Book houses

Media

Part of The Young Citizen: The Magazine for Young People

Title
Book houses
Year
1937
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Fulltext
./mu:, lfJ.'/7 THE YOUNG CITIZEN 151 MEMORIZE A POEM A MONTH You must have read many books. Some contain stories of princes and princesses or of poor people who are brave and noble. A little boy said, "My book is like a little train." Can you guess why? To what do you compare a book you are about to read? Below is a poem that tells you what the speaker thinks of a book. Read the title. What idea does it give you? Try to foretell what you will read about in the poem. Now read the poem through. Is your guess more or less correct? Afte1· the first reading, tell yourself what pictures you see in the poem. Read the first stanza. What does the speaker think of the cover of a book? Of the book itself? Do you feel curious about the inside of a house which you have not yet visited? Read the second stanza. Who may open the door of your bookhouse for you? Because you are not certain as to who will receive you, are you sure of the kind of reception you will get? Do you care to stay long in a house where people are dull? When a book is dull what do you do with it? Read the third stanza. What does a reader do 'Nhen he finds an interesting book? Read the fourth stanza. Why is reading a new book so interesting to the speaker in the poem? Read the poem aloud several times trying to see the pictures in the order in which they are presented. Remember the w01·ds. Redte the poem to yourself. Read it when you cannot go en. Read it as many times as you need to remember it. · Recite it to a classmate, then to the class. BOOK HOUSES (Anonymous) I always think the cover of A book is like a door Which opens into someone's house Where I've not been before. A pirate or a fairy queen May lift the latch for me; l always wonder when I knock What welcome there will be. And when I find a house that's dull I do not often stay, But when I find one full of friends I'm apt to spend the day. I never know what sort ·of folks Will be within, you see, And that's why reading always is So interesting to me.