All persons who care very much for reading will find their way naturally to the books most likely to please them; left alone in a library they are never disappointed. For them no advice is necessary. Nor is advice important to those who have opportunities to compare notes on reading with friends who have similar tastes. For instance, two boys may fall to talking of books. "Have you read David Balfour?" one will say. "No; who's it by?" "Stevenson." "What else did he write?" "Well, he wrote Treasure Island." "I've read that. If David Balfour is anything like that, I must get it." He gets it; and thus, either by asking others whose taste he can trust, or by going steadily on through each author who satisfies him, he will always have as much good reading as he needs.

But there are still other readers—who have no real instinct for books, or no memory for authors' names, or few opportunities of comparing notes—for whom a list of books that are worth trying, books which have been tested and found all right by thousands of readers, ought to be very useful. In the following pages a list of this kind has been drawn up. It is very far indeed from anything like completeness—many good authors are not mentioned at all, and others have written many more books than are here placed under their names—but those chosen are in most cases their best, and it will be very easy for readers who want more to find out other titles. The books named are for the most part not new. But before children read new books they read old; the new ones come later. What is suggested here is a ground-work. Moreover, there are so many ways for new books to suggest themselves that to attempt the impossible task of keeping pace with them here was unnecessary.

Girls are such steady readers of what are called boys' books, and boys are occasionally so much interested in what are called girls' books, that the two groups have not been separated. All that has been done is to describe the nature of each division of stories.

Fairy Tales

Nearly all the best old fairy tales are to be found in Mr. Andrew Lang's collections, of which six are mentioned:—

Many families do very well with merely

These are traditional. First favorites among English whimsical tales are, of course,

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland	By	Lewis Carroll.
Through the Looking-glass	"	"

of which there is no need to speak, nor of

The Water-Babies	By	Charles Kingsley.
The King of the Golden River	"	John Ruskin.
The Rose and the Ring	"	W. M. Thackeray.

And among other good stories are—

Fairy Tales	By	Alexandre Dumas.
Mopsa the Fairy	"	Jean Ingelow.
Prince Prigio	"	Andrew Lang.
The Gold of Fairnilee	"	"
Twenty Best Fairy Tales	"	Lucy Perkins.
The Bee-Man of Orn	"	Frank R. Stockton.
The Clocks of Rondaine	"	"
Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	"	Mrs. Ewing.

Lewis Carroll's "Bruno's Revenge," the story which was the beginning of Sylvie and Bruno, is perfect in its way.

Legendary Tales

Classical

The Heroes	By	Charles Kingsley.
A Wonder Book	"	Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Tanglewood Tales	"	"
The Story of the Odyssey	"	Rev. A. J. Church.
The Story of the Iliad	"	"
Stories from Homer	"	"

Romantic

The Morte D'Arthur	By	Sir T. Malory.
Tales from Shakespeare	"	Charles and Mary Lamb.
Puck of Pook's Hill	"	Rudyard Kipling.
Stories from the Faerie Queen	"	Mary Macleod.
Heroes of Chivalry and Romance	"	Rev. A. J. Church.
Stories of the Magicians	"	"
Olaf the Glorious	"	Robert Leighton.
Robin Hood	"	Howard Pyle.
Men of Iron	"	"
Canterbury Tales	"	Chaucer.
Robin Hood: His Deeds and Adventures	"	Lucy Perkins.
Ballads in Prose	"	Mary Macleod.
Forgotten Tales of Long Ago	"	E. V. Lucas.
Old Fashioned Tales	"	"
Tales from Maria Edgeworth. Introduction	"	Austin Dobson.
Tales from the Canterbury Pilgrims. Retold	"	J. H. Darton.
The Book of King Arthur	"	Mary Macleod.
Midsummer Night's Dream for Young People	"	Lucy Perkins.
The Wonder Book of Old Romance.

Here also we might place Gulliver's Travels.

Verse and Poetry

Our first acquaintance with poetry is made through nursery rhymes. Many collections of nursery rhymes may be had. And there are also a number of very charming picture books of simple verse, suitable for small readers, such as Miss Kate Greenaway's

Mr. Walter Crane's

and various toy books.

Four favorite books of comic verse are Edward Lear's

Four books, more recent, which come nearer to poetry than anything already mentioned, are—

Verses for Children	By	Mrs. Ewing.
Sing Song	"	Christina G. Rossetti.
Lilliput Lyrics	"	W. B. Rands.
A Child's Garden of Verses	"	R. L. Stevenson.

