until he knows how to read. In other words to make children familiar with the shape of books and to show them that books are fun. To do that there must be picture books to share with children and stories to read aloud. Books like Lois Lenski's Little Farm, for instance—a story that has meaning and significance for Maori and pakeha alike in its simple account of Mr Small's daily work on the farm. In the same series there is The Little Aeroplane which appeals to all small boys. Most little children like stories about animals such as Angus and the Cat, and the other titles in this inexpensive series about the adventures of a little black dog. The reading habit, like a great many other habits, starts in the home at an early age. The home is the greatest influence in a child's life because those early years that a child spends with his parents are the formative years. What about the cost of books? This may sometimes seem a lot, but a book isn't done with after the first reading. It is pored over many times by all the children in a family and is indeed literally loved to death. Don't forget too that many parents don't hesitate to buy a toy costing as much and lasting half the time. These first picture books have a great effect and a lasting value and are worth every penny of your money. And there are books which are not so dear. The Story of Ferdinand for instance (a delightful picture book about the adventures of a bull) is 3/3, and the Puffin picture books are the same price. Incidentally, because a book has hard covers doesn't mean that it is always a good book and because the Puffin picture books have only paper covers it doesn't follow that they are badly written, with poor illustrations and print. There are some excellent stories and books of fact and information in the Puffin series. Small children are completely dependent on their parents for books. Unless parents make an effort to obtain books, either buying them or borrowing them from a public library, children under school age do not see books at all, and when they have got the books in the house they must then use them with the children. And that can be just as much fun for the parents as for the child. When the child is older he or she may be able to borrow books through the school, or go to a public library on his own, but until a child is about ten, the parents must take the initiative in supplying him with books. Don't forget too, that many children don't read easily and freely until they are about nine, and they do appreciate sitting back sometimes and having a story read aloud to them instead of having to struggle with the mechanics of reading before they can get to the actual story. A lot of the fairy tales and the tales of legendary heroes are wonderful for reading aloud. The collection of English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs which contains well-known stories that all pakeha children love, like Cinderella, Dick Whittington, and Jack and the Beanstalk, are good for

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