Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from First Book of Religion
For the use of parables as a means of conveying religious truth we have sufficient authority, and few people will question the value of the story method of instruction, but the days have gone by when children honestly enjoyed moralizing, if indeed they ever did. Much must be left to the teacher's tact and good sense in the handling of the following stories, for, as a famous educator has said, it spoils the fairy pudding to pull out the moral plums. On the other hand, the point of the lesson should always be made definite and clear by questions and discussion pertinent to the subject. Hence each story is followed by a few questions designed to stimulate the child's own thought and expression.
The main points to be brought out are the power and beauty in the world around us, the immanence of God, and the requisites of righteous living. Special stress should be laid upon our duties as members of one great social body, each dependent upon the others and none isolated or irresponsible. Folklore and myths have occasionally been used as suitable material, for the wonder element in a narrative appeals strongly to children of this age. Now is the time to cultivate the imagination rather than that matter-of-fact spirit which sees no miracle in the sunset glory or in the rhythm of the tide. When men of science are also poets, then, and not till then, may we safely trust their inferences as to the great problems of life and death.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Houghton, Mifflin Company for permission to adapt The Princes Visit (from Dream Children by Horace Scudder) and to Charles Scribner's Sons for the use of The Plant that lost its Berry (adapted from Story-Tell Libby Annie Trumbull Slosson).
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