A large collection of verse of the kind already described, with the addition of ballads, open-air rhymes, animal verses and other matter—intended to pave the way to real poetry—exists in

compiled by E. V. Lucas. After these, we come to collections containing real poetry, two excellent ones being

The Blue Poetry Book	By	Andrew Lang.
A First [Second and Third] Poetry Book	"	M. A. Woods.

There is also

Lyra Heroica

By

W. E. Henley,

a collection for boys. Selections from Tennyson, Browning, and other poets, intended for children, have been made, but most young explorers of poetry like to have the complete works and hunt for themselves. Other popular books of poetry are—

The Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics.
Poems Every Child Should know.
Mr. C. R. D. Patmore's Children's Garland from the Best Poets.
Miss Agnes Repplier's Book of Famous Verse.
H. E. Scudder's American Poems.
The "Original Poems," and Others	By	Jane and Ann Taylor.
National Rhymes for the Nursery	"	George Saintsbury.
The Ballad Book	"	W. Allingham.
Lays of Ancient Rome	"	Lord Macaulay.
Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers	"	W. E. Aytoun.
The Percy Reliques.
A Thousand and One Gems of Poetry.
Scott.
Longfellow.
Hood.

Many boys also like the humorous stories in Barham's Ingoldsby Legends.

Books About Children

To this section, which is suited more particularly for girls, belong a large number of stories of a very popular kind: stories describing the ordinary life of children of to-day, with such adventures as any of us can have near home. Years ago the favorites were—

The Fairchild Family	By	Mrs. Sherwood.
Sandford and Merton	"	Thomas Day.

But these are not read as they used to be, partly because taste has changed, and partly because so many other books can now be procured. But fifty and more years ago they were in every nursery library.

the most famous family book of all, will be found in the adventure section, to which perhaps really belong

by Harriet Martineau, although these two, and

may be included here. Here also belong Maria Edgeworth's

which, although their flavor is old-fashioned, are yet as interesting as ever they were.

Another writer whose popularity is no longer what it was is Jacob Abbott, the author of a number of fascinating stories of home life (on farms and in the country) in America in the middle of last century. The Franconia stories are these:—

And this is the Rollo series, intended by Mr. Abbott for rather younger readers:—

A list of other books, which come more or less rightly under the head of "Stories about Children" follows, the earlier ones being better suited to younger readers, and the later ones to older, the age aimed at in this chapter (and indeed in the whole book), ranging from five to fifteen.

By Kate Douglas Wiggin:—

By Louisa M. Alcott:—

The Little Pepper Series, and the Elsie Books. By Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett:—

By Mrs. Whitney:—

By Gelett Burgess:—

This section is necessarily more incomplete than any of the others, since it is impossible to keep pace with the great number of stories of this kind which are published every Christmas. But a few more may be added:—

Stories Told to a Child	By	Jean Ingelow.
The Lost Child	"	Henry Kingsley.
Helen's Babies	"	John Habberton.
The Treasure-Seekers	"	E. Nesbit.
Holiday House	"	Catherine Sinclair.
Deeds of Daring done by Girls	"	N. Hudson Moore.
Children of Other Days	"	"
Paleface and Redskin	"	F. Anstey.
The Silver Skates	"	M. M. Dodge.
Molly and Olly	"	Mrs. Humphry Ward.
Sweetheart Travelers	"	S. R. Crockett.
Sir Toady Crusoe	"	"
Sir Toady Lion	"	"
No Relations	"	Hector Malot.
Jogging 'Round the World	"	Edith Dunham.
A Little Daughter of the Revolution	"	Agnes Sage.
A Little Colonial Dame	"	"
The House of the Red Fox	"	Miriam Byrne.
The Would-be Witch	"	"
Little Barefoot	From the German of Auerbach.
Indian Boys and Girls	By	Alice Haines.
Japanese Child Life	"	"
Little Japs at Home	"	"
Jap Boys and Girls	"	"
According to Grandma	"	"
When Grandma was Little	"	"
What Grandma Says	"	"

Here also belong many of the stories of Miss Yonge, and we might perhaps place Uncle Tom's Cabin here too.

Boy and Schoolboy Stories

In this section are placed stories of modern boys, either at home or at school, and their ordinary home or school adventures. Among the best are—

Tom Sawyer

By

Mark Twain.

and

Bevis

By

Richard Jefferies.

Others are—

The Story of a Bad Boy	By	T. B. Aldrich.
My Boyhood	"	H. C. Barkley.
The Swan and her Crew	"	G. C. Davies.
Captain Chap	"	Frank R. Stockton.
The Tinkham Brothers' Tidemill	"	J. T. Trowbridge.

