When the Children Came

       Οne day the mice came to her in great excitement. Some children were coming to the house to stay; they had heard all about it from behind the sitting-room wainscot. The old nursery was being prepared, fresh curtains had been hung at the windows, and the house wife had baked apple pie and a whole lot of ginger cookies the mice could smell them in the oven. 

       Now the little wooden doll was filled with joy. "At last," she said, "someone is coming to play with me." She did her best to rub off the dust that had settled down on her in all these years, for she wanted to look nice and tidy when the children came. Most of it she could manage herself, but where she could not quite reach she asked the mice to help her, and they gladly brushed it off with their paws. The mice were nearly as excited as she was, for they had never seen any real children; they only knew what they were like from the stories the little wooden doll had told them. 

       Every few minutes they came running with news. "They have yellow hair, just as you said!" 

       "One of them is always jumping about!" 

       "They make a big noise with their mouths!" 

       And the little doll nodded her head with excitement, and cried, "Yes, yes! Those are surely children!" 

       Only the big spider in the corner said, "What is all this fuss about? I can't stand children. They are hateful things!" 

       The little doll knew better. 

       All that day she waited, tidied up in her corner, and the next day, and the next. It almost seemed as if the children would never find their way to the attic. Then one afternoon it rained; a shower fell and the big drops beat on the shingles. "Now they will surely come," thought the little doll, for she remembered that children love to play in the attic on wet afternoons. 

       And presently, up the old attic stairs, she heard them . . . creak . . .  creak . . . 

       The little doll was so excited that she wanted to call out and tell them she was there. She sat very still in her corner and waited, while all the little mice ran to their holes and peeped out. It was a terrible moment; perhaps they wouldn't find her at all. She heard whispers, footsteps here and there on the attic floor, stirring the dust. At last they came to the corner where she was sitting. A hand was stretched out, one of the children seized her firmly, and she was held up to the light.

       A voice cried, "Why, look at this funny old thing! It must be some sort of a doll!" And the little sister exclaimed, "Oh, look at it! Fancy any one playing with that!"

       They turned the little doll about in their hands. 

       "All the paint's rubbed off. Isn't it an ugly old thing!" 

       The little sister cried out, "Why, it hasn't even got any clothes!" And they both began to laugh. 

       The poor little doll felt terribly ashamed. She had never thought about clothes. A great lump came in her throat, and she felt that she was going to burst into tears. 

       She had been so happy, and now everything was turning out wrong. 

"Let's play shipwreck with the doll and drown her like a sailor!"

       The little boy held her up between his thumb and finger. "I know what let's do," he said. "Let's have a shipwreck on the pond, and the doll can be the drowned sailor!"

       But the little sister said, "No, that isn't any fun. I don't want to play that. Let's play something nice." 

       "But shipwreck is nice!" 

       "No, I don't want to," said the little sister. 

       "And I don't want to play with that old thing, anyway!" 

       While they were still quarreling, the supper bell rang downstairs. The boy, who had been standing near the attic window, dropped the doll on the window ledge, and they both ran away.

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"Some Day!"

The doll dreaming of a little 
girl to call her own.

       On the whole, the little wooden doll had pleasant life. 

      Only sometimes, toward dusk, when the mice were busied on their own affairs, when the spiders dozed in their hammocks, and only the little gray moths fluttered to and fro, a feeling of sadness came over her. For dolls are made for children, and deep in every doll's heart there is a longing to be loved by a child. And at times, when the rain beat on the shingles and the smell of wet earth came up through the attic window, something stirred in the little doll's memory. She recalled dimly a time when someone had really loved her, someone who had carried her about and put her to bed at night, and on rainy days like these played house with her on the nursery floor. It was so long ago that the little wooden doll could not remember very clearly, but she knew that these things had once happened, and she thought that if only some little child would come again to the attic, and play with her, she would be quite happy. 

