THE BEST BOOKS FOR SUNDAYSCHOOL LIBRARIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9178, 6 October 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE BEST BOOKS FOR SUNDAYSCHOOL LIBRARIES.

A writer in the New York Independent discusses what kind of books should be placed in Sunday-school libraries. A supply of suitable new books is clearly very necessary, if it be true, as stated, that since the "Congregational Sunday-school and Publishing Society" came into being, they have sold four tons of the old goody-goody" kind of books as waste paper. The Independent's advice is as follows : — I have learned that it is not safe to accept any book on the merit of the author without careful examination. Mrs. Burnett has written the sweet, helpful stories of " Little Lord Fauntleroy" and " That Lass o' Lowrie's," but she has also written " Through One Administration," a book which should go into no Sunday-school library. While "Pansy" is almost always true and helpful, her bock, " From Different Standpoints," is considered objectionable by many. This is true also of Louise Alcott's "Moods." Very few persons would think of disapproving of George Mac Donald's " Annals of a yuiet Neighbourhood" or "The Marquis of Lossie," but many object to " Robert Falconer " as unsettling to the simple Christian faith of the young. Mayne Reid is an author whose books must be selected with care. They are very fascinating to the average boy, and some of them may legitimately satisfy his taste for thrilling adventure. Such stories as " The Cliff Climbers," "The Wood Rangers," " The Plant Hunters," "The Forest Exiles," and "The Young Voyageurs," have undoubtedly stimulated many a boy to a healthful love of wood life. A minister who finds his greatest recreation and pleasure during his summer vacation in plunging into the almost unknown wilderness testifies that his first taste for this healthful enjoyment was given by the reading of Mayne Reid's books. I must, however, warn the boys against some of them. Banish " Oceola," "The Scalp Hunters," "The War Trail," "The White Chief," and "The Wild Huntress" from the shelves.

Jules Verne is a writer condemned by many ; but some of his books I believe to be healthful and stimulating. Itisanatural step from his At the North Pole" and " Desert of Ice" to Kane's "Arctic Explorations" and other works 011 exploration. It is true that Verne blends fact and fiction so skilfully that it is difficult to distinguish between them ; but 1 believe that his books of the character of those mentioned do stimulate a taste for reliable works of travel and exploration. The older boys and girls should be encouraged to read Sir Samuel Baker's, Paul du Chaillu's, Livingstone's and Stanley's wonderful travels in Africa, Parkman's "Oregon Trail," Irving's "Astoria" and "Captain Bonneville's Adventures," "Bayard Taylor's Travels," and Isabella Bird's " Unbeaten Tracks in Japan" and " Life in the Rocky Mountains." Librarians testify that it is more difficult to supply reading for girls than for boys. This would not be true if girls were encouraged, as I think they should be, to read the same books which their brothers read. Why should a girl not enjoy works of travel and adventure, historical stories, and juvenile books of popular science, as well as fairy tales, the quieter pictures of home life, and the never-failing love story A girl has the advantage of a boy in her reading, in that her mind develops and matures much earlier, so that she may safely begin to read at the early age of thirteen or fourteen authors which boys had better leave until some years later. A girl of thirteen may not appreciate the keen edge of satire and the fine analysis of character in Dickens' and Thackeray's novels, but she will find much that she can understand and enjoy, and her taste will be cultivated for the best reading. These authors are not so safe for immature boys, for too often their pictures of certain vices are painted in a light to awaken admiration rather than abhorrence in the mind of a boy.