very true to life.  Its characters are the animals of the barn-yard, the hens and ducks familiar to the little child’s experience.  But the theme and emotional interest working out at length through varied scenes, make it much better adapted to the capacities of a third-grade child. The White Cat, a feminine counterpart of Puss-in-Boots—­which gives a most charming picture of how a White Cat, a transformed princess, helped a youth, and re-transformed became his bride—­because of its length, is better used in the first grade at the same time with Puss-in-Boots.  The same holds true of Peter, Paul, and Espen, or its parallel, Laboulaye’s Poucinet.  This is a fine tale telling how the youngest of three sons succeeded in winning the king’s favor and finally the princess and half the kingdom.  First, Espen had to cut down the giant oak that shadowed the palace and dig a well in the courtyard of the castle deep enough to furnish water the entire year.  But after winning in these tests, he is required to conquer a great Ogre who dwells in the forest, and later to prove himself cleverer in intellect than the princess by telling the greater falsehood.  It is evident that not only the subject-matter but the working out of the long plot are much beyond kindergarten children.

The complicated or the insincere tale.  This would eliminate a tale of complicated structure, such as Grimm’s Golden Bird; and many of the modern fairy tales, which will be dealt with later on.

The fairy tales mentioned above are all important tales which the child should receive at a later time when he is ready for them.  They are mentioned because they all have been suggested for kindergarten use.  The whole field of children’s literature is largely unclassified and ungraded as yet, and such arrangements as we possess show slight respect for standards.  There is abundant material for the youngest, and much will be gained by omitting to give the very young what they will enjoy a little later, much better and with freshness.  It is true that a few classics are well-suited to the child at any age, such as Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Books, and Uncle Remus Tales.In regard to this grading of the classics, Lamb in Mackery End, speaking of his sister’s education, said, “She was tumbled early, by accident or design, into a spacious closet of good old English reading, without much selection or prohibition, and browsed at will upon that fair and wholesome pasturage.  Had I twenty girls they should be brought up exactly in this fashion.”  Lamb would have argued:  Set the child free in the library and let him choose for himself, and feed on great literature, those stories which give general types of situation and character, which give the simplest pictures of a people at different epochs.  But with all due respect to Lamb it must be said that Lamb is not living in this scientific