Books.
Volume 7, 1896, pgs. 685-687
School and Home Life, by T.G. Rooper, M.A., H.M.I., Balliol College, Oxford (A. Brown & Sons, London, 6/-). "I have tried to study the education of children from the age of three onwards to their coming of age; and this, I think, few have had the chance of doing both practically and theoretically. Most teachers specialise on one period, the nursery, the 'private' school, on the 'public' school, or the university, because they have only the experience of one such period. The relation of one stage to the next has been too much neglected, with the result that in many young persons there are two or three distinct characters." We have ventured (without permission) to quote the above from a private letter from the author of School and Home Life, because we feel that the passage throws much light on the method and scope of the work before us. The casual reader might, without such a guide, say, "Oh, but the work does not deal with education at any particular stage, or even with the education of one sex or the other," and might suppose the charming classical English in which the essays are written to be the vehicle of a literary production, and that only. But parents will find here a mine of suggestions on each of the phases of educational work with which they are concerned, including the bringing up of boys and girls from three (or one!), to one-and-twenty. Perhaps the special characteristic of the work is the author's power of initiative. You read one of the essays, feel that all the thoughts are your own thoughts, and that nothing new is being said; that the "art of putting" is so happy that you are carried over the ground unawares. You digest the essay, consider it in its bearings on your own children, and behold, you find you have imbibed a number of new ideas, practical, vital, full of interest and hope. This would be something were the ideas those of a mere theorist on education; but we have in Mr. Rooper an educational expert, at home in the literature, both English and foreign, of each subject on which he touches, an adept in practical education, and, at the same time, an original thinker who passes the materials he receives through the illuminating medium of his own mind. Probably no man in England has initiated so many and so many successful new departures in education; and not the least claim on our gratitude is that, from the very first inception of the Parents' National Educational Union, Mr. Rooper has unwaveringly and actively supported the movement. Many of the lectures have been delivered to P.N.E.U. audiences, and those of us who have heard the lecture on Reverence, or on The Ideal in Education, for example, are likely to keep the impression of it at the bottom of all our educational thought. This is absolutely a book for parents, not to be borrowed but possessed, to be at hand read for reference at the moment.
The Natural Religion, by the Rev. Vernon Staley (Mowbray & Co., 1/-). We have long felt how much parents wanted a simple manual on the lines of present-day thought, recognising reverently the immense advances which science is making, and, with equal reverence, the leaders in scientific thought, and confronting the problems of the Christian religion with the science of the day. Every boy and girl should be carried through some such work as a part of right prepartaion for confirmation. Ability, liberality, and scientific knowledge should charaterise the author, and with these the power of treating difficult subjects very simple and very shortly. In this admirable little book we have a diction so simple that such words as "concentration" and "crude" are explained in the glossary; and a grasp so thorough that over a hundred authors are cited--from Tertullian to Tyndall, from Renan to Ruskin--and with such admirable method that the short and simple chapters are never overweighted. We believe that the young person thoroughly grounded in this defence of the outworks of Christianity would have little to fear from the attacks upon his faith which he is sure to meet later. He would find his feet set in a large room, and go on to learn the ever deeper things of God. We congratulate the author on having done real service to the Church, and especially to one section of the Church, which he hardly seems to contemplate--the young people, the Church of the future.
Mammals of Land and Sea, by Mrs. Arthur Bell (G. Philip & Son, 2/-). Another of Mrs. Bell's Ladder Series. The subject is extremely interesting; the pictures, though of course they give no idea of comparative size, are numerous and spirited. Mrs. Bell's work is as interesting and successful as we could possibly expect from so small a book on so large a subject.
The Child and its Spiritual Nature, by H. [Henry] King Lewis (Macmillan & Co., 5/-). We are greatly in sympathy with the author's contention that the spiritual aspects of childhood deserve far more careful attention than they at present receive. We are not quite with Mr. Lewis in all his conclusions, but his work is full of valuable suggestions, and, what is even better, is a storehouse of stimulating anecdotes. We cannot help quoting one:--"Miss Martineau tells us of a schoolboy of ten, who laid himself down, back uppermost, with Southey's Thalaba before him, on the first day of the Easter holidays, and turned over the leaves, notwithstanding his inconvenient position, as fast as if he were looking for something, till in a very few hours it was done, and he was off with it to the public library, bringing back the Curse of Kehama. Thus he went on with all Southey's poems and some others through his short holidays, scarcely moving voluntarily all those days except to run to the library. He came out of the process so changed that none of his family could help being struck by it. The expression of his eye, the cast of his countenance, his use of words and his very gait were changed. In ten days he had advanced years in intelligence, and I have always thought this the turning-point of his life. His parents wisely and kindly let him alone, aware that school would presently put an end to all excess in the new indulgence." We agree with the author that "the ultimate purpose of the book is Christian life."
[Charlotte Mason include this episode of the child with Southey's book in Volume 3, School Education.]
The Mother's Three Friends [and Their Influence on the Nursery and Home], by Mrs. C. [Charles E.] Green (George Philip & Son, 3/6). Mrs. Green's charming little book is designed to help mothers to understand the principle on which the Kindergarten system of Education is based. It is full of bright and happy pictures of child life. The children play their games and work at their occupations, and are as good as gold, and we all know that, managed as "Mrs. Leslie" manages, children are both good and happy. We are not quite sure, though, that we may rest on our oars when these two delightful ends have been secured. Baby is neither good nor happy when he is cutting his teeth, but a very good and happy result comes of it. We are not sure that more does not come of the turbulent siege of a castle, which the children initiate for themselves, and probably quarrel and shed tears over, than of the charming games and occupations initiated and directed by the sympathetic elder. The work is full of wise counsels and valuable hints, and the form of the whole is attractive. "Mrs. Leslie" goes to visit her cousin's house, makes the children happy, and gives the parents educational principles in a simple and pleasant way. There are useful hints about clay modelling, how to make a ground plan, and many other children's occupations.
The Story of the Gospels, for the use of Children, by the Author of Charles Lowder [Maria Trench] (Mowbray & Co., 3/6). This is extremely well done. The Story of the Gospels is told in short lessons, with very great reverence and simplicity, in easy and attractive language, and with very little moralising or attempt at application. The pictures are delightful reproductions from the old masters. A few short questions are given at the end of each lesson, but probably the mother who uses the book would know best how to question. We believe that this little book will be a valuable help to many a mother, but, we think, the best way to use it would be to read the lesson over and then tell it with the same studied simplicity and self restraint.
Dress and Health, by Charles Moore Jessop (Elliot Stock). A useful little pamphlet. The chapter on fluid meat foods is especially suggestive.
Hygiene of the Nursery, by Louis Starr, M.D (A.K. Lewis, Gower Street, London, 3/6). An extremely useful little manual, by a competent authority. The chapter on the features of health is especially suggestive and important. The nursery and its ventilation, the nursemaid, clothing, bathing, exercises and amusements are among the subjects ably and interestingly treated of.
A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts, by Frederick Langbridge (Religious Tract Society, 1/-). This is a precious possession for quiet hours. Sometimes in a couplet, sometimes in a page, we get a quiet thought in a poetic setting enough to keep our heart warm through one day anyway. The combined quaintness and odour of sanctity of the little poems remind one of George Herbert and Archbishop Trench. Take this, for example:--
GREEN PASTURES.
When all thy soul with city dust is dry,
Seek some green spot where a brook tinkles by;
But, if thy lot deny thee nook and brook,
Turn to green thoughts in a fresh leafy book.
Proofread by LNL, Sep. 2020