World Affairs Institute

The Voyagers by Padraic ColumAdvocate of Peace through Justice, Vol. 87, No. 12 (DECEMBER, 1925), p. 695Published by: World Affairs InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20661110 .

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1925 BOOK REVIEWS 695

Love of flowers, love of poetry, simplicity,

serenity, and tenderness-all breathe in these

tiny gems of Japanese verse. They mirror

much of Japanese life and are pleasant to

the ear of a child. Many of them are hokku

poems, those miniature verses consisting of

but three lines and not more than seventeen

syllables. A Japanese author protests that

to translate them is like taking down a cob

web and trying to hang it in another place.

Nevertheless, judging by results, possibly aided by the beautiful Japanese pictures,

something of the beauty of rythm and

thought is preserved, even in the transla

tions.

In order to round out the impression of the

book on children, Mrs. Miller, always a de

lightful raconteuse, has added little stories

of Japan --

cherry-blossoms, poetry picnics,

dragon-flies, and tales from history and

legend. All of these have a distinct effect in

emphasizing the love of beauty, the reticence

and joy in simple things, which are charac

teristic of this people.

THE POLISH FAIRY BOOK. Translated and

adapted by Elsie Byrde. Pp. 231. Fred

erick A. Stokes Co., New York, 1925.

The compiler of this book has, fortunately, been able to go back to sources-the same

sources, in some cases, which were tapped

by the brothers Grimm. But much of this

collection from the folklore of Poland could

have been garnered only from old books and

records in the University Library of War

saw. Many of these tales will be new to the

West. Miss Byrde's English is delightful. The illustrations by Livia Kadir are highly decorative. They have a delicacy and flat

ness of color which reminds one of Puvis de

Chavannes.

The child who reads this book shares the

literary heritage of his Polish cousin.

THE RABBIT LANTERN. By Dorothy Rowe.

Pp. 98. Macmillan Co., New York, 1925.

Price, $1.75.

These are not translations. The American author of this book, however, was born in China and grew up there. She has written here stories about Chinese children as she knew them. The tales will make daily life in China familiar to English-speaking chil

dren ; they will be delightedly read, also, by adults who love children.

The illustrations are really Chinese. They were made by Miss Ling, a Chinese student

who studied drawing under the teacher of

the Empress Dowager. For tales of adventure, with the thrills

thereof, we have

THE VOYAGERS. By Padraic Colum. Pp. 188.

Macmillan Co., New York, 1925. Price,

$2.25.

Once upon a time the western limit of the

habitable earth was supposed to be a prom

ontory standing out from the coast of Portu

gal. Here, in the tower of Prince Henry, Padraic Colum has staged the narratives of

old voyages of discovery. The pulpit of the

story-tellers was in the likeness of a ship's prow. Here, wise men who knew, told the

story of Atlantis and legends of voyages down to Lief the Lucky and other sons of

Eric the Red.

Then we leave Prince Henry's tower and

read letters and first-person narratives from men with Columbus, De Soto, and the Vir

ginia explorers. Then, back again after fifty years, we go to the tower, where many men

still come to study the maps and charts left

there. Here the author imagines for us the manner in which America got its name.

The book is appealing to boys and girls, both because of its adventures and for its

beauty of diction. In the back are notes,

simply phrased, giving brief outlines of the

facts upon which the stories are based. The book is brimming with adventure and cour

age, with a minimum of combat.

INTERNATIONAL PLAYs. By Virginia Olcott.

Pp. 245. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1925.

Eight very short one-act plays are here.

They will be easily understood by children,

especially with the story of the play, which

precedes each one and is intended to be read

to the cast. Costumes are designed and de

scribed and a short list of good reading on

each subject is given. The plays are intended for children of the

New World, to give them appreciation of the racial and historic contributions of the Old

World. They deal with old Greece, old Lon

don, and several other countries, down to the

immigrant to America of the present day.

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