ILLINOI S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO * GRADUATE LIBRARY SCHOOL Volume XV July-August, 1962 Number 11 New Titles for Children and Young People Ad Alexander, Arthur. The Hidden You; Psychology in Your Life; illus. by Zenowii 4-6 Onyskewych. Prentice-Hall, 1962. 63p. $2.95. An introduction to psychology that is only moderately successful. The author has done a rather good job of side-stepping complicated aspects, save for a few spots where a topic is introduced but not really explained. For example, in describing the causative effect of fear in producing extra sugar, the text states that when we feel fear "a gland" releases "something" that causes the liver to excrete stored sugar. Perfectly accu- rate, yet the fact that "something" is not explained may raise a question in the read- er's mind. There are some excellent portions in the book; Pavlov's experiment is a clear explanation of association. While there are occasional popularized passages (such as an anecdote about a lonely pilot seeing gremlins), the book gives, on the whole, a fairly sound approach to psychology; it does not really explore individual psychology as the title might indicate, but it does discuss personality differences, as- sociation, testing, sensation, illusion, cultural influences, and reflexes. A last chapter describes the roles of psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychoanalysts. An index is ap- pended. Ad Almedingen, E. M. The Young Pavlova; illus. by Denise Brown. Roy, 1961. 7-10 138p. (Famous Childhoods Series). $3. First published in Great Britain in 1960, a biography of Anna Pavlova that begins when she is seven and follows her training at the Imperial Ballet School until she gets her first role at the age of seventeen. Although the writing is intensely romantic and the author's attitude quite adulatory, the book is interesting because of the authenticity of atmosphere. In the first chapters, Anna as a child of seven and eight is portrayed as so dedicated, sensitive, and precocious as to be not quite believable, but the major part of the book is more realistic. The background of St. Petersburg at the turn of the century is vivid and the almost-consecrated and rigorous life of the ballet school is wonderfully evocative. R Andrews, Mary Evans. Hostage to Alexander; decorations by Avery Johnson. 7-9 Longmans, 1961. 244p. $3.75. A good adventure story set in the fourth century and told against the background of the struggle for world domination betwveen Darius III and Alexander the Great. Damon, a young hostage from a Rhodian family, participates in the campaigns, hoping all the while to be released; by the time he has the chance to return to Rhodes, he has been won by Alexander, feeling loyalty to him as a leader and anticipating the excitement of further conquest. The writing has pace, good historical detail, and enough focus on the personal involvement of Damon to unify the variations of scene and character. 169 170 R Asimov, Isaac. Realm of Algebra; diagrams by Robert Belmore. Houghton, 7-12 1961. 230p. $3. A remarkably lucid book, in which the material is well-organized and in which new concepts are introduced with clarity and amplified with several simple examples. There is enough repetition in the writing to make the theories presented easy to un- derstand, but it is not the sort of repetition that dulls. The final chapter discusses some applications of algebraic knowledge, from its use in simple financial transac- tions or conversions in recipe measurements, to its use by Cavendish in computing the weight of the earth. An index is appended. Ad Asimov, Isaac. Words in Genesis; decorations by William Barss. Houghton, 7-10 1962. 233p. $3.25. An unusual book, interesting and informative, occasionally humorous; it is, however, not smoothly written and will possibly be used for browsing. It is doubtful that Mr. Azimov's approach could produce any other result: he proceeds through Genesis with erudition, zest, and a detective zeal that leads the reader into fascinating but digres- sive linguistic tangents. The first part of the book gives excellent background infor- mation about writing materials and Biblical compilation, with word-derivations and word-variants. Useful, also, for religious education collections. Appended are maps, patriarchal family trees, and an extensive index. R Bell, Thelma Harrington. The Two Worlds of Davy Blount; illus. by Corydon 5-6 Bell. Viking, 1962. 