Chapter VIII · List of Books for Primary Grades
Reading edition
In selecting reading books for primary grades the purpose is to find those which will give the readiest mastery of the printed forms of speech.
For this purpose books need to be well graded and interesting. Primary teachers have expended their utmost skill upon such simple, attractive, and interesting books for children. Pictorial illustration has added to the clearness and beauty of the books, so that, with the rivalry of many large publishing houses, we now have a great variety of good primary books to select from.
The earliest and simplest of these are the primers, which, followed by the first readers, give the most necessary drills upon the forms of easy words and sentences. Great care has been taken to give an easy regular grading so as to let a child help himself as much as possible. But as soon as children, by blackboard exercises and by means of primers, have gained a mastery of the simpler words and the powers of the letters, the Mother Goose rhymes, the fables and fairy tales (already familiar to the children in oral work) are introduced into their reading books in the simplest possible forms.
The use of interesting rhymes and stories in this early reading is the only means of giving it a lively content and of thus securing interest and concentration of thought. Good primary teachers have been able in this way to relieve the reading lessons of their tedium, and, what is equally good, have strengthened the interest of the children in the best literature of childhood.
Besides the choicest fables and fairy tales, many of the simpler nature myths and even such longer poems and stories as "Hiawatha," "Robinson Crusoe," and "Ulysses" have been used with happy results as reading books in the first three years. There are also certain collections of children's poems, such as Stevenson's "Child's Garden of Verses," Field's "Love-songs of Childhood," Sherman's "Little Folk Lyrics," "Old Ballads in Prose," "The Listening Child," and others, which may suggest the beauty and variety of choice literary materials which are now easily within the reach of teachers and children in primary schools.
There is no longer any doubt that little folk in primary classes may reap the full benefit of a close acquaintance with these favorite songs, stories, and poems, and that in the highest educative sense the effect is admirable.
In the following list the books for each grade are arranged into three groups:—
First. A series of choicest books and those extensively used and well adapted for the grade as regular reading exercises.
Second. A supplementary list of similar quality and excellence, but somewhat more difficult.
They may, in some cases, serve as substitutes for those given in the first group.
Third. A collection of books for teachers, partly similar in character to those mentioned in the two previous groups and partly of a much wider, professional range in literature, history, and nature. Some books of child-study, psychology, and pedagogy are also included. The problems of the primary teacher are no longer limited to the small drills and exercises in spelling and reading, but comprehend many of the most interesting and far-reaching questions of education. It is well, therefore, for the primary teacher to become acquainted not only with the great works of literature but with the best professional books in education.
LIST OF CHOICE READING MATTER FOR THE GRADES
FIRST GRADE—FIRST SERIES
Cyr's Primer. Ginn & Co. Cyr's First Reader. Ginn & Co. Riverside Primer and First Reader. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Nature Stories for Young Readers (Plants), D. C. Heath & Co. Hiawatha Primer. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Stepping Stones to Literature, Book I. Silver, Burdett, & Co. Child Life Primer. The Macmillan Co. Taylor's First Reader. Werner School Book Co. Arnold's Primer. Silver, Burdett, & Co. The Thought Reader. Ginn & Co. Sunbonnet Babies. Rand, McNally, & Co. Nature's By-ways. The Morse Co. Graded Classics, No. I. B. F. Johnson Pub. Co. Graded Literature, No. I. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. First Reader (Hodskins). Ginn & Co. Baldwin's Primer (Kirk). American Book Co.
FIRST GRADE—SECOND SERIES
Six Nursery Classics (O'Shea). D. C. Heath & Co. Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Stories for Children. American Book Co. Rhymes and Fables. University Publishing Co. The Finch First Reader. Ginn & Co. Baldwin's First Reader. American Book Co. Heart of Oak, No. 1. D. C. Heath & Co. Choice Literature, Book I (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co. Child Life, First Book. The Macmillan Co. Fables and Rhymes for Beginners. Ginn & Co.
FIRST GRADE—FOR TEACHERS—THIRD SERIES
A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Mother Goose). D. C. Heath & Co. The Adventures of a Brownie. Harper & Bros. Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. Talks for Kindergarten and Primary Schools (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. Hall's How to Teach Reading. D. C. Heath & Co. Place of the Story in Early Education (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. Methods of Teaching Reading (Branson). D. C. Heath & Co. Lowell's Books and Libraries. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Ruskin's Books and Reading. In Sesame and Lilies. Lectures to Kindergartners (Peabody). D. C. Heath & Co. Mother Goose (Denslow). McClure, Phillips, & Co. Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories. J. L. Hammett & Co. The Study of Children and their School Training (Warner). The Macmillan Co. The Story Hour (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Trumpet and Drum (Eugene Field). Scribner's Sons. A Child's Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson). Scribner's Sons. Treetops and Meadows. The Public School Publishing Co., loomington, Ill. Songs from the Nest (Emily Huntington Miller). Kindergarten Literature Co. The Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). D. Appleton & Co. Children's Rights (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. The Story of Patsy (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. First Book of Birds (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
SECOND GRADE—FIRST SERIES
Nature Stories for Young Readers (continued). D. C. Heath & Co. Easy Steps for Little Feet. American Book Co. Classic Stories for Little Ones. Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill. Verse and Prose for Beginners. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Cyr's Second Reader. Ginn & Co. Stepping Stones to Literature, Book II. Pets and Companions (Stickney). Ginn & Co. Child Life, Second Book. The Macmillan Co. Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co.
