Days and Deeds. Compiled by Burton E. and Elizabeth B. Stephenson. Grade teachers will instantly welcome this attractive volume. It furnishes a careful collection of readings and recitations bearing on the important days and events of American history. Every teacher knows how difficult it is to find really good selections for "The Days We Celebrate." To be "good," the selection must be brief, pointed, interesting, instructive, appropriate, and expressed in pure English. The compilers of this volume have done a real service by searching far and wide for the best selections on New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, Arbor Day, Bunker Hill Day, Flag Day, etc, There are also poems in regard to great Americans, such as Longfellow, Beecher, Brooks, Emerson, Lincoln, Whittier, and so on, and poems on spring, summer, autumn and winter, together with a few "poems every child should know." The book is certain to have a wide sale. It is a book with a mission. The Baker & Taylor Company, 33 Union Square, New York, N. Y. Price, $1.00 net.

In the Days of Scott, by Tudor Jenks, and In the Days of Milton, by the same author, are two excellent little books in a series called Lives of Great Writers. They give a readable sketch of each of the authors named, and will be helpful for supplementary reading or for careful study by those who are engaged in work on English in our schools. A. S. Barnes & Co. Price, $1.00 net each.

Old Tales From Rome. By Alice Zimmern. The title describes the purport of the book, which furnishes to students of the classics interesting accounts of some of the historical and mythical personages mentioned in the Latin usually studied for college entrance examinations; substantially bound, with decorated cover and many illustrations. A. C. McClurg & Co.

The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and The Vision of Sir Launfal, by James Russell Lowell, edited with notes and introduction by H. G. Paul, A.M., with editorial supervision by Edward Everett Hale, Ph.D. This volume belongs to the Standard Literature Series, and is Vol. No. 63. This is a well-known series of the English classics for school use. Published by the University Publishing Company.

The Palmer Cox Brownie Primer. Text by Mary C. Judd; pictures by Montrose J. Moses. Many young people are interested in the quaint little people known as the Brownies. They appeal to the imagination of the child. This primer carries them through various adventures, and their antics will be sure to engage the attention of the young student, who will meanwhile be learning to read. The book is daintily gotten up, with numerous illustrations on every page. The Century Company.

Days and Deeds a Hundred Years Ago. By Gertrude L. Stone, and M. Grace Fickett. This is an interesting little study of the life of a former century, especially the conditions of child life. It is well for our young people to know what their ancestors had to do to prepare the land and the general material conditions of life for the future of a great nation like our own. The progress of discovery and science, and the improvement of conditions are suggestively sketched in these pages. The book will make excellent supplementary reading for the lower grades in our grammar schools. D. C. Heath & Co.

The Biology of the Frog. By Samuel J. Holmes, Ph.D. This is a comprehensive study of one of the universally interesting members of the animal creation. From earliest boyhood to latest old age people are interested in the frogs. These curious Batrachians force themselves upon the attention of humanity by their vociferations, their curious habits, and their remarkable transformations. The present volume is an excellent illustration of the complete mastery of a special line of nature-study by the human mind. Everything that can be known about the frogs seems to have been discovered and written down in the 370 pages of this volume. Its thoroughness impresses the reader with a sense of absolute satisfaction. It is a book of great value to the student of natural science. It is equally interesting to the ordinary reader, and the style and spirit of the author is educative. It will inspire others to thorough work in natural history. There are numerous illustrations, and a complete index of authors and another of subjects. The Macmillan Company. Price, $1.60.

English Studies in Interpretation and Composition. By M. S. Woodley and O. I. Woodley. This book is intended for high schools. It gives a series of lessons in the reading and study of literature, divided into sections for first year, second year and third year work. The student who follows the guidance of the authors, either alone or with the help of a teacher, will get a thorough drill in the use of language, and a theoretical knowledge which will enable him to remain through life a student and a user of elegant English. The Macmillan Company. Price, 90 cents.

What a Young Girl Ought to Know. By Mrs. Mary Wood-Allen, M.D. This is a new edition of one of the books of the well-known series published by the Vir Publishing Company. The books of this series furnish information on sex questions in a pure and helpful way, The best physicians and doctors are practically a unit in regard to the wisdom of instructing young people on the main facts of this important subject. The popularity of the books of this series is shown by the fact that more than a million copies in English have already been sold. The publishers claim that there are daily two thousand new readers. The books have been translated into six languages in Asia, and as many more in Europe. Dr. Stall, the projector and editor of the series, and the author of several of the books, has made this his life work. He is a public benefactora man with a mission as distinct and valuable to humanity as that of Columbus, Washington, or any other great servant of the human race. The Vir Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pa. Price, $1.00.

