My Book House 6 volume series By Olive Beaupré Miller
A graduate of Smith College, Olive Beaupré Miller began writing rhymes and stories in order to entertain her young daughter (in addition to editing My Book House Miller also wrote many of the entries). After publishing three books, she founded The Book House for Children publishing company with her husband in 1919; in 1920 the first volume of My Book House (titled In the Nursery) was published.
My Book House was the first collection of children’s literature specifically arranged to meet the developing needs and abilities of children at different ages. Each entry had to meet the following three criteria (taken from Miller’s introduction):
“First, — To be well equipped for life, to have ideas and the ability to express them, the child needs a broad background of familiarity with the best in literature.
Second, — His stories and rhymes must be selected with care that he may absorb no distorted view of life and its actual values, but may grow up to be mentally clear about values and emotionally impelled to seek what is truly desirable and worthwhile in human living.
Third, — The stories and rhymes selected must be graded to the child’s understanding at different periods of his growth, graded as to vocabulary, as to subject matter and as to complexity of structure and plot.”
Eventually expanded to a 12 volume series, the original six volumes are in the public domain.
Download for free:
Vol 1 - In the Nursery https://archive.org/details/latchkeyofmybook01mill
Vol 2 - Up One Pair of Stairs https://archive.org/details/latchkeyofmybook02mill
Vol 3 - Through Fairy Halls https://archive.org/details/latchkeyofmybook03mill
Vol 4 - The Treasure Chest https://archive.org/details/latchkeyofmybook04mill
Vol 5 - From The Tower Window https://archive.org/details/latchkeyofmybook05mill
Vol 6 - The Latch Key https://archive.org/details/latchkeyofmybook06mill
On Libravox:
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Not everyone was a fan, even in 1922 the San Francisco Bulletin reported that that the books were too good, too positive, and that any normal healthy child has streaks of good and bad, and would "crave a little of the rough stuff."
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"Right Reading For Children" was a booklet published by Mrs. Miller, explaining the "influence of reading upon children and the importance of right selection."
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Right Reading For Children
An Adress Delivered Before the Hinsdale Women's Club
by Olive Beupre Miller
The Record, 1926
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