       But there were no children in the old house, and however eagerly the little doll listened, no one ever came up the attic stairs. Still, she never quite lost hope. Sitting there in her corner, while the mice played about her, she would think, "Someday, perhaps, a little girl will come up here and find me, and then how pleased she will be!" And she made up a little story to herself of all the things they would do and the games they would play; playing house would be the nicest of all, for every doll loves playing house. She had forgotten what her own name used to be, it was so long ago, but she hoped that the little girl who found her might call her Rose, for that seemed to her the loveliest name in the world, and when she told the mice stories, on winter evenings, that was the name she always gave to the heroine. 

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The Little Wooden Doll

The Little Wooden Doll 

by Margery Williams Bianco

The key hidden on the window sill.

       The little wooden doll had lived so long in the attic that no one even knew she was there. Such a number of things get stored away in an attic: broken furniture and disused trunks, tattered books and old preserve jars that have lost their tops, and china that doesn't match all the things that nobody wants are put up there, and there they stay, among the mice and the cobwebs, and are forgotten. This attic was just like any other, inasmuch as no one living in the house below really knew what was in it. The little wooden doll lay in a corner, between an old pile of schoolbooks thick with dust and a broken bird cage, and she must have lain there a very long time, indeed, for she was not at all like the dolls that one may see nowadays. All about her the spiders spun their webs, and the little mice scampered to and fro over the attic floor, and there was a pleasant smell of dust and dry rot. The little wooden doll was seldom lonely, for there was always some one to talk to. The mice in particular were great gossips; they knew all that went on in the house, for they ran everywhere. They knew where the nuts were stored, and how many cakes the cook baked, and why the last lot of preserves went wrong. They knew, too, just where the store-closet key was, that the housewife had been hunting for high and low these past three weeks, for they had seen her put it there. Nothing happened that the mice did not know about; they were natural busybodies, and all their news they brought to the little doll. The spiders, too, were good company, but they were inclined to be narrow minded, and dwelt too much on their own affairs. The old, old spider, who had his web just over the doll's head, was a philosopher; he had poked into all the old books that lay on the attic floor, and for that he was considered eccentric. When he chose to talk he could be most interesting, but for the most part he was silent; he disliked chatter, and would shake with rage when the young spiders annoyed him. There was a rumor that he had been disappointed in love, but no one really knew the rights of it. On summer days, when the sun shone, a beam of light came through the attic window. Golden dust motes danced in the beam, and it was beautiful to see. Sometimes, then, a bumblebee would blunder in, or a great, spotted butterfly, or sometimes a swallow would perch at the open window, and all these had news to bring of the outside world: of the cornfields and the flowers and the blue sky. And sometimes at night, when the moonlight lay on the attic floor, the mice would give parties, and to these the little wooden doll was always invited. Those were happy evenings. All the baby mice were allowed to sit up late, the crickets brought their fiddles to play the dance music, and even the old, fat spider up in the corner would stretch his legs and nod and become quite cheerful.

Mice and spiders kept the wooden doll company in the attic.

• "Some Day!"
• When the Children Came
• In the Violet Bed
• The Mice Hold a Council
• The Child Who Lived in the Wood
• "The Little Mice Brought Her"

Building Group Interests

       Group studies in school develop very much like family projects at home. Fortunately for some children and youth, revised programs in a growing number of schools make group studies an important part of the whole program. The day-by-day driblet assignment has been found of little use in the development of satisfying interests and therefore a hindrance to growth and thorough mastery of study techniques. An adolescent characterized this piecemeal program as "just getting you interested in something and then yanking you away to study something else." "You don't have time to really learn anything," another student added."

       From twelve through sixteen, boys and girls have reached a degree of maturity which makes long-term interests a more satisfying approach to studying. They have even acquired a desire akin to specialization, which ought to be nurtured, not defeated. We find youngsters of this age following a hobby with true scholarly zeal, not only for several years, but even into adulthood. One girl who at fourteen began experimenting with cross fertilization in her mother's flower garden, persisted in this work and is now planning a career in horticulture. The Permanence of Interests and Their Relation To Abilities by by Thorndike shows that preferences in books for this age group (4th grade through collage) reveals a great interest in stories depicting characters of various professions. This more serious development of interests is greatly aided by a good school and home program. Budding interests are thereby stimulated rather than crowded into an insignificant place in the child's life. 

