----| t | | Drama | | | | | | | |----|----| s | | | | | | | | | |----|----| | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|++++| | | Studies |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|++++| | | |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|++++| | --------------------------------------------------------------------
The book keeps going
Reading is free forever. Sign up and watch scenes appear while you read.
Scenes Storieta drew for other classics.
New illustrated classics
Once or twice a month: the latest books to get full character casts, scene art, and free comic editions. No account needed.
