A fanciful story incorporating a clay doll and her visits to various "lands"- paper-land, nut-land, wood-land, flower-land. All of the inhabitants and props and houses were made by two real children and there are even pages of instructions for making your own. This was how children played in 1916 when the book was published!
Another Petersham book from our collection! This one is a set of seven animal stories centered around bedtime, perfect for night time reading. The pictures are just as cute as can be!
At antique shops and old bookstores I often come across this book about the life of Jesus that was written by Charles Dickens. When I finally bought up a copy because of the included illustrations by Rachel Taft-Dixon, I had no idea the history surrounding the work. Charles Dickens wrote it as an easy biblical narrative for his children. He kept it so private, just for his family, that there were instructions for it never to be published "while any child of Dickens lived." This "secret" family story was written in 1846-1849 but wasn't published until 1933 when Dickens' final son died and expressed to his family his will that they should publish it if they wished.
Avoiding any thorny theological issues or even the divinity of Christ, Dickens wrote a benign account of Jesus as a good man who taught men to "love one another, and not to quarrel and hurt one another."
Sometimes these poetry books are worth it for the introductions alone. Leonard Clark does a fine job of collecting poems both old and new for reading aloud to "the youngest child". But more than that, he describes just how to read a poem ("Read softly, and naturally, and take your time. Linger on the words you yourself like the sound of") and the importance of reading poetry to children.
Of course I'm happy because Gerard Manley Hopkins makes an appearance!
