Public-domain ebook
Language: en1,012 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Children & Young Adult Reading·How To ...·Sports/Hobbies
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #31186.
The book presents itself as a practical handbook for children who keep asking, “What shall we do now?” Its opening explains that the author has gathered five hundred games and pastimes, ranging from outdoor pursuits for boys and girls to solitary entertainments, indoor crafts, and party tricks, into a clearly indexed volume. The introductory pages describe the work’s purpose: to supply quick answers for a wide variety of situations, whether at home, in the country, alone or in company. An appendix of blank, numbered leaves invites owners to record additional games, acknowledging that no single collection can be exhaustive. The text then launches into detailed descriptions of classic activities such as Blind Man’s Buff and its many variations, providing rules, safety notes, and hints for both participants and spectators.
Written in the straightforward, instructional style of early‑20th‑century domestic literature, the voice is warm yet authoritative, reflecting Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s experience as a teacher and reformer. The language is plain, with occasional playful asides, and the abundant illustrations reinforce the instructions. Readers who enjoy hands‑on, nostalgic recreations of childhood play, parents, teachers, camp counselors, or anyone interested in historical games, will find the book a valuable resource for sparking imagination and filling idle moments.
The opening · free to read
This book has been made in the hope that the question which forms its title, "What shall we do now?" may come to be put less frequently. It is so easy for children to ask it, so hard for grown-up persons with many other matters to think about to reply to it satisfactorily.
In the following pages, which have something to say concerning most of the situations in which children find themselves, at home or in the country, out of doors or in, alone or in company, a variety of answers will be found. No subject can be said to be exhausted; but the book is perhaps large enough. Everything which it contains has been indexed so clearly that a reader ought to be able to find what he wants in a moment. Moreover, by way both of supplying any deficiencies and of giving each copy of the book a personal character, an appendix of blank and numbered leaves (with a few spaces in the index) has been added, in which the owner may record such omitted games and employments as he has found good.
There are, of course, many fortunate girls and boys who do not require any help whatever, who always know what to do now, and do it. For them some sections of this book may have little value. It is for that greater number of less resourceful children who whenever time is before them really are in need of counsel and hints, that it has been prepared.
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