CHILDREN'S BOOKS.*

ATTER all, the old fairy-tales are the best: they have "a way with them "that no modern imitators can attain to. Mr. Lang in his preface to The Violet Fairy-Book says "that they have been inherited by our earliest civilised ancestors, who really believed that beasts and trees and stones can talk if they choose, and behave kindly or unkindly." The fairy. stories written now lack conviction, and some of them give one the impression that they have been "written down" to the children, thus losing force and character. The stories in The Violet Fairy-Book come from many nations. "Stan Bolooan," a Roumanian one, is a most amusing account of how a shepherd took service with a dragon and his mother, and, of course, outwitted them both. There are some good Japanese stories too, particularly that of the monkey who made the jelly-fish believe that he kept his liver hanging upon a tree. Mr. H. J. Ford's illustrations are well suited to the stories.

Grown-up people will be interested in Mr. Clodd's short account of the author in this edition of Andersen, but to children no introduction to the fairy-tales is wanted.

Queen Mab's Fairy Realm is a book of translations from German, French, and Spanish writers, with a few original English stories. In Fouque's "The Field of Terror" there is a delightful goblin, who though at first he is a raging monster, becomes tame by degrees, and at last settles down into a family friend and tells the children stories. "The Lantern in the Castle Yard," which is also by Fouque, is very gruesome, and we should recommend judicious skipping in the case of a nervous child. There is a pretty coloured frontispiece and title-page, and a number of illustrations by H. Cole and others.

We are very glad to welcome the second volume of the series which is being reissued by Mr. Walter Crane. We have here "Goody Two Shoes," "Aladdin," and "The Yellow Dwarf." The colour, the vigour, and the wealth of detail in Mr. Crane's pictures make them a real pleasure to look at. Every nursery should have one of these volumes.

Here is a new edition of Grimm, partly retranslated by Marian Edwards and illustrated by Aiming Bell, giving the most popular of the stories. At the end of the Frog Prince, however, we waited in vain for the loud noise of the breaking of the bands round the faithful attendant's heart; it is a pity this characteristic episode should have been left out.

Mrs. Farmiloe has again given us a book of stories and pictures of London slum children, and very amusing these sharp little creatures are. Her style, both in writing and

• (L) The Violet Fairy-Book. Edited by Andrew Lang. London : Longmans and Co. 165.1—(2.) Fairy-Tales from Hans Andersen. With an Introduction by Ed. Clodd. Bluatrations by Gordon Browns. London : Wells Gardner, Parton, and Co. 6e.]—(3.) Queen Mob's Fairy Realm. London : George Newnes. [66.]— 4.) Goody Two Shoes Picture-Book. Pictures by Walter Crane. London John Lane. [4s. 6d.]—(5.) Grimm's Fairy-Tales. London : J. M. Dent and Co. [58.]—(6.) Little Citizens. By Edith Farmiloe. London : V.P.C.K. Ds.] (7.) The New Panjandrum. By G. E. Farrow. Illustrations .by Allan Wright. London : C. Arthur Pearson. 15e.1—(8.) Round the World Jo Wyrnpland. By Evelyn Sharp. Illustrated by Alice Woodward. London : John Lane. [6e. —(9.)1111;hxe Wood-pigeons and Mary. By Mrs. Moksworth. illustrations by B. hri . London : Macmillan and Co. (46. 6d.1—(10.) Proverbial Sayings. By Gordon Browne. London : Wells Gardner, Darton, and Co. [3e. 6d.-I—(1LOld King Cole's Book of Nursery Rhymes. London : Macmillan and Co. [6s. —(124 The Olde Irish* Burnes of Brian O'Linn. Illustrated by Rosamund Praeger. Same publishers. [2s. 6d.]—(13.) The Farm, Book for Little Ones. By Walter Copeland. Illustrated by Chas. lEtobinson. A Book of Days. :I: Illustrated by Bridgman. "The Bairn Books."

.London : J. X. Dent and Co. 13d. each. J—(14.) Holidays and Happy.