220p. $3. Davy, age ten, lived with his grandparents on an island off the coast of North Caro- lina; much as he loved the sea coast, he was curious about the mountains. Grandfather was a fisherman, Grandmother came from mountain country; each felt their home place was the best. Sent by Grandmother to visit his mountain kinfolk for the first time, Davy came to the conclusion that the mountains were wonderful too, that he now had "two loves, two worlds." The story gets off to a very slow start, with little action in the rather extended description of Davy's life with his grandparents, although the background is interesting. The second part of the book is just as good in evoking at- mosphere, but has more pace in plot development, and more interest because of the introduction of other characters. Characterization is good, with discerning percep- tion of the attitudes of Davy's cousins toward him and toward each other. R Bergere, Thea. Automobiles of Yesteryear; A Pictorial Record of Motor Cars 6- that made History - Pioneer, Antique, Classic, and Sports Models; illus. by Richard Bergere. Dodd, 1962. 160p. $3.50. Illustrated profusely with handsome and scrupulously detailed drawings, a book that describes outstanding cars from 1893 through 1940. An introductory section gives historical background, and the text is divided into three periods: "The Pioneer Years," "The Antiques," and "The Classic Era." For the most part, a full-page drawing is faced by a page of text, although here and there several sequential pages have illus- trations only. On some pages, set off in italicized type, there is a brief paragraph giv- ing information about the times: for example, 1923, "Warren Harding dies, and Calvin Coolidge becomes President. Marathon dancing and a new game, Mah Jong, sweep the country. Emily Post's Etiquette is a best seller. This year's hit tune is 'Yes! We SHave No Bananas !' The text is crisply and fully informative; the index uses italics for pages on which illustrations appear. The book will probably be used for browsing by boys too young to read all the text, as well as by young people and adults. NR Betz, Betty. Manners for Moppets. Grosset, 1962. 68p. illus. Trade ed. $2.95; 4-6 Library ed. $3.50 net. yrs. Advice in halting rhyme, with some suggestions that seem to have less to do with man- 171 ners than they have with personality habits. For example, "Every nice child under- stands/ That when meeting folks we shake hands. This lad should really hide his face/ Because he looks so out of place." Rather discouraging to the small child who is shy. Or, "It isn't fun to mope or pout/ While other children play about, So join them when you hear a call/ To play a game or toss a ball." Cartoon-style drawings illustrate the malfeasant examples; the rhymes all take the negative approach. R Bible. The First Seven Days; The Story of the Creation from Genesis; illus. by 3-5 Paul Galdone. Crowell, 1962. 35p. Trade ed. $3.50; Library ed. $3.36 net. From the King James version, the story of Creation; the book is handsomely illus- trated, some of the pages being softly lovely, some stark, and all in good taste. An excellent book for reading aloud to younger children also; useful in religious educa- tion collections as well as in home, school, or public libraries. R Bible. Stories from the Bible; by Walter de la Mare; illus. by Edward Ardizzone. 6- Knopf, 1961. 420p. $4.95. A retelling, in distinguished and dignified style, of parts of the first nine books of the Old Testament. Some of the text is very close to Biblical language, other parts are looser interpretations, but all of the writing has the essence and the style of the Bible, while simplifying some of the phraseology. In an interesting introduction, the author gives comparative versions of identical passages, explaining thereby his own reason for writing the book, and expressing his hope that readers of the book will "return to the inexhaustible well-spring from which it came." A good version for reading aloud to younger children, and useful in high school collections. R Bova, Ben. The Milky Way Galaxy; Man's Exploration of the Stars; drawings by 10- Peter Robinson. Holt, 1961. 228p. $5. A useful book for the reader who has background enough in, or a special interest in, astronomy; detailed and comprehensive, the material is too advanced to serve as an introductory text. The author reviews man's knowledge about stars, with particular emphasis on our own galaxy. Some of the topics discussed are composition, measure- ment, spectroscopy, motion, and terminology; in all of the chapters there is material about past theories and recent investigations. Several reference tables are provided in appendices, and these are followed by a rather lengthy bibliography (most of which is at the adult level) and by a very good relative index. Ad Bragdon, Lillian J. The Land and People of Switzerland. Lippincott, 1961. 127p. 6-9 illus. (Portraits of the Nations Series).