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The Golden Primer

The Golden Primer

Current price: $14.95
Publication Date: October 1st, 2010
Publisher:
British Library
ISBN:
9780712358057
Pages:
64

Description

First published in 1884, The Golden Primer is a stunning example of Victorian book illustration by one of the foremost artists and illustrators of his day, Walter Crane. The primer uses methods for teaching literacy that are still in use today, such as encouraging the child reader to interact with the words and pictures, pointing out the printed words as they see them in the pictures, constructing these into sentences of rhyming verse, and counting how many times a word appears on a page. All of these useful lessons are accompanied by Crane’s charming and witty illustrations, for which he continues to be known.

            All the full-color illustrations are reproduced in this beautiful new facsimile edition, which presents side-by-side illustration and text. Back in print after over a hundred years, The Golden Primer will be a treasured gift and an excellent addition to any young reader’s collection.

About the Author

J. M. D. Meiklejohn (1830-1902) was a Scottish educator and the author of many textbooks on language and literacy. Walter Crane (1845–1915) was an artist and book illustrator and part of the Arts and Crafts style of late Victorian illustrated literature that still influences nursery rhymes and children's stories.

Praise for The Golden Primer

“First published in 1884  . . . there’s no reason it can’t still inspire new readers today. Meiklejohn advocates methods for teaching literacy that are still in use, encouraging the nascent reader to interact with words on the page, point to them, count them, and incorporate them into phrases and rhyming verse. . . . The new edition reproduces the original text in facsimile alongside Walter Crane’s gorgeous Arts and Crafts-style illustrations. Amidst reports of the picture book’s decline, The Golden Primer offers a stunning reminder of the importance of artwork in helping a child learn to read.”

— New Yorker Book Bench blog