Days. By Hamish Hendry. Ill ted by Florence Mason. London : Grant "-Richards. [2s. 6d.]-15.) Little People : an Alphabet. Pictures by Henry Mayer. Verses by T. W. H. Crosland. The Little Clown. By Thomas Cobb. "Dumpy Books. Same publisher. [la. 6d. each.] —(16.) The Jackdaw of Illustrated by E. M. Jossop. London : Byre and Opottiswoode. [58.] drawing, is individual, but there is perhaps rather a tendency to a repetition of a certain type, and after a time this might grow monotonous; but the present result is very goract Here is an amusing episode from "Harriet "

exclaimed Harriet solemnly, when she had undressed her- charges, it was Albert stole the milk this morning; he 'famed coming home, and he's very solly. Tell yer muvver„ Albert.' Both twins immediately put their chubby knuckles into their eyes, and trotted simultaneously forward in the direction of their parent, but Harriet darted swiftly forward and intercepted the fattest of the two. You're not Albert,. you silly fat sing,' she exclaimed. And you didn't stole no milk. Stop howlin' at once, or I'll hit you.' The twin: opened his great eyes, and stared at her in profound surprise, and then meekly relapsed into a smile, I fordot,' he said,

of tone it was he." Ask me next time,' she respondedt tartly, and don't go forgetting again, or you'll get summat!' This was more than my equanimity could stand, and most

wisely I burst out laughing."

In The New Panjandrum Mr. Farrow has skilfully mingle& old and new ideas, and we followed the fresh adventures of our old friends, Marjorie, Dick, and Fidge, with interest. The dodo, the most conceited bird that ever was known, led them

to Panjandrum-land, and from there they set off on the quest of the roc's egg, failing in with such things as crocodiles,

camels, Aladdin's lamp, and the magic carpet by the way, to say nothing of pirate ships and unlimited diamonds. When the dodo becomes unmanageable he is comfortably settled down in an American travelling show, and the thought that people pay money to see him is highly gratifying to his pride.

Miss Evelyn Sharp has plenty to tell us about" wymps" and: their ways. In one of the stories called "The Candy Witch" two wymps were invited to the Prince's christening, besidm of course, all the fairies. The wymps, however, were hurt in,

their feelings at only two of their number being asked to the party, so the first gave the baby the gift of a perfectly sweet temper, and the second said that all the other children in the kingdom could have no sweetness at

all in their tempers. The consequence of this was that the baby grew up into a rather dull little Prince, for his sweetness.

was cloying; but one day he fell in with the garden-boy, and with his help managed to redress the balance of sweet temper between himself and the other boys and girls.

Mrs. Molesworth always writes pleasantly, and we can recom, mend The Wood-pigeons and Mary to children who like stories about everyday life with a thread of fairy romance- running through them. Mary has the gift of understanding what the birds say to her, and she spends part of her time wandering about a forest talking to them.

Mr. Gordon Browne's Proverbial Sayings makes an attrac- tive picture-book, as does Old Sing Cole's Book of Nursery Rhymes. We are always glad to see new editions of the old. sayings and rhymes r- " Oh, there's none so rare As can compare

With King Cole and his fiddlers three."

The Irish ballad of "Brian O'Linn " is amusing from, beginning to end, and the spirited verses ring in one's head. Miss Praeger's illustrations are very good, and wittily supplement the text Brian 0•Linn had no breeches to wear, So he got him a sheepskin to make him a pair ; With the skinny side out, and the woolly side in— They'll be pleasant and cool I' said Brian O'Linn "-

and so on.

"The Bairn Books" are two pretty little volumes in a card- board case, one'a somewhat instructive deseription of a visit to a farm, and the other an amusing account of the days of the week and the year. There is another Book of Days in a series slightlylarger than the well-known "Dumpy Books." Of these last there are two, an alphabet and a story called A Little Clown.

This reprint of The Jackdaw of Rheims is got up to look like a missal, and is printed in red and black. The effect's good, and the treatment snits the subject.

We have not room to notice any more children's books here, but we would draw our readers' favourable attention to the following list ;—The Brave Old Duke of York, Illustrated by T. Butler-Stoney (Sands and Co., 2s. 6d.); Gammon and Spinach, Illustrations by Stewart Orr, Verses by John Brymer (Blackie and Son, 68.); Ignoramus: a Fairy-Tale, by E. Todd, Illustrated by May C. Fisher (Sherratt and Hughes, Manchester, 3s. 6d.) ; Pillow Stories, by S. L. Heward and