CHILDREN'S BOOKS.*

Ls The Arkunsaw Bear' Mr. Albert Bigelow Paine tells a delight-

ful story that goes with a swing from the first meeting of the little boy called Rosephus and the big bear called Horatio-- "Oh! 'twas down in the woods of the Arkansaw, And the night was cloudy, and the wind was raw, And he didn't have a bed and he didn't have a bite, And if he hadn't fiddled, he'd a travelled all night '— until this pair of friends decide to give up their wandering life, and settle down together at school- " For the boy became the teacher of this kind and gentle creature, Who was faithful in his friendship and watchful in his care. And they travelled on for ever, and they'll never, never sever, Bosephus and the fiddle and the Old—Black--Bear."

Now this bear is exactly what a bear in a child's book ought to be. His endearing qualities are put into relief and made doubly attractive by more than a spice of original wickedness, and the author shows his knowledge of animal characteristics by giving Horatio that curious, almost uncanny persistency so constantly shown by all sorts of creatures in their efforts to overcome any obstacles that interfere with their wishes. In this case the wish was often for a particular sort of meal, sometimes of honey and sometimes of nice fat nigger (the scene is chiefly laid in Louis- iana), and leads to many thrilling adventures and hairbreadth escapes. Children will delight in the episode of the sugar house, though the idea of sugar in such large quantities as almost to engulf a bear may have its poignant side if they remember an eight-ounce ration. The little boy, 'who is a charming person, knows his world very well, and manages his queer friend most judiciously, and gets bim out of many a tight place. Every incident and adventure is turned to good account in a song set to some very attractive tunes, and the boy and the bear travel allont fiddling and singing to a great variety of audiences.

Fierce wild beasts are charmed into quiet, fascinated listeners, angry niggers become friendly, and justly incensed farmers forgive the loss of corn and melons, when they hear the magic notes sung by this little Orpheus. Mr. Rountree's pictures should he seen by lamplight, for then the sour greens of the

• (fa The Arkansan Bear. Told in Song and Story by Albert B. Paine. Pictures by Marry Rountree. London : Rarrap. (6s.)—(2) The Tooke!, and -.Mee Mary Talcs. By Robert do 3iountjele Rudolf. I.S.O. Illustrated by Margaret W. Tarrant. Same publishers. [53.1 —(:3) Jerk and Me. By Maude 8. Fumy. Illustrated by Helen Jacobs. Sarno publishers and price.—. (1) Lick Folks. vol. X0. Edited by Herbert D. Williams. London : Cassell. 7s. 6d.}—(&) The Child's 0/01,1 Magazine. London : 57 and 59 Ludgate Bill. 26.1 —(0) The Child's Companion. -London. : [es. 5d.1—(7) Fite Funny Fables. By F. B. Kirkman, B.A. Oxon. Illustrated by Allen "W. baby. London : Blasts. cu. Cal.-itet,]—(8) Sea, Toys, and a Tale. By the same author. Illustrated by Dorothy 3f. Wheeler. Same publishers. (Ss. ed. net.]—(9) Singing -Games for Chikken. . Written by Eleanor Farjnon. Illustrated by J. Lfttlejohnq, H.11.A. London: Dent. [Os. nut.}--(lo) A First and A Second Chap-Book of Bounds. By the same author. With Music by Marry Farjeon. Illustrated hy John Gatalde. Magic arid &Apt, by Winifred how. Same publishers. lls. net each.}—{l1) Pull as Bobbin : a Gladand of Child Verse. By Qucenie Scott /topper. uantrateg by Winifred H. Aekroyd. ;London: -Hemp. 15s, neti

three-colour process do not spoil the pleasure of looking at pretty forest landscapes, the jolly little boy, and the perfectly delightful animals he shows us. The frontispiece, with the entranced animals dancing by moonlight, is particularly attractive.

Though the coloured picture on the cover of The Tookey and Alice .Mary Tales° looks rather alarmingly " goody " with its young clergyman and his family and a background of country church, the stories in this book are well worth reading, for they are told in a lively, pleasant way. The village, with its appro- priate squire and parson, comfortable rectory, agreeable society, and interesting poor people, is somehow reminiscent of Trollope. This sounds a strange comparison for a child's book, and the likeness is of course slight. Perhaps the " old world " ways of all the characters—the easy coming and going of visitors, and the apparently ample leisure enjoyed by the grown-up people as well as by the children *of seven and eight years old—has some- thing to do with this idea. There is a thread of story running through the book, but most of the chapters are complete in themselves, such as the story of the brave old donkey Sally, who routed a young bull by braying fiercely at him in a narrow lane. We hope that imaginative children will not copy Alice Mary's habit of acting upon ideas that come to her in dreams, for they might not be as practical as hers were, when she found. the Bishop's lost ring. Miss Margaret Tarrant's full-page illus- trations are pretty and not too brightly coloured.

Jack and Me° are the two youngest children of a family party living in London, and Mollie describes all the small events of their lives in a spirited manner. They do most things together, such as having the measles, and spending the holidays at their grandmother's farmhouse in Dorset, where they and several other children have all the usual country and seaside games and fun. There is plenty of incident in the story, which is gaily and prettily illustrated by Miss Helen Jacobs.