The Essentials of United States History. By William A. Mowry and Blanche S. Mowry. This is an entirely new book upon the history of the United States. It is written in a narrative style, which counts strongly for interest. The anecdotes related of the actors in the great drama give a vivid impression of the reality of the historic events and figures. The whole period of our country's history is considered. A sufficient knowledge is given of the development of our forms of government, without enlarging upon this so far as to make the volume dry and uninteresting. On almost every page there are attractive illustrations which convey to the eye the message of the text. Colored maps enable the pupil to see for himself the localities in which the events happened, and to mark the growth of the territory of the United States. The authors have a faculty for seizing upon the salient characteristics of the noted persons

connected with our national development, and by reproducing these personalities upon the printed page, the pupil is made to feel acquainted with not only the great leaders like Washington and Lincoln, but with others, such as Wolfe, James Otis, Colonel William Prescott, General Israel Putnam and many others. The book is handsomely made, with illuminated and excellent type and paper. Silver, Burdett & Co. Introductory price, 90 cents.

First Steps in Mental Growth. By David R. Major, Ph.D. This book is a series of studies in the psychology of infancy. The aim is to present data from actual observation and experiment bearing upon certain aspects of the infant mind which seem to be fundamental to later mental development. It is a thorough-going specialized study in a comparatively new branch of science, and is therefore an original contribution to human knowledge. Studies of this kind are destined to become more and more common, and each will add something which will help us at last to thoroughly comprehend the human mind. All students of psychology and of education will be interested in Professor Major's work, and will find suggestion and food for thought that will stimulate other observations and discoveries along the same line. The Macmillan Company. Price, $1.25.

A Country Reader: Book I. By H. B. M. Buchanan, A.B., and Arnold V. Stubenrauch. This volume is devoted entirely to farm animals. It will be followed by Vol. II, which will deal with soil and crops. It is an American edition of an English book, and is intended for the older children of both rural and city schools. It describes the horse, the donkey, the mule, cow, sheep, goat, pig, poultry, dog and cat. The language is carefully chosen with a view to good English. The things that every boy and girl should know about all these animals, their history, purposes and treatment are given, The idea is an excellent one, and is well carried out. The Macmillan Company.

Occupations for Little Fingers. By Elizabeth Sage and Anna M. Cooley, with an introductory note by Mary Schenck Woolman. This beautifully printed and illustrated little book is a manual for grade teachers, mothers and settlement workers. An admirable couplet in the preface happily states the intent of the book as follows: " Every task, however simple, sets the soul that does it free." This is an age of manual training. Te natural time to begin such training is with the beginning of the child's education. In simplest fashion these pages set forth materials to be used, uses that can be made of cord and string, suggestions for the use of raffia, instructions in coarse sewing, paper cutting and folding, clay modelling, weaving, bead work, how to furnish a doll's house, simple home upholstering, crotcheting and knitting, special work for boys, and how to use nature's material. There are illustrations on almost every page, many of them being full page illustrations. Charles Scribner's Sons.

Caesar: Episodes from the Gallic and Civil Wars, with an introduction, notes and vocabulary by Maurice W. Mather, Ph.D. The novice in Latin always reads Cæsar's Gallic War or selections therefrom. The custom is to limit the study to the first four books or even less. Some of the most interesting parts of Cæsar's writings are thus unknown to the average student of Latin. The editor of this volume says that the description of Britain and the Britons in the fifth book of the Gallic War, a comparison of the Gauls and the Germans

in the sixth book are both interesting and instructive, being the earliest sources of information in regard to these peoples. The history of the Civil War is of great importance from a historic point of view, and many passages are of interest. It would often be the case that teachers would use extracts from these writings of Cæsar if they were conveniently available without additional expense. The effort to render this possible is successfully made in the present volume. Those who prefer to follow the old way of confining their attention to the first few books of the Gallic War will have the usual material attractively presented in this book. Those who prefer to extend the study further, or to substitute some of the interesting passages not usually studied for some parts of the first four books of the Gallic War, will find here the texts with full and illuminating notes. An excellent vocabulary is included in the volume which makes a complete outfit for the student who is ready to begin reading Latin. The American Book Company.

