E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Lee Chew-Hung,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
This book is intended to accomplish three distinct purposes:first, to arouse a greater interest in oral reading; second, todevelop an expressive voice—sadly lacking in the case of mostAmericans; and third, to give freedom and grace in the bodilyattitudes and movements which are involved in reading and speaking.The stories given are for the most part adaptations of favoritetales from folklore,—Andersen, Grimm, Aesop, and the ArabianNights having been freely drawn upon.
Children are dramatic by nature. They are for the timethe kings, the fairies, and the heroes that they picture in theirimaginations. They are these characters with such abandonand with such intense pleasure that the on-looker must believe thatnature intended that they should give play to this dramaticinstinct, not so much formally, with all the trappings of theman-made stage, but spontaneously and naturally, as they talk andread. If this expressive instinct can be utilized in the teachingof reading, we shall be able both to add greatly to the child'senjoyment and to improve the quality of his oral reading. In thesedays when so many books are hastily read in school, there is atendency to sacrifice expression to the mechanics andinterpretation of reading. Those acquainted with school work knowtoo well the resulting monotonous, indistinct speech and theself-conscious, listless attitude which characterize so much of thereading of pupils in grades above the third. It is believed thatthis little book will aid in overcoming these serious faults inreading, which all teachers and parents deplore. The dramaticappeal of the stories will cause the child to lose himself in thecharacter he is impersonating and read with a naturalness andexpressiveness unknown to him before, and this improvement will beevident in all his oral reading, and even in his speech.
The use of the book permits the whole range of expression, frommerely reading the stories effectively, to "acting them out" withas little, or as much, stage-setting or costuming as a parent orteacher may desire. The stories are especially designed to be readas a part of the regular reading work. Many different plans forusing the book will suggest themselves to the teacher. After apreliminary reading of a story during the study period, the teachermay assign different parts to various children, she herself readingthe stage directions and the other brief descriptions inclosed inbrackets. The italicized explanations in parentheses are notintended to be read aloud; they will aid in giving the child thecue as to the way the part should be rendered. After the story hasbeen read in this way, if thought advisable it can be playedinformally and simply, with no attempt at costuming or theatriceffects. It will often add to the interest of the play to have someof the children represent certain of the inanimate objects of thescene, as the forest, the town gate, a door, etc. Occasionally, forthe "open day," or as a special exercise, a favorite play may begiven by the children with the simplest kind of costuming andstage-setting. These can well be made in the school as a part ofthe manual training and sewing work. In giving the play, it willgenerally be better not to have pupils memorize the exact words ofthe b