Some undoubted masterpieces from literatures lying outside the
recognized circle of the American child's "culture"--such, for
example, as the Japanese folk stories--also have been omitted. Other
splendid specimens of juvenile literature, as stories from Kipling's
_Jungle Books_ and essays from Burroughs, have been omitted
because of copyright restrictions.

No one realizes more clearly than does the editor of this collection
that no single book can include all the material that a class
studying children's literature should have before it. There are
dozens of children's books, for example, that a class should know or
know about. An appendix has therefore been placed at the end of this
collection, which lists the reading indispensable to a student of
children's literature. These books should be in the school library,
easily accessible to the students, and they should be considered as
an integral part of the body of children's literature.

As a compendium of good literature for children it is hoped that this
book may interest parents and teachers, quite independently of the
fact that it was prepared for classes of young men and women studying
children's literature, and that it may be put into the hands of
children.

There remains but the pleasant duty of acknowledging the advice and
encouragement received from many persons interested in this subject.
To the publishing houses who have granted permission to use
copyrighted material and to the Librarian of Congress thanks are due
for courtesies extended. To Mr. David Dale Johnson of West Virginia
University for collating; to Mr. Hunter Whiting for a great deal of
copying and collating; and especially to Professor Franklin T. Baker