How to Observe 
 
 (Children’s Book 
 Week 
 
 November 8th to 14th, 1925 
 
 After all- there is nothing 
 like A GOOD BOOK! 
 
 Brusake 
 
 suggestions for (ommunities 
 PNY 
 
 Book WEEK 
 is held under the auspices 
 of the 
 Natrona AssoctaTION oF Book PuBLIsHERS 
 
 25 WEsT 33RD StreET, New York 
 
oAn dea. 
 
 THE First CONFERENCE 
 
 E ARLY in September one of the booksellers wrote 
 notes to prominent men and women of the 
 city, who were interested in children’s reading, 
 mentioning the dates of Book Week, and asking 
 them to attend a conference at his store to discuss 
 plans for a community celebration of the Week. 
 One of the people to whom he wrote was the chair- 
 man of the ministers’ association, others included 
 the superintendent of schools, a teacher who was 
 very active in the work of local parent-teacher as- 
 sociations, the merchandise manager of a depart- 
 ment store who was a member of the board of the 
 Association of Commerce, the chairman of the li- 
 terature division of the women’s club, a newspaper 
 editor, and the Boy Scout executive. All the book- 
 sellers of the city were invited, and the head of 
 the library. 
 
 This group decided at the first conference that 
 each member would plan and promote a Book 
 Week feature for the organization with which he 
 was most closely in touch, arousing the interest of 
 members in the Week and planning publicity for 
 their contribution to the community celebration. 
 In addition, they decided that one big feature must 
 be planned, which would bring the important sub- 
 ject of boys’ and girls’ reading to the attention of 
 every home and every individual in the town. A 
 small committee of three members was appointed 
 to devise a program for this. 
 
 THEATER’S COOPERATION 
 
 This committee called upon the manager of the 
 largest motion picture theater and asked him to 
 arrange to show during Book Week, a film made 
 from a famous children’s book. With the assist- 
 ance of the superintendent of schools, the com- 
 mittee planned a pageant of book characters to be 
 given by school children at the theater, at per- 
 formances on the last three days of the Week. 
 Each grade school and high school in the city con- 
 tributed a tableau representing a book, and the 
 theater audiences voted to determine which school 
 presented the most effective tableau. 
 
 The bookseller who had formed the Book Week 
 Committee gave $20 worth of books to the library 
 
 <e- 
 
Observance of F 
 
 4400 
 COMMUNITIES 
 
 celebrated the Week last year. Was 
 
 your town among them? The obser- 
 vance described below contains sug- 
 gestions for organizing a program for 
 the Week in your city. 
 
 of the school which won first prize, and $10 worth 
 of books to the one which won second prize. 
 
 This feature brought the Week a great deal of 
 newspaper publicity. “The theater issued handbills 
 announcing the special program. One of the de- 
 partment stores had a window display of the books 
 which were portrayed in the pageant. “The books 
 which the tableaux represented were talked about 
 everywhere. The parents of the school children 
 became interested in their rivalry for the prizes, 
 and everybody in town knew it was Book Week. 
 
 MANY ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDED 
 
 Another contest was undertaken by a local news- 
 paper, which offered book prizes for the best re- 
 view of a children’s book, submitted by a boy or 
 girl under 14. The teachers urged the children 
 to compete and a large number of reviews were 
 written. The best of them were published in the 
 paper. 
 
 The public library held “open house” during 
 Book Week. Camp Fire Girls and Girl Scouts 
 acted as ushers for the visitors. A model library for 
 a boy and a model library for a girl were shown, 
 with book-cases, table and chairs loaned by a 
 furniture store. “The children’s librarian had also 
 arranged special story hours for the younger chil- 
 dren during the Week. 
 
 A well-known authority on children’s books and 
 reading addressed the woman’s club and one of 
 the bookstores arranged a very attractive exhibit 
 of children’s books in the lobby of the club house. 
 
 Another bookstore held a reception for a visiting 
 author, at which several club women acted as 
 
00k Week 
 
 hostesses. A department store had an exhibit of 
 orginal book illustrations and a display showing 
 the process of book-making, from manuscript to 
 finished volume. 
 
 At the meetings of the two men’s luncheon 
 clubs, Boy Scouts gave talks on “Books My Dad 
 and I Have Enjoyed Reading Together.” At the 
 business women’s City Club and at meetings of the 
 parent-teacher associations there were talks on 
 “My Boys’ and Girls’ Favorite Books,” and also 
 addresses by librarians, recommending new books 
 suitable for Christmas gifts to boys and girls. 
 
 At one school parents were invited to attend an 
 exhibit of books bound by the pupils in the art 
 classes and one of the large private schools had an 
 exhibit of book posters and book-plates designed 
 by the children. 
 
 The local radio, station arranged to broadcast 
 two talks on children’s reading during the Week, 
 one given by the superintendent of schools and one 
 by a bookseller. 
 
