Laura Rountree Smith – författare

Excerpt: "If you will come and read with me, Our Roly-Poly friends you’ll see. You’ll often laugh, if you will look, Inside the Roly-Poly Book!"

Excerpt: "Said the Fairy Ink-Bottle Babies, “What do you think? We all came out of a bottle of ink! We are very little to mind each rule, But still we are going to start to school; And if we remember, it starts in September! This old-fashioned thing called school!” Said the Fairy Ink-Bottle Babies, “What fun! See, school has already begun!”"

Excerpt: "The Tiddly Winks are good natured little fairies who teach lessons of thrift and good cheer. Here we meet Tiddly Winks, Tiddly Wee, Tiddly Thrift, Tiddly Cheer-Up, Tiddly Scowl, and Tiddly Why, all having the characteristics of real children. Who would not take delight in learning their A, B, C’s with the Tiddly Winks? A story of the Wee People—for Wee People, written in charming and simple style, to be used in school and home as a first reader, carefully graded with repetition of simple words and phrases."

Excerpt: "On Hallowe’en when elves and witches are abroad, we find it the custom over all the world to build bonfires, to keep off evil spirits; and this is the night of all nights to entertain friends with stunts similar to those performed two hundred years ago. On this night fortunes are told, games are played, and if it so happens that your birthday falls on this night, you may even be able to hold converse with fairies—so goes the ancient superstition!"

Excerpt: "Bunny and Susan Cotton-Tail sat by the fire one winter evening warming their paws. "What''s that?" asked Bunny. "What''s that?" asked Susan. They went to the window and saw a very little Bunny stuck fast in a snowdrift. "Help, help," cried Bunny, "I will get the snow-shovel." "Help, help," cried Susan, "I will get the wheelbarrow." Bunny and Susan went out to shovel the little Bunny out of the snowdrift. Bunny said, "You dear little fellow, how did you get stuck fast in the snowdrift?" Susan looked hard over her spectacles and said, "Why, it is our own dear grandchild, Snubby Nose." Then Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled! Bunny Cotton-Tail shoveled as fast as he could, and in sixteen minutes he had Snubby Nose out of the snowdrift. Susan put him in the wheelbarrow and wheeled him to the house. All the time Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled! Susan said, "Go and get the big tub and we will give Snubby Nose a hot bath.""

Excerpt: "The first three stories contained in the book found great favor with the reading public, having been published in the Woman’s Home Companion. All the stories are wholesome and have good influence upon the little readers. In Danny Do-Little, work is made delightful through play. In Old Mother Bear’s Christmas Stocking, the selfishness of the animals is dwelt upon, but also their kindness of heart, and the saying brought out that, “One good turn deserves another.” The little Birthday story will be interesting to read at school and children’s parties, for who among the little ones does not occasionally have a birthday? Catchy little jingles run throughout the stories. An enthusiastic parent in Massachusetts said: “My children are very much pleased with Laura Rountree Smith’s Jingle Books, and must have a story before bed-time each night. I think her books mighty clever.” The book contains stories which can easily be read by the children themselves."

Excerpt: "If little Bunny Cotton-Tail had not read by candle-light, this story might never have been written. One evening Bunny Cotton-Tail read very late, and he was so excited over the story he was reading that he waved one paw too near the candle, and burned it sadly. Poor Bunny cried so loud that all the neighbors heard him, and came running in to see what was the matter. Have you ever cried so loud that you could be heard next door? Mother Cotton-Tail tied up the burned paw in a cabbage leaf and sent Bunny to bed. And what do you suppose that comical Bunny did? He liked the smell of the cabbage so well, that he ate the leaf all up, and his poor paw began to hurt worse than ever. This time he did not cry, for he was afraid he would be scolded for eating the cabbage leaf. He crept out of bed and ran out of the house. Mother Cotton-Tail never allowed little Bunny to go out late at night, so now everything seemed very strange to him. He looked at the big moon, and he was afraid. He ran on for some time and he came to a beautiful garden. Here he saw more cabbages than he had ever dreamed of! There were big cabbages, little cabbages, and middle-sized cabbages. He was just going to have a nice meal when he looked up and saw a very tall creature waving its arms at him."

Excerpt: "The Runaway Rabbit sat on the doorstep of his own little house, saying, “By my cottontail, it is time for me to run away!” He took out his little brown traveling bag and packed it full. He was in such a hurry to run away that he did not even stop to clear off his breakfast table. He did not even stop to wind his clock or lock his front door! Hippety-hop, lippety-lop, he went down the path, carrying his little brown traveling bag."

Excerpt: "The happy adventures of Curly-Tail and the fourteen Little Darling Dogs are simply told in this book. They are instructive stories and are full of humor and make enjoyable reading to all children. Daddy Do-Little, the unusual Dog, and Pedro, the Parrot, are amusing characters. “A Visit to Mrs. Santa Claus,” is something new and original for awakening the child’s attention. This book is of easy vocabulary and will aid the child’s learning."

Excerpt: "The fairies formed a magic ring and danced around Little Boo-Hoo, and while he was with them he never shed a tear! Every one smiled, and smiled. Fairy Light-Heart took Little Boo-Hoo’s hand and they danced away, away, away, and when he awoke it was the dawn of day, and there hung the Wishing Key on a little blue ribbon, round his neck. Whether he ever found the Box of Smiles again or not I do not know, but he was always dimpling and smiling and speaking of fairy gold-fish bowls, and wondering if the fairies ever got their washing done, and talking about fairies skating on a pond."