The best school story will probable always be

Tom Brown's School Days

By

T. Hughes.

Among the books of this kind meant rather for grownup readers, but read also by boys, are—

Huckleberry Finn	By	Mark Twain.
Frank Fairlegh	"	F. E. Smedley.
The Interpreter	"	Whyte Melville.
The Human Boy	"	Eden Phillpots.
Vice VersÂ	"	F. Anstey.

Adventure Stories

This is the largest group of books usually described as "for boys," although girls often read them too with hardly less interest. The first place in this class will probably always be held by Defoe's

and it is likely that most votes for second place would go to

After these we come to modern authors whose books have been written especially for boys, first among whom is the late Mr. R. M. Ballantyne, the author of, among numerous other books,

Many of Ballantyne's readers make a point of going through the whole series of his books. The other titles can be collected from the advertisement pages at the end of these volumes. With R. M. Ballantyne is usually associated the name of the late W. H. G. Kingston ("Kingston and Ballantyne the brave," Stevenson called them in the verses at the beginning of Treasure Island, another book which comes high in this section). Kingston's stories were also very numerous, but it will serve our purpose here to mention only the following six:—

Several authors have carried on Ballantyne and Kingston's work. Chief among these are Mr. G. A. Henty and Mr. G. Manville Fenn. Here are six of Mr. G. A. Henty's stories:—

And here are eight of Mr. G. Manville Fenn's:—

Mr. Max Pemberton, author of

"Q." (Mr. Quiller Couch), author of

and Mr. David Kerr, author of

Jules Verne is a French writer, but his stories have always quickly been translated into English, many of them by Mr. Henry Frith. Their titles are a good guide to their subject, for Jules Verne goes to science for some wonderful invention, such as a submarine boat or a flying machine, and then surrounds it with extraordinary adventures. Among his best books are—

First of English inventors of fantastic stories of adventure is Mr. Rider Haggard. His three most popular books are—

The books already named, with the exception of Robinson Crusoe, were written especially for boys. Other books which were not so intended, but have come to be read more by boys than any one else, include Fenimore Cooper's Indian stories, of which these are four:—

Other Indian stories are those of Gustave Aimard, translated from the French, among which are these:—

These are, of course, North American tales. Other North American tales are those of Captain Mayne Reid, which include—

In this section belong the books of Mr. George Bird Grinnell, author of

Also Harold Bindloss'

And to this section belong also stories of the sea, several of which have already been mentioned. High among these are Captain Marryat's

together with many of his tales intended originally for older readers, such as

Mr. Clark Russell's stories:—

Here also belong Mr. Kipling's

and an old sea favorite—

Two Years Before the Mast

By

R. H. Dana.

Other good sea books, not fiction:—

My First Voyage	By	W. Stones.
The Voyage of the "Sunbeam"	"	Lady Brassey.
The Cruise of the "Cachalot"	"	F. T. Bullen.
The Cruise of the "Falcon"	"	E. F. Knight.

Historical Stories for Boys

New historical stories are published in great numbers every year. The most popular author of this kind of book for boys is Mr. G. A. Henty, among whose very numerous historical tales, all good, are—

By Rev. A. J. Church—

Other historical tales:—

Stories from Froissart	By	Henry Newbolt.
The Scottish Chiefs	"	Jane Porter.
The Children of the New Forest	"	Captain Marryat.
A Monk of Fife	"	Andrew Lang.
Grettir the Outlaw	"	Baring Gould.
The Story of Burnt Njal	"	Sir George Dasent.
Lorna Doone	"	R. D. Blackmore.
In Old Egypt	"	H. P. Mendes.
An Island Story	"	H. E. Marshall.
Scotland's Story	"	"

By R. L. Stevenson—

By Charles Kingsley—

By Conan Doyle—

By Stanley J. Weyman—

By Mr. Andrew Balfour—

By Mark Twain

There are also historical stories more particularly intended by their authors for grown-up readers, but which boys and girls can, however, find quite interesting enough, even if much has to be skipped. First among these are Sir Walter Scott's novels:—

Other writers and books follow. By Alexandre Dumas—

By Charles Dickens—

By Lord Lytton—

Animal Books

First among the animal books are Mr. Kipling's two Jungle Books. Two other beast stories by Mr. Kipling are "Moti Guj, Mutineer," the tale of a truant elephant, which is in Life's Handicap and "The Maltese Cat," a splendid tale of a polo pony, which is in The Day's Work. Next to these comes Mr. E. Thompson-Seton's Wild Animals I Have Known. The lives of animals by themselves, or by some one who knows everything about them, are always favorite books with small readers. Among the best are these:—

