Children's Books

Louise Seaman Bechtel's piece on TREASURE FOR THE TAKING: A BOOK LIST FOR BOYS AND GIRLS by Anne T. Eaton.was less a review than an essay about the expected postwar flood of big-edition, cheaply priced books for young readers. The book under review was not written for children but rather presented lists of recommended reading for children. Bechtel, who was a well-known children's book writer and editor, wrote that postwar economic conditions favored the mass-market book while making it more difficult for the small edition presses. Quantity did not necessarily mean quality and literary quality did not necessarily translate into sales, she pointed out. The popularity of picture magazines like Life made many picture books aimed at younger readers seem dull just as comic books with their thrilling plots made “nice” books where nothing much happened seem boring. Bechtel wrote that Eaton's book, initially published in 1940, was a good starting point for libraries, schools and parents to guide young readers to worthwhile books.

FOR THE YOUNG READER'S BOOKSHELVES

This was a regular round-up of recently published books of note aimed at the young reader. Unlike present day children's book reviews, age ranges were not indicated in the reviews. This week's selections were:

  • Riddles Around the World collected by Otto Zieff. Illustrated by noted graphic designer Fritz Kreidel. A book of rebuses praised for its vivid illustrations.

  • Paji by Esther Kiviet. Illustrated by Harold Price. A young boy sculptor in Ceylon.

  • Dr Morton: Pioneer in the Use of Ether by Rachel Baker. Illustration by Lawrence Dresser. An "inspiring biography" of a poor farm boy who grows up to devote his life to alleviating pain. Baker wrote a number of biographies of heroes of medicine for young readers. Oddly enough, this book still is available.

  • The Runaway Shuttle Train by Muriel Fuller. Illustrated by Dorothea Dana. A city somehow loses a subway shuttle train in this humorous mystery.

  • Up Goes the Curtain by Janet Lambert. The young heroine gets a part in a Broadway play in this latest installment of the Penny Parish series which were mostly set at an Army base. It was a bit “starry-eyed” but the writer knew teenage girls, according to the reviewer. Lambert was the wife of an Army officer and a prolific writer of young adult fiction about growing up as an Army brat.

  • Tales About Timothy by Gertrude Blumenthal. Illustrated by Corinne Malvern . “Timothy is a happy 5-year-old who has experiences all his contemporaries have had or hope to have.” The reviewer found it refreshing to have a story about a normal boy in a normal family doing normal things.

  • Charcoal by Lloyd Cox. Illustrated by the author. “Charcoal is a little black sheep who wants to be good but finds it very difficult.”