       "But what," a parent may ask, "can we do, if our family has not had the benefit of such previous fun in reading and enjoying things together?" Merely buying books, magazines, and encyclopedias is not the answer, although a home library obviously becomes a necessity. A reasonable suggestion is to seize upon the first gleam of interest that appears. In fact, arouse interest. How quickly children take up a lead! A father at noonday lunch related a joke he had read in a magazine. That evening at dinner, his two children told jokes which they had read. Humor and nonsense are necessary in most lives. Children respond quickly to joke-telling discussions. From such reading and sharing, other activities quickly spring. Of course, the ever available comic is another excellent and refreshing medium for developing mutual reading experiences. 

       Parents might begin reading children's school texts and reference books and comment upon what they, too, are learning which is new to them. Children love to feel on a par with adult learners. We should give them this pleasure more frequently. In many families, children draw their most precious books from the library to be read aloud by either child or parent. Have you tried this with Alice in Wonderland, for example? Children, full of enthusiasm for some book being read, often insist upon Father and Mother enjoying this favorite volume too. Even if it is not always convenient, some time should be taken for these requests. 

       Reading is an experience interwoven in a varied, colorful, and interesting day-after-day group life in home and school. Its development cannot be assured merely by adults, parents, and teachers giving their young charges something to do. Instead, it involves the adults' interests and their ready activities too. And that makes it fun for adults as well as for the current young generation.

• National PTA Family Reading Experiences Engages Families in Literacy
• 5 powerful strategies for learning to read when you are an adult who hates to read... - For parents who want to get this "reading through modeling" under control before their baby is born...

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Ideas for Family Learning

       A list of worthy family experiences which are made more enjoyable through reading would indeed be lengthy. For example, there is the growing family recipe cabinet, made up of the best recipes found in papers, pamphlets, and magazines; the annual order of seeds and shrubs for the family garden, composed after much reading and rereading of seed catalogs; the model boat built by following diagrams and printed instructions in which several members take turns at working together studying and interpreting; the map corner in which maps depicting family automobile trips are placed, some hanging from the walls, others neatly mounted in a large scrapbook; the herb garden in the window box, the result of much study of herbs in garden books and reference material; the costumed doll collection made by children and parents with the help of wide reading for information and pictures; the growing collection of advertisements, pictures, and figures pertaining to automobiles, made by the whole family in order to select a car which in the family consensus is the best buy. 

       And think of the list of books which a family may enjoy in common. One father said it would be a real loss of opportunity if he did not keep up with the reading of his three children; the books which they brought home from school and public library, he thought, were too good to miss. He reported reading some which he had missed in childhood, and felt doubly grateful that his age and sophistication did not keep him from enjoying them.

• Top ten books I wish I'd read as a child by curlygeek
• Then and Now - Kid to Adult Book Recommendations
• Favorite Children's Books to read as an adult?
• What my 10 kids are currently reading... ... ... .

Father's Read Initiative! Wow!

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Learning in An Adult World

       Learning in an adult world with recognition of the potential and already existing interests of children, this increased use of the radio and newspapers has taken on new significance. After all, children do not live in a world separate from adults; on the contrary, they are responding to the adult-made world and much of its appeal for them lies in the interests which they see adults pursuing. Parents and teachers who attempt to screen out reading and listening materials from children's lives, thinking they are too adult for them, may be stunting or dulling wholesome growth. 

       In a situation in which children and adults read for common purposes, children do not need to be urged to improve their reading skill. They want to read well and make an effort because of the deep satisfaction which they derive from such cooperative ventures.

• Modeling reading habits inspires your children to read...
• 8 Tips for Families on Reading with Their Child
• Literacy: Recipe Reading - from GCSchollsNC
• Creating Young Readers: At the grocery store...
• Teachable Moments: The Grocery Store by Scholastic

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Newspapers In Print or On The Internet

       Newspapers, both in print and on the internet, help to increase group interests, and add to the satisfactions of reading. Entire families follow sports events, especially when their climax is approached. Serial comics have been a boon to family fun; old and young have waited eagerly to find out the latest adventures. Local news has a personal appeal which no material prepared for the general reading public can have. Therefore, the daily local paper has the same special interest value for children who are learning about individuals and the many fascinating events taking place in their own home community as it does for adults. 

       A fourth grade group made a study of a local paper to discover how many of its advertisements appealed to ten and eleven year old readers. The result was as surprising to the newspaper staff as it was to the teacher. Clothing, food, movies, skate sharpening, soda fountain service, jewelry, and many more items and services were advertised which had a special appeal for young children. As a result of the study, newspapers were read with greater eagerness and with a new interest in community life. Every day newspapers were brought to school for discussion, and later on in the year the school subscribed to two papers for the group online for reading in general. 

• Time for Kids - Global news written in age appropriate text
• Articles for Students by Scholastic  - provides articles written in age leveled text appropriate for kids...
• Daily News Lessons from PBS News Hour Classroom - media resources for educators to develop projects for classroom
• DOGO News for Kids - articles about ELA, Science and Social Studies

"Carter Reads the Newspaper" Read Aloud.

Black Press Archive at digital Howard

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Back to radio and fireside...

       Much has been said in protest against excessive use of ready made entertainment, especially movies. Part of the fault lies in the way in which individuals and families have permitted themselves to remain oblivious to family fun getting experiences. Perhaps there is too much readiness to be entertained rather than to develop personal enjoyment. 

       However, increased radio listening may again direct the family back to the fireside. A study of radio programs reveals that many of them are designed to appeal to a wide age range so that they may be appreciated by the entire family. Some of the programs stimulate new interests and others deepen interests already in existence. Therefore, much pleasure for the family as a group can be found in radio. Regular news broadcasts include information on affairs about which preadolescent and adolescent boys and girls are already concerned. Regular listening to selected programs highlights the differences of opinion which exist on practically all topics of any importance. Some children at twelve, fourteen, and sixteen are already able to refer to radio commentators' viewpoints, and compare them with their own opinions. Wider reading of newspapers and magazines is likely to follow. Furthermore, family discussions which are based on programs not only serve to keep us up-to-date, they also strengthen the bonds of common interests and understanding between youth and adults. The radio can thus be of real value, one of the best aids we know in strengthening family life. 

       Many radio programs can and do contribute greatly to recreation and lighter activities while continuing to be of real educational value. The various quiz programs are of this nature. One family reports that, thanks to quiz programs, they have practically worn out the best dictionary, the only encyclopedia, and many hitherto unused history books. Looking up questions, checking answers, and inventing further quiz questions are absorbing indoor recreations. There is something about the puzzle spirit which appeals to young and old, the fun of finding out and sometimes being right. 

       Increased use of radio in relation to school programs, too, should be encouraged. Not only is The American School of the Air a regularly scheduled classroom experience, but so are news broadcasts, sports programs, and broadcasts of special events. Programs heard during out-of-school hours are a regular source of information in connection with some studies. So the radio when wisely used adds to the scholarly growth of school-age children as well as to that of their families.

• OTR Gold - classics from Radio's Golden Age
• Hearth and Home Entertainment Channel at YouTube
• Preserved at the Library of Congress: history recorded

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The Growth of Critics

       The appraisal of material should be a frequent class project. A good example of meeting this need was expressed in a seventh grade where a boy introduced a new history comic magazine. Some class members objected to the magazine as being history material, and said, "A comic magazine is not good history." Others thought an individual should know about the content before he judged it. Each member of the class of thirty-four boys and girls read the booklet. They decided to check it with regular history books to test its accuracy. After considerable time and real study, the comic book was considered true to history as related in other books, interesting, exciting, but brief. The teacher admitted this study was educational for her as well as for the children, because she had assumed all comic books were inaccurate.

       Group study of new magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and advertisements as well as books is a fine experience. It helps youngsters develop a discerning attitude-finding out not only what they like and do not like, but also reasons for their acceptance or rejection. Unanimous agreement may not always be reached. In fact, continuous unanimity is not a good sign; instead, it is reason for careful investigation by the teacher, because it may mean that too much teacher opinion or arbitrary student opinion is dominating the thinking of the group. 

       Such study and discussion should be considered an important part of teaching reading, and so, of course, should take place during regular school time. In fact, without such discussions and group study children may never become real, comprehending readers. 

       As children in school, and even as college graduates, we may have read what we were told to read, answered questions about what we read, and derived satisfaction from our ability to meet tests based on memory of this reading. We may never have been asked to express an opinion on this material or to test its worth by any set of standards. In plain language, many of us were taught to be gullible, non-discriminating swallowers of ideas gained from books. Criticism of what we read had to be deferred until some literary big name spoke for us. 

       Today, in a modern school and home, children are guided differently. They are learning how to judge and respond to their reading almost as soon as they begin to choose books. They will become foolproof readers, too discerning to need spoon-feeding by critics or protection by censors. 

Creative ways to explore books by The Smithsonian.

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A "Good Neighbor" Policy

       Lending books is a common practice which leads to conflicts between children and adults. Young readers, if normal, are not only sociable but generous. They gladly share a book which they own and enjoy with friends. An easy lending system, however, often results in a loss of books. Therefore, the more careful adults frequently propose "no lending" rules. To children, this attitude may seem not only unreasonable but unfriendly -stingy! A constructive approach to this problem would be to help children work out a regular lending library service, with a card system, and perhaps even a set of rules for book care, fines, and lending privileges. A successful example of this was given when some children in a large city apartment house pooled their books for the summer, elected a librarian, and operated a well-planned library for the entire neighborhood. All this was done under the leadership of an eleven- year-old boy, who took responsibility without the aid of a single adult. Children really enjoy being systematic, and a good opportunity for them to apply their sense of system is in connection with book sharing. 

       In all good school libraries, books can be withdrawn for home use. A few school libraries, probably because they have too few books, deny children the privilege of taking library books home. The imperative need for an adequate supply of books, magazines, and pamphlets in schools is clearly indicated. A plan for purchasing in which pupils participate in making recommendations, evaluating new materials, and keeping them in usable order is also advisable. An unusually serviceable school library was operated in a junior high school where, under the leadership of the librarian, the twelve- to fifteen-year-olds conducted a lending library for shut-ins-adults as well as children. Requests were sent to the school; books or magazines answering the request were selected and taken by a pupil to the person too ill to get out of doors. The knowledge about reading matter, and interest in reading in this school naturally ran high. 

       The finest library, however, can be wasted, if no adequate provision is made for its use. "When you are all through with your assignments you may go to the library and read," formerly was a common promise made to youngsters. And how absurd! The able go-aheads, who could work at top speed and finish everything early got a regular session of enjoyment in the library; while those who plodded with knit brows seldom if ever got there, and finally stopped trying. And these last were the very ones who most needed a new array of books, and a chance to look at more colorful, better written materials than their too difficult textbooks, of which they had so many. Finally, what a peculiar concept of a library, as a place to spend excess time when essential work is completed. This implication, unfortunately, has probably colored the attitude of some children toward the worth of extensive, voluntary reading. How the library is to be used should be planned cooperatively with children. Rules must be sensible, if they are to be followed. Individual use of the library must be planned for. Library periods for a whole class may be valuable for teaching the children how to use the library. Teachers need to understand and establish good library procedures in cataloging, classifying, and housing books. 

       A well-ordered library is usable for even the youngest children. In many schools, kindergarten children go to the library for "a book about trains," or "a picture of a polar bear." Even for five-year-olds, the library can come to be known as the reservoir of a rich supply of material, far too extensive to be kept in the classroom. The child understands that this is the place where extra sets of reference books, films, maps, and pictures are kept for greater accessibility to all children of the school. Such understanding fosters orderly use of the library. Reference reading begins early and is eagerly pursued in a school where challenging interests of children, wise scheduling of time, and a good library all converge in a pro- gram that is an exciting venture in education. 

• Children's Central Library Tour for kids...
• Virtual Field Trip for little people by KidVision Pre-K
• Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

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The "Clutter" Problem

       When and where to discard papers and magazines ought to be a matter which a whole family decides. In general, it has been found wise to keep newspapers several days, for future reference. This is especially essential as children begin to discuss items on the way to school and in school. Past issues should be available to help a child prove a point or share information with others. In one home, Saturday morning was salvage and discard morning, when the children went through newspapers and magazines, and cut out articles, pictures, and sections for their collections or school reference work. Finding convenient space for the growing home library is another problem which children and adults should decide together. Bookshelves in children's rooms become essential, and if made by the children, they are doubly appreciated by them. Above all, frequently used reference books should be placed where they are always easily accessible. 

       A systematic approach toward preserving printed materials may be all that is necessary to guide youngsters into learning how properly to care for and handle their belongings. With the youngest, direct suggestions may be necessary. An infant, looking at a picture, is told, "Pat the dog, pat the baby." This gives the child an opportunity to touch, to do something, other than tear the page. It also avoids the negative, "Don't tear," which often causes this youngster to respond by giving a good rip to see what the adult will do next. Cloth books for infants who persist in tearing-and in eating are fine. Later, at the age of about three to four, when his desire to color and scribble begins, a child should be given old magazines and paper on which he can mark as much as he pleases. 

        As a rule, children take care of the things they like. If a book is a choice possession, it is likely to receive respectful handling, it will be treated carefully according to the child's conception of care. It is neither natural nor desirable for children to be as clean handed as adults. Pressure for too rigid care of books can so annoy a child that he avoids them. If sensible suggestions for care can be worked out with children in home and in school, they will invariably be followed.

Tear proof, lick proof, chew proof, and 

these books can even be washed!

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Reading is A Personal Affair

       Read me this story," said a three-year-old boy to the visitor in the nursery school. The visitor, who was not well acquainted with small children, looked at the book, and answered, "I'll get you a better book. This one is really too old for you." "No," was the determined response, "this is the story I want. It says 'spank.'" And sure enough, as the visitor read, she came to the part that especially appealed to this choosy youngster, the part where the poor little duck was naughty and got spanked by an unfeeling adult.

       Preferences begin at a very early age. Certain words or ideas appeal, others fall flat. Some books can be read and reread, the youngster running eagerly to his parents, "Read to me!" Others are never asked for after the first reading. Although there are some topics and qualities in books which appeal to a large number of young readers, taste cannot be standardized for them any more than it can for adults. Children from the youngest to adolescents have strong individual tastes; that is, they do if they have had a wholesome reading diet. If, on the contrary, their reading material has consisted chiefly of books bought for a whole class-books to be read by everyone, the chances are great that what they have cultivated is a flat taste or distaste for reading. 

       A teacher overheard one of her pupils who had shown no interest in reading say, "If I had my own money, I'd subscribe to Popular Mechanics." What a shock; a disinterested reader yearning to subscribe to a magazine! The teacher's real surprise should have been in the fact that despite a disregard for his reading needs for several years, this boy still wanted to read. 

      The hand-me-down method has been common practice for too long. We adults, out of our inadequate knowledge of both children and reading materials, have planned what youngsters should read and have bought accordingly. Think how children would look if we used the same insight when buying their clothing! 

      Families, too, may have erred in this respect. It is common knowledge in neighborhood life that some children get their newspaper reading, comics, in particular, at a neighbor's home. They do so because their own home doesn't cater to their need for comics. Of course, there are some avid comics readers who tour the neighborhoods on Sunday, reading the comics of all mystery are fascinating papers delivered in each section. This goes on in villages as well as in New York City apartments. If Pat knows that his family buys a Sunday paper partly because it contains a comic section especially for him (the rest of the family, of course, will read it too), he is more happily adjusted within the family reading circle. The same is true of the magazine selection. There should be at least one periodical which is the child's choice. When children tell what books they hope to receive as birthday or holiday gifts, their requests should be honored, if possible. Sharing in the selection of newspapers, magazines, and books is an excellent stimulant to discrimination in reading. It whets the reading appetites of children, and arouses an added personal interest in these materials. 

      As papers, magazines, books, and pamphlets come into a home and grow in quantity, an orderly system of keeping and discarding must be developed. At four a child can learn to be a good "librarian" of his own collection of books; he can even advise adults exactly on which shelf to locate a certain book and where to return it.

• A home schooler's child centered library by Jamie Erickson
• Building a home library could impact a child even beyond their house...
• Homeschool Library Organization System by Ticket to Learning
• See the secret library over a garage...
• Extreme Room Makeover - a closet library

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