The preceding books are for second and third grades.
Around the World, Book I. The Morse Co. Graded Classics, No. II. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. Graded Literature, No. II. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Welsh). D. C. Heath & Co. Book of Nature Myths (Holbrook). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
SECOND GRADE—SECOND SERIES
Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co. German Fairy Tales (Grimm). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. Fables and Folk Lore (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Nature Stories for Young Readers—Animals. D. C. Heath & Co. Danish Fairy Tales (Andersen). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. Baldwin's Second Reader. American Book Co. Choice Literature, Book II (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co. Fairy Tale and Fable (Thompson). The Morse Co. Fairy Stories and Fables (Baldwin). American Book Co. Plant Babies and Their Cradles. Educational Publishing Co. Æsop's Fables. Educational Publishing Co. Story Reader. American Book Co. Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co.
The above are excellent selections for second, third, and fourth grades.
Songs and Stories. University Publishing Co. Love Songs of Childhood (Field). Scribner's Sons.
SECOND GRADE—FOR TEACHERS
Poetry for Children (Eliot). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. The Story Hour (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Story of Hiawatha. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Round the Year in Myth and Song (Holbrook). American Book Co. Old Ballads in Prose (Tappan). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. St. Nicholas Christmas Book. Century Co., New York. Asgard Stories (Foster-Cummings). Silver, Burdett, & Co. Fairy Tale Plays and How to Act Them (Mrs. Bell). Longmans, Green, & Co. Little Folk Lyrics (Sherman). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co. Nature Pictures by American Poets. The Macmillan Co. Squirrels and Other Fur-bearers (Burroughs). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Seven Great American Poets (Hart). Silver, Burdett, & Co. Early Training of Children (Malleson). D. C. Heath & Co. Comenius's The School of Infancy. D. C. Heath & Co. Krüsi's Life of Pestalozzi. American Book Co. Development of the Child (Oppenheim). The Macmillan Co. The Study of Child Nature (Elizabeth Harrison). Published by Chicago Kindergarten College. Listening Child (Thatcher). The Macmillan Co. History and Literature (Rice). A. Flanagan & Co.
THIRD GRADE—FIRST SERIES
Robinson Crusoe. Public School Publishing Co. Golden Book of Choice Reading. American Book Co. Æsop's Fables (Stickney). Ginn & Co. Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part I. Ginn & Co. Seven Little Sisters. Ginn & Co. Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co. Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co. Child Life, Third Reader. The Macmillan Co. Grimm's German Household Tales. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Fables (published as leaflets). C. M. Parker, Taylorville, Ill. Around the World, Book II. The Morse Co. Graded Classics, No. III. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. Graded Literature, No. III. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. Grimm's Fairy Tales. Educational Publishing Co. Grimm's Fairy Tales (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co. Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). American Book Co.
THIRD GRADE—SECOND SERIES
Arabian Nights. Houghton, Mifflin. & Co. Hans Andersen's Stories. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). Harper & Bros. Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children. Ginn & Co. Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co. Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co. Judd's Classic Myths. Grimm's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co. The Eugene Field Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons. A Child's Garden of Verses. Rand, McNally, & Co. Little Lame Prince (Craik). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. Prose and Verse for Children (Pyle). American Book Co. Book of Tales. American Book Co.
THIRD GRADE—FOR TEACHERS
Stories from the History of Rome. The Macmillan Co. Friends and Helpers (Eddy). Ginn & Co. Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe (Yonge). The Macmillan Co. Robinson Crusoe. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Arabian Nights, Aladdin, etc. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. Bird's Christmas Carol (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Uncle Remus (Harris). D. Appleton & Co. Fifty Famous Stories Retold (Baldwin). American Book Co. Four Great Americans (Baldwin). Werner School Book Co. Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans (Eggleston). American Book Co. The Story of Lincoln (Cavens). Public School Publishing Co. Among the Farmyard People (Pierson). E. P. Dutton & Co. The Howells Story Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons. The Jungle Book (Kipling). Century Co., New York. Old Norse Stories (Bradish). American Book Co. Little Brothers of the Air (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Hans Brinker (Mary Mapes Dodge). Century Co. Black Beauty. University Publishing Co. Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Wonder Book (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. The Story of the Wagner Opera. Scribner's Sons. Thoughts on Education (Locke). The Macmillan Co. The Education of Man (Froebel). D. Appleton & Co. Childhood in Literature and Art (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Waymarks for Teachers (Arnold). Silver, Burdett, & Co. Hailman's History of Pedagogy. American Book Co.
SERIES OF SELECT READERS FOR THE GRADES
Child Life. The Macmillan Co. Around the World. The Morse Co. Baldwin's Readers. American Book Co. Graded Classics. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. Graded Literature. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. Stepping Stones to Literature. Silver, Burdett, & Co. Lights to Literature. Rand, McNally, & Co. The Heart of Oak Series. D. C. Heath & Co. Choice Literature. Butler, Sheldon, & Co.