Little Folks° keeps its high place among children's magazines. It has altered a little in shape, but seems to have quite as many stories, articles, coloured and black-and-white pictures as ever. The puzzles and correspondence pages are also full of good things, and in the Rabbit notes by Uncle Useful, a new con- tributor, there is a good suggestion for a moving cage. There are serial stories for big and little children. The two former are specially amusing and interesting. " The Reputation of the Upper Fourth " is a lively tale of a_ girls' school, while " Held in Ice " is an exciting sea story with an elaborate plot. The "Section for Very Little Folks " is full of pretty pictures and funny stories and verses.

The Child's Own Magazine 5 contains many stories and articles which will be of interest to its readers. There is a good serial in which the London of the time of Charles IL is well described. A party of boys and girls, left in charge of an old servant, go about seeing the sights of the town. The King and Milton make an appearance in the story, which is well told and moves quickly and with considerable spirit.—The Child's Companion° is another little magazine of much the same kind, made up of simple, interesting stories, natural history and "general know- ledge" articles. They both also make a feature of Bible stories and religious teaching written with sincerity and good taste.

In Five Funny Fables and How to Play There Mr. F. B. Kirkman has retold well-known fables "for children aged about 5 to 12." Itis one of the "Look and Listen" series, and thestories are intended, the author says in his Preface, " merely as rough material " for children to use in making up acting games of their own. This is really too humble a view to take of the amusing tales that are here woven round the fables. In " Haw a Bear and a Man became Friends " we meet another delightful beast, who must surely be a relation of the Horatio of the first book noticed in this review, they have so many delightful character- istics in common. Mr. Allen B. Seaby has illustrated the book in black-and-white, with washes of brown. We particularly like the drawings of the Fox and the Crow.

Tea, Toys, and a Tale° is another volume of the same series, also by Mr. Kirkman. It is an amusing little story "for children aged about 4 to 9 " of a happy family party who go by train to spend an afternoon with a very charming granny. The author suggests that this story should also be acted, and it would no doubt make an excellent foundation for a dramatic game, par- ticularly the delightful fairy-tale that granny tells after tea. There are a number of pretty illustrations in green, red, and brown, and a full-page coloured frontispiece of " the puffer train," by Miss Dorothy M. Wheeler.

In.Singitrg Games for Children° Mrs. Farjcon has written

some charming and fanciful fairy epieodes. The songs and dances flow and trip with well-marked melodious rhythms, gay and buoyant and full of life. Some of these games might well be carried out in a garden or even a. large' room, with the help of plenty of good " make-believe," while others seem meant to be read and enjoyed as fairy-tales, for , their scenery has such wide horizons and the accessories are so complicated that more than makeshifts would be needed to supplement an imagination best left to Its own devices. One of the prettiest and simplest is called " The Daisy Field " :-

"Under a tree in a spring meadow sit three little Fan-vs and

pipe. Barelegged children in short filmy tunics of white, green, and yellow dance in the grass and sing :-

We will be daisies in a green field I

We will be daisies in a green field !

The sun is yellow, the clouds are whito, And the earth is green for our delight, And we are daisies all in a field ! "

The daisies are then enticed by an old satyr into becoming violets, roses, lilies, and sunflowers, until they end by turning into daisies again. " The Green Cap " would be less sure of successful representation:—

" The spring moon is golden on the Irish hills, and in its light

the little people, green capped and green shod, dance in a green ring. But one who has no cap sits woeful under a spotted toad- stool, his. chin on his knee.

Green caps in the moonshine, Green shoes on the hill.

And till the sun spin.s out o' the sea We will dance our fill, And whoso lights upon our dance He shall do our will."

The chief difficulty is really that of size. Flesh-and-blood fairies generally look unfairylike. If we call them flowers or

" antics " or Cupids, illusion is not ruffled in the way it is when a nice fat seven-year-old is expected to possess the slim figure besides all the knowledge and all the wiles of a Titania or an Oberon. The black-and-white illustrations are delightful, but those' in colour suffer terribly from the glaring faults of the process, and we feel inclined to offer Mr. Littlejohn our con- dolences.

A First and A Second Chap-Book of Bounds," by Mr. and Mrs.

Farjeon, are two pretty little paper-covered books with attractive black-and-white illustrations. The rounds are interesting, but is not the music probably somewhat beyond the very little children to whom the words would appeal ?

In Pull the Bobbin". Miss Queenie Scott-Hopper has given us

some pretty rhythmical verses. First comes " The Glad New Year," telling of the "Twelve friends—as true as friends can be" ; then other verses- on many childish pursuits and delights, such as

bubble-blowing and "A Ride on a Roundabout." The little volume ends with a charming Christmas song cycle, in which a

good old-fashioned Caristmas Day is celebrated with plenty of real plum-pudding and flaming snapdragon. The illustrator, Miss W. M. Ackroyd, has tames the three-colour process into subdued colours with a pleasing result.