Butterflies and Bees. By Margaret W. Morley. In 267 pages, fully illustrated, this attractive little book tells the young people what butterflies, bees and other insects do and how they do it. The latest information obtained by experts is skillfully incorporated into the texts, and the young student acquires scientific methods, while he pursues from pure interest in the story the nature study suggested by the author. The book is admirably adapted to children of eight to eleven years of age. List price, 60 cents; mailing price, 70 cents. Ginn & Co.

The Government of the United States. By Bernard Moses, Ph.D, L.L.D The main purpose of this book is to give a sketch of the origin and general methods of the government of the United States. It includes the history of the federal government, also of state, territorial and local governments. The book is well divided into numbered sections, each a more or less distinct subject. There are helpful references to sources of information under each paragraph. The book belongs to a series of "Twentieth Century Text-books of History." D. Appleton & Co.

Composition-Rhetoric. By Stratton D. Brooks and Marietta Hubbard. The comprehensive aim of the authors is expressed in the following opening paragraph of the preface: "The aim of this book is not to produce critical readers of literature, nor to prepare the pupil to answer questions about rhetorical theory, but to enable every pupil to express in writing, freely, clearly and forcibly, whatever he may find within him worthy of expression." Three fundamental considerations are worked out in the plan of the book: "First, improvement in the performance of an act comes from the repetition of that act accompanied by a conscious effort to omit the imperfections of the former attempt; second, the logical arrangement of material should be subordinated to the needs of the pupils; third, expression cannot be compelled, it must be coaxed." These quotations will indicate to our readers the scope and value of this volume. The details are worked out admirably, and classes in high schools will find the book useful in giving thorough preparation for the practical use of language in business and social life. The American Book Company.

Grammars. Elements of English Grammar, by Albert LeRoy Bartlett and Howard Lee McBain, presents the subject-matter somewhat after a different

order from that commonly used. Instead of beginning with the treatment of words they begin with the sentence, making it the unit for the child's first study of formal grammar. This part of the book is strongly developed, for the authors hold that a well grounded knowledge of grammar can be obtained only by beginning its study with the sentence. The method employed throughout is inductive, which is logically used in every general division. The book is a decided and valuable contribution to grammar school text-books. (Silver, Burdett & Co.) English Grammar for Beginners, by James P. Kinard, is like the preceding book, in that from the very start the sentence is made the basis of all study and development. The book is brief in its treatment of the grammar of our language-words, their different forms, their relation to other words in the sentence, the analysis of the sentence and a critical discrimination in the use of words in sentences-this is practically the whole of grammar as it is presented in this excellent little book. Its succinctness and clearness, and its abundance of illustrative sentences, serve to make it a commendable textbook. (Macmillan Company.) Brief English Grammar, by Fred Newton Scott and Gertrude Buck, aims to treat language form throughout as directly conditioned by language function. The authors treat the sentence as being both the beginning and the end of grammatical study, therefore sentenceanalysis is its entire subject-matter. The abundance of sentences for study, the inductive method of treatment, the deliberative and logical arrangement are dominant features of the book. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) Modern English, by Henry P. Emerson and Ida C. Bender, aims to make pupils able to express their own thoughts with freedom, to understand with ease the thoughts of others, and to appreciate when such thoughts are expressed with power, beauty or grace. Instead of relying upon technical grammar to mold the daily speech of children, the book lays emphasis upon practice in speaking, reading, interpreting and writing, the teacher being the guide. The book then is a guide far more than a text-book for the pupils, and if it is followed faithfully there must result a power of expression not to be obtained from text-books of a more formal character. (Macmillan Company.) Our Language, by Lida B. McMurry and F. T. Norvell, is the first in a three-book course in English. The keystone of this book is its treatment of the paragraph, the idea of which is developed gradually by means of stories in outline, unfinished stories, suggestive pictures, outlines of letters, etc. Some fine strong illustrations, several of which are full page colored plates, serve the pupils in developing the progress of the lessons. (B. F. Johnson Publishing Company.) Webster-Cooley Language Series, by William Frank Webster and Alice Woodworth Cooley. This series consists of three books: Elements of English Grammar and Composition; Language, Grammar and Composition; and Language Lessons from Nature. The authors, abandoning the beaten paths, have blazed out a new course, and have made a series of language books that deserve the thoughtful attention of every teacher. The term language means composition and grammar; the authors believe that composition is the more important subject for study in elementary education. "An understanding of grammar helps toward correct expression; a knowledge of the difficulties of composition lays a foundation for the true appreciation of beautiful literature; and literature itself is the best instructor in the art of graceful and powerful composition." Hence composition is made the dominant feature in each of the three books. An examination of the set will disclose their merits, which are exceptional and decisive. (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.)