 ‘The churches also participated in Book Week, 
 several ministers devoting sermons to the import- 
 ance of children’s reading and publishing lists of 
 boys’ and girls’ books in their church bulletins. 
 Book posters were displayed in the Sunday Schools. 
 
 Through editorials and news-stories the news- 
 papers helped greatly to coordinate the varied ac- 
 tivities of the Week and make them have con- 
 structive value in the community life. A regular 
 weekly column, “Books for Boys and Girls,” 
 edited by the children’s librarian, was established 
 in one of the newspapers. 
 
 Other features which help to make Book Week a success: 
 
 an Earn-a-Book campaign. See circular “Club Pro- 
 gram Suggestions,” for details of organization. 
 Recommended by General Federation of Women’s 
 
 Clubs. 
 
 an essay contest for school children, “What I Saw 
 in a Local Bookstore,” or other essays mentioning 
 books that the child likes and giving reasons for 
 his interest. Bookstores give prizes, newspapers 
 print best essays. 
 
 distribution of book lists to all school children by 
 Rotary Club, library, women’s club or bookstores. 
 
 book talks by librarians and authors in all school 
 assembly meetings. 
 
 ne a a LP 
 
SIGNIFICANCE OF Book WEEK 
 
 Ga: Book WEEK was originated 
 in 1919 by the American Booksellers 
 Association, the American Library Associa- 
 tion, the Boy Scouts of America, and associa- 
 ted publishers. It has become, in six years, a 
 national annual campaign which thousands of 
 communities use to stimulate interest in boys’ 
 and girls’ books. ‘Throughout the year Book 
 Week inspires a growing consciousness of the 
 importance of children’s books, of their in- 
 fluence in character development and in the 
 building of citizenship, and of the contribu- 
 tion they can make to the happiness of the 
 individual throughout life. 
 
 ae 
 
 CHILDREN’S BooK WEEK 
 PUBLICITY MATERIAL 
 
 (Send requests to National Association of Book 
 Publishers, 25 West 33rd Street, New York.) 
 
 Poster, designed by Jon Brubaker, pictured on 
 cover of this folder. Printed in eight colors. 
 Pree. 
 
 Card miniatures of poster in color, $1.00 per 100. 
 
 Poster, designed by Jessie Willcox Smith. ‘More 
 Books in the Home.” Printed in four colors. 
 Free. 
 
 Card miniatures of Jessie Willcox Smith poster, in 
 color, $.75 per 100. 
 
 Motion picture slide, either poster design, with im-_ 
 print, $.50. Specify design wanted. 
 
 Club Program Suggestions for Book Week, circular 
 compiled by General Federation of Women’s 
 Clubs, Literature Division. Free. 
 
 Book Projects, circular compiled for schools by 
 National Congress of Parents and Teachers, 
 Committee on Children’s Reading. Free. 
 
 Magazine Articles on Children’s Reading, a list of 
 recent articles. Free. 
 
 Book Films, a selection made by the National 
 Board of Review of Motion Pictures, 70 Fifth 
 Avenue, New York. Free. 
 
3 0112 115506435 
 
 CHILDREN’S READING 
 
 Notes from a talk broadcasted August Sth, 
 from Station WEAF, New York, by Miss 
 Anne Carroll Moore, Supervisor of Work 
 With Children, New York Public Library. 
 
 Ne THE BEST TEACHING is done un- 
 consciously. Too frequently in books 
 about children’s reading, there is a spirit of 
 teaching instead of the spirit of play. 
 
 ‘Perhaps the first thing necessary for a 
 grown-up who wants to encourage a love of 
 reading in children is that he rid himself of 
 the idea of teaching boys and girls to enjoy 
 books. The child’s moods should be re- 
 spected, in all our endeavors to bring chil- 
 dren and books into natural and intimate 
 association. Sometimes a child will enjoy 
 an imaginative book, at other times he will 
 long for a more realistic type of story, Let 
 children make different kinds of book 
 friends. 
 
 ‘““The supreme test of a child’s book is: has 
 this book come out of a rich, full mind, with 
 a true understanding of childhood? Or is it 
 merely the best that can be done by a medi- 
 ocre person? Far too many children’s books 
 have been written out of empty minds. 
 
 “Children do not want to be bored by 
 having books forced upon them just because 
 some grown-up has liked those books. “They 
 want to be allowed to find things for them- - 
 selves, to exercise their own choice.” 
 
 *K * *K 
 
 Miss Moore says that a radio talk is suc- 
 cessful in proportion to the naturalness and 
 informality of the speaker. “The require- 
 ments of her experience are: 
 
 1.—A good voice for transmission. 
 
 2.—Something definitely interesting and 
 
 arresting to say about the book or 
 books chosen for the talk. 
 
 Theory and generalities are not effective. 
 The talk must begin and end in a way to 
 hold the audience.