This textbook is a reader developed on the principle that the expanding life of a child as a citizen of the world demands acquaintance with a considerable portion of the world's best thought as expressed in literature. The general method of presenting these classics rests upon the assumption that literature is addressed to the heart and to the conscience, rather than to the intellect. Thus it is the purpose of these books to furnish a plan that will recognize and incorporate the rightful claims of both the intensive and extensive methods of presenting literature.