CO.-OP. WOMEN’S GUILD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 74, 24 February 1938, Page 12

CO.-OP. WOMEN’S GUILD.

ADDRESS ON LITERATURE. Mrs Niederer presided at a meeting .of the Co-operative Women’s Guild on Tuesday afternoon, when a very interesting address was given by Mrs Mar-tin-Smith on children’s literature. The speaker stressed »the importance of a thorough training in good literature; parents could not afford to neglect this aspect of their children’s education. As it was unwise to leave the matter entirely to the school, with its crowded curriculum, they must .be prepared to help their children themselves. There is such a wealth of stories in our language, the difficulty was to make the wisest choice. Books for children should be well printed and well illustrated, and bound books were always preferable and for the most part cheaply obtained. The speaker explained how man’s first stories —we called them myths —arose out of man’s attempt to_ solve the problem of life, or to explain the phenomena of Nature. Children seemed to l>e born with an instinctive thirst for stories, and to pass through many orderly stages. The ages were not well defined y they depended upon environment and opportunity. Many books were mentioned by the speaker, fairy tales, humorous, adventure, poems, geographical' series, “Hound the Globe” and “Invitation to the Play,” suitable for all ages. She had a number of books for perusal which were much appreciated. A vote of thanks was accorded Mrs MartinSmith for her address.