What Children Read by Agnes Repplier
"What Children Read" by Agnes Repplier explores the impact of early reading on children's imagination and intellectual development. Repplier argues that children's literature should stimulate imagination and mental growth rather than merely being harmless. She critiques the abundance of juvenile literature that fails to challenge young minds, emphasizing the importance of exposure to complex and imaginative works. Repplier highlights how historical and fictional narratives captivate children, shaping their understanding and empathy. She contrasts past and present children's literature, noting how earlier works like those of Scott and Edgeworth offered richer intellectual nourishment compared to contemporary offerings. Repplier underscores the significance of allowing children to engage with literature that challenges their comprehension, fostering a deeper intellectual curiosity and growth.
By Agnes Repplier · First published 1907 · Genre: Literary Criticism, Essay, Social Commentary · 6,851 words
First lines
It is part of the irony of life that our discriminating taste for books should be built up on the ashes of an extinct enjoyment. We spend a great deal of our time in learning what literature is good, and a great deal more in attuning our minds to its reception, rightly convinced that, by the training of our intellectual faculties, we are unlocking one of the doors through which sweetness and light may enter. We are fond of reading, too, and have always maintained with Macaulay that we would rather be a poor man with books than a great king without, though luckily for our resolution, and perhaps for his, such a choice has never yet been offered. Books, we say, are our dearest friends, and so, with true friendly acuteness, we are prompt to discover their faults, and take great credit in our ingenuity. But all this time, somewhere about the house, curled up, may be, in a nursery window, or hidden in a freezing attic, a child is poring over The Three Musketeers, lost to any consciousness of his surroundings, incapable of analyzing his emotions, breathless with mingled fear and exultation over his heroes' varying fortunes, and drinking in a host of vivid impressions that are absolutely ineffaceable from his mind. We cannot read in that fashion any longer, but we only wish we could. Thackeray used to sigh in middle age over the lost delights of five shillings' worth of pastry; but what was the pleasure of eating tarts to the glamour cast over us by our first romance, to the enchanted hours we spent with Sintram by the sea-shore, or with Nydia in the darkened streets of Pompeii, or perhaps -- if we were not too carefully watched -- with Emily in those dreadful vaults beneath Udolpho's walls!
What this Textopian page supports
What Children Read is listed on Textopian as an essay by Agnes Repplier, dated 1907 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Essay
- Author: Agnes Repplier
- Date: 1907 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Criticism, Essay, Social Commentary, Educational Theory, Autobiographical Reflection
- Length: 6,851 words
- Structure: 1 section, 36 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for What Children Read by Agnes Repplier
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Literary Criticism — Examines the quality, style, and impact of literature on young minds through detailed analysis and comparative evaluation.
- Essay — Presents a reflective, discursive exploration of reading habits and the effects of literature in an extended, personal narrative form.
- Social Commentary — Critiques societal trends and cultural attitudes towards children's literature and education with a clear analytical tone.
- Educational Theory — Analyzes how early reading influences intellectual development and lifelong learning, integrating historical and philosophical perspectives.
Tags
children literature · reading habits · literary influences · education · child development · cultural trends · literary criticism · juvenile reading · narrative analysis · reading culture · textual evaluation · child psychology