FOREWORD


This book is intended to accomplish three distinct purposes: first, to
arouse a greater interest in oral reading; second, to develop an expressive
voice--sadly lacking in the case of most Americans; and third, to give
freedom and grace in the bodily attitudes and movements which are involved
in reading and speaking. The stories given are for the most part
adaptations of favorite tales from folklore,--Andersen, Grimm, Aesop, and
the Arabian Nights having been freely drawn upon.

Children are dramatic by nature. They _are_ for the time the kings, the
fairies, and the heroes that they picture in their imaginations. They _are_
these characters with such abandon and with such intense pleasure that the
on-looker must believe that nature intended that they should give play to
this dramatic instinct, not so much formally, with all the trappings of the
man-made stage, but spontaneously and naturally, as they talk and read. If
this expressive instinct can be utilized in the teaching of reading, we
shall be able both to add greatly to the child's enjoyment and to improve
the quality of his oral reading. In these days when so many books are
hastily read in school, there is a tendency to sacrifice expression to the
mechanics and interpretation of reading. Those acquainted with school work
know too well the resulting monotonous, indistinct speech and the
self-conscious, listless attitude which characterize so much of the
reading of pupils in grades above the third. It is believed that this
little book will aid in overcoming these serious faults in reading, which
all teachers and parents deplore. The dramatic appeal of the stories will
cause the child to lose himself in the character he is impersonating and
read with a naturalness and expressiveness unknown to him before, and this
improvement will be evident in all his oral reading, and even in his