Abstract
WE suppose that a book by this well-known author requires no commendation, but perhaps an appreciation in these pages may have a peculiar value. The story of a little girl's visit to a farm and what she saw of dog and sheep, weasel and vole, bat and eagle, and other creatures—it is not a work of science, of course, but a work of art; and how it is done who shall say? We could tell the same story, but no child would turn an ear. One must have the secret of the Pied Piper. It seems clear, however, that part of the success of the book must be due to its truthfulness—for the natural history seems all right, except a tale about golden eagles hunting the deer in Scotland. Another part of the success of the book must be due to restraint in giving information, for many books for young folks fail utterly in their Sand-ford-and-Mertonism. The boy explaining why bats are not birds would have been a bore if he had said another word, but he stops just in time. Ggethe said something about this sort of thing ! The rest of the attractiveness of the book is due to the art of the writer. We should add, however, that the coloured illustrations by Miss Helen Jacobs are charming, and the book is beautifully printed. We commend it heartily for young children.
Betty and Bobtail at Pine-Tree Farm.
Lilian
Gask
By. Pp. 224. (London: G. G. Harrap and Co., Ltd., 1920.) 6s. net.
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Betty and Bobtail at Pine-Tree Farm . Nature 107, 41 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/107041a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/107041a0
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