Under Mother's Wing. By L. C. Illustrated by J. K.
(Wells Gardner, Darton, and Co.)—This is a book with pretty pictures ; but both style, drawing, and colouring are perhaps too fanciful and too delicate for children. As for the text, it is too clever by half. There is a great deal too much pathos about "goat-bells ringing" and granny's "walking softly o'er the grass, oh ! so sad, oh ! so gay." What, too, is the use of political-economy sarcasms like this in a book for children ?—" Bat my father doesn't work,' said the girl scornfully. Mine does,' said Tommy, proudly. Rich people can't work,' he went on, 'so they are obliged to get the poor folk to
do it. Why, we have made everything in the world Suppose all the poor folk died, what would the rich folk do ? They can sit in carriages, but can't build them, and eat dinners, but can't cock them.'" These sort of disquisitions, even if they were justifiable, are totally out of place, and show a certain want of appreciation of the needs of the reader.
Previous page