Black Beauty (the story of a horse)	By	Mrs. Sewell.
Conrad the Squirrel	"	the author of Wandering Willie.
The Story of the Red Deer	"	J. W. Fortescue.
Every Inch a King (the story of a dog)	"	Anon.
The Lives of the Hunted	"	E. Thompson-Seton.
The Trail of the Sandhill Stag	"	"
The Adventures of a Siberian Cub	"	Leon Golschmann.
The Autobiography of a Grizzly.	"	E. Thompson-Seton.

The best tale of a bear is perhaps Bret Harte's "Baby Sylvester," which will be found in one of his volumes of short stories. Good animal stories are scattered about other collections of short stories. In Mr. Anstey's Paleface and Redskin are stories of dogs.

Mr. Lang's

has both dogs and cats in it, and many other creatures too. Here also should be placed Mr. Warde Fowler's

Other very popular animal books are Mr. Joel Chandler Harris's

and the same author has written also

which are stories not only of animals, but of people too; and here, perhaps, may be placed Æsop's Fables.

Wood Magic

By

Richard Jefferies

is an attempt to do for English wild life somewhat the same service that Mr. Kipling performed for India.

Other open air and animal books are:—

By the Rev. J. G. Wood—

Also

Curiosities of Natural History	By	Frank Buckland.
White's Selborne	Edited by Frank Buckland.
Wanderings in South America	By	Charles Waterton.
Wild Traits in Domestic Animals	"	Louis Robinson.
The Voyage of the "Beagle"	"	Charles Darwin.
Ants, Bees, and Wasps	"	Sir John Lubbock. (Lord Avebury).
On the Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence of Animals	"	"
Bob, Son of Battle	"	"

A series of very interesting scientific books, under the general title "The Romance of Science," is published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Among these volumes are—

The Making of Flowers	By	Professor Henslow.
The Birth and Growth of Worlds	"	Professor Green.
Spinning Tops	"	Professor Perry.
Time and Tide	"	Sir Robert Ball.

The same publishers also issue a series of "Natural History Rambles," including—

In Search of Minerals	By	D. T. Ansted.
Lane and Field	"	the Rev J. G. Wood.
Ponds and Ditches	"	M. C. Cooke.
Underground	"	J. E. Taylor.
The Woodlands	"	M. C. Cooke.
The Sea-shore	"	Professor Duncan.

There is also a new series, called "The Wonder Books of Science," of which

are the first.

Other good scientific yet very entertaining books:—

The Fairyland of Science	By	A. B. Buckley.
Through Magic Glasses	"	"
Life and Her Children	"	"
The Romance of the Insect World	"	Miss L. Badenoch.
The Ocean	"	"
Glaucus	"	Charles Kingsley.
Madam How and Lady Why	"	"
The Old Red Sandstone	"	Hugh Miller.
The Testimony of the Rocks	"	"
Homes without Hands	"	Rev. J. G. Wood.
Sun, Moon, and Stars	"	A. Giberne.
The Story of the Heavens	"	Sir Robert Ball.
Other Worlds than Ours	"	R. A. Proctor.
The Orbs around us	"	"
The Boys Book of Inventions	"	R. S. Baker.
Extinct Animals	"	E. Ray Lankester.
Electricity for Young People	"	Tudor Jenks.

History

A good deal of more or less truthful history will be found in the section given to historical tales (see page 380). Here follows a small list of more serious historical books which also are good reading:—

Tales of a Grandfather	By	Sir Walter Scott.
Stories from English History	"	Rev. A. J. Church.
Lives of the Queens of England	"	Agnes Strickland.
Cameos from English History (several series)	"	C. M. Younge.
Stories from Roman History	"	Mrs. Beesley.
Deeds that Won the Empire	"	W. H. Fitchett.
Fights for the Flag	"	"

Books of Travel

It is not important that travel books should be written especially for young readers. Almost all records of travel contain some pages of interest, whatever the remainder may be like. The fact that a book describes wanderings in a far country is enough.

But the books by Commander Robert E. Peary and his wife deserve mention.

The Treatment of Library Books

On this page is given a copy of the book mark which a clergyman, Mr. Henry Maxson, prepared for the use of the readers in the children's section of a library in Wisconsin.

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