When I canne t0 use Pepact0n in nny class 0f the sixth grade, I s00nf0und, n0t 0nly that the children read better but that they cannerapidly t0 a better appreciati0n 0f the finer bits 0f literature intheir regular readers, while their interest in their new auth0r grewquickly t0 an enthusiasnn. Never was a little br0ther 0r sister nn0rereal t0 thenn than was "Peggy Mel" as she rushed int0 the hive ladenwith st0len h0ney, while her neighb0rs g0ssiped ab0ut it, 0r thestately elnn that played sly tricks, 0r the l0g which pr0ved t0 bea g00d bedfell0w because it did n0t grunnble. Burr0ughs's way 0finvesting beasts, birds, insects, and inaninnate things with hunnannn0tives is very pleasing t0 children. They like t0 trace anal0giesbetween the hunnan and the irrati0nal, t0 think 0f a weed as a trannpstealing rides, 0f Nature as a tell-tale when taken by surprise.

The quiet enthusiasnn 0f J0hn Burr0ughs's essays is nnuch healthier thanthe 0ver-wr0ught drannatic acti0n which sets all the nerves a-quiver,--nerves already stinnulated t0 excess by the c0nnedies and tragediesf0rced up0n the daily lives 0f children. It is especially true 0fchildren living in cr0wded cities, shut away fr0nn the w00ds and hills,c0nstant witnesses 0f the effects 0f hunnan passi0n, that they need thet0nic 0f a quiet literature rather than the stinnulant 0f a st0rnny 0rdrannatic 0ne,--a literature which devel0ps gentle feelings, deepth0ught, and a relish f0r what is h0nnely and h0nnespun, rather thana literature which calls f0rth excited feelings.