BOY BLUE

AND HIS FRIENDS

BY ETTA AUSTIN BLAISDELL

AND

MARY FRANCES BLAISDELL

AUTHORS OF "CHILD LIFE," "CHILD LIFE IN TALE AND FABLE," "CHILD LIFE IN MANY LANDS," "CHILD LIFE IN LITERATURE," ETC.

PREFACE

This is a book of short stories for the youngest readers,—stories about old friends, which they can easily read themselves.

Here they will learn why Mary's Lamb went to school, what the mouse was looking for when he ran up the clock, why one little pig went to market, how one little pig got lost, and the answers to a great many other puzzling questions.

The stories are written around some of the Mother Goose rhymes because the children love to meet old friends in books just as well as we do.

The vocabulary is limited to words easily recognized by beginners in reading, and the sentences are made short and direct, so that they will be understood. The stories progress gradually from very easy to more difficult matter, keeping pace with the child's increasing knowledge and ability,—the book being carefully arranged for use as a supplementary reader, or for home reading for the little ones.