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of us can have
the privilege of the acquaintance of the world's great men and women,
but it is within the reach of every one to-day to discover, through
picture and description, the world's most far-away lands, and in the
pages of books to have an intimate and inspiring acquaintance with the
heroes of the nations. If we wish our children to be fine types of men
and women, we must form their tastes in these large directions before
they are overwhelmed by what is so ephemeral and worthless in literature
and drama of the day.

"True Stories from Every Land" is prepared to catch the attention and to
hold the interest of young children. Foreign lands are studied not by
their boundaries and political affairs, but through the home life, the
customs, the sports, and the work of their children, their men, and
their women. The approach to history is made by biographies of some of
the most interesting heroes, and especially by accounts of the
adventurous pioneer days of America. The illustrations in this
department are multitudinous, graphic, up-to-date, and many of them
unusual. These stories will assist in home and school studies, because
they illustrate the history, customs, manners, and peoples of different
countries. They will help little children to learn how to read, and
incidentally teach them much that will help them to appreciate the
privilege and responsibility of being good Americans.

A good book of songs, familiar, tuneful, suitable to all occasions, and
graded to suit the differing tastes of separate members of the family,
is always welcome. The collection of "Famous Songs," edited by Winton
James Baltzell, is skillfully assembled from the best song-books
available, and it also contains many pieces of unusual charm not so
generally known. The songs for little children, for instance, are based
upon a list approved by our leading kindergartners. A novel feature is
that not only are the songs within range of children's voices, but many
of them have been arranged for instrumental use, and some for
folk-dancing.

In "Picture Stories" we have a delightful series of reproductions of
masterpieces of painting and sculpture of the world's great art eras.
Old masters and modern are well represented. The descriptions were
written for children, remembering their interest in the story-element in
pictures, and including inspiring details of the artists' lives. In the
other volumes are many more reproductions of masterpieces.

There are two volumes entitled "Nature and Outdoor Life"; the first one,
"Trees, Flowers, Amphibians, and Reptiles," begins with talks about
earth, air, and sky, the clouds and weather, the seasons, the ways of
bees and bugs and birds, illustrated with portraits of real children
busy in observing the things of nature. Then follow sections on Familiar
Flowers, Plant Life, Common Trees, and Reptiles and Amphibians, each
written by an expert on the subject, and all profusely illustrated with
photographs and drawings, many of the illustrations being in color. All
this material is written in an easy and familiar style and in a manner
to stimulate the right kind of curiosity. Children are encouraged to ask
questions, and are unconsciously led to observe and read for themselves.
Both this volume and its companion, "Birds, Animals, and Insects," help
boys and girls to find out many secrets of nature. In the second nature
series we begin with pets and domestic animals, and then study the wild
animals and birds of America. Next we learn of the ways of the birds and
animals in other lands, which we meet in the zoölogical gardens of our
own country. The volume closes with descriptions of the invertebrates.

The natural sciences are cared for in "Earth, Sea, and Sky." Each
division is more fascinating than the last, as it unfolds the world to
us. We all want to know, and ought to know, more about the sphere upon
which we live, its place in the universe, how it came to be peopled, and
what are some of the laws that govern its magnificent forces and
changes. This department is as interesting to old as to young, though it
will find a warm place in the hearts of the youths who are just getting
interested in physics, physiography, chemistry, and electricity.

An earlier volume covered the play and hand-work of little children. Our
young people are now ready for games more skillful and coöperative, and
handicraft more elaborate and involving a finer finish. "Games and
Handicraft" supplies this need. If we are going to have a more
interesting home life, if we are going to keep our boys and girls off
the streets and away (sometimes) from the movies, if we are going to
supplement the textbook work of the schools by the education of the
hands, we need adequate handbooks to guide us. Sometimes such books are
too vague to be practical. Here are working-drawings that are detailed
and exact. That these projects can be executed is evidenced by the
photographs of the finished work.

"Where can I get up-to-date, interesting and trustworthy descriptions of
modern inventions for my young folks?" How many times this question is
asked of book-store clerks by fathers! How often is a satisfactory
answer given? Often such books are not up to date; usually they are too
technical to be interesting; if they are interesting they are often
untrustworthy; and none of them covers more than a portion of the
ground. "Wonders of Invention" represents an earnest endeavor to meet
this wide need within the covers of a single volume. The Editors were
fortunate in obtaining for this department the coöperation of steamship
companies, great electrical concerns, concrete firms, inventors and
others "who know." The illustrations were selected individually, and add
to the value and interest of the text.

VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE

As a child develops toward maturity his talents begin to focus and his
interests to direct themselves toward some special life occupation. The
matter of Vocational Guidance is the most vital thing in education
to-day, but wisdom in this field is far to seek. Changes in the
industrial world are so rapid that books giving mere statistics of
salaries and requirements are soon out of date, and they have no appeal
to the young. Motive, rather than immediate gain, is what affects young
people; and the Editors of The BOOKSHELF have felt that the one wise way
to approach this great question is to describe the important activities
of the world and some of the men who have been occupied in them, that
young readers may be able to make an intelligent choice, and at the same
time discover their own special talents. This section of The BOOKSHELF
is known as "Marvels of Industry." Aside from its value as a vocational
guide, this volume will add much to the enjoyment of the family circle
because of the facts that are gleaned from a perusal of its pages.

In "True Stories from Every Land" the little folks made the acquaintance
of the world's children. It is now time for the older young folk to
travel. In "

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