CHOICE READING FOR SCHOOLS. The Normal Course in Reading. By Miss EMMA J. TODD, Formerly Training Teacher in Aurora, Ill., Public The Rational Method in Reading. By EDWARD G. WARD, Associate Supt. Public Instruction, Brooklyn, N.Y. The Young Folks' Library. Edited by LARKIN DUNTON, LL.D., Head Master Boston Normal School. THE WORLD AND ITS PEOPLE: eight volumes (including two in preparation). Twilight Stories. By ELIZABETH E. FOULKE. A collection of charming original stories and poems, fully illus- 11425.39 COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY SILVER, BURDETT & COMPANY. Harvard College Library Speak to the children, Little Book, And bring to them happy hours; His care o'er all who sleep; How much a little child can do. M. I. L. 4 PREFACE. THE HE object of nature study is twofold: first, to arouse and cultivate the habit of observation; and, second, to impress the facts thus acquired upon the mind and the memory. What more delightful medium than verse for transmitting the beauties of nature to the awakened perceptions of childhood? Children are natural lovers of poetry; its musical rhythm pleases the ear, its charm of expression stimulates the imagination, and they are easily led to search for the deeper beauty of meaning. The need of a nature-poetry reader for the lower school grades has long been felt, and it was to meet this obvious want that the present volume has been compiled. It is intended to cover the first four years of school work, and the selections have been carefully graded with a view to adapting them to the varying ages and needs of those who will use the book. A division has been made into Songs of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, and under each head will be found a wide range of selections, from the simple rhymes suited to the younger readers, to more elaborate poems such as older pupils can easily read and comprehend. |