F. A. R. Beekman

Wie freundlich ist der Lehrer! Er gab mir dieses schöne Buch, ich freue mich sehr.
(How nice the teacher is — he gave me this lovely book, I am very happy.)

This is a charming old schoolbook, a German reader for Dutch children, which builds up from simple sentences to short stories, newspaper articles, poems and scenes from plays. Not much in the way of great literature, but everything is very edifying and optimistic in tone, eminently suitable for sheltering kids from harsh realities and difficult questions. I don't think you could read more than two or three of these pieces at a time without becoming a little unwell, but in small doses it's quite attractive. Of course, all the German text except the beginners' exercises is set in Fraktur, as was usual at the time in German books, so modern readers who aren't used to that will have a hard time making sense of it.

What struck me about it is the way it suggests that schools at the time must already have been teaching by exposure to the real language, rather than by building up from grammar and vocabulary exercises, and although it looks very dry by modern standards, it does show that textbook authors were trying, within the limitations of the time, to make learning entertaining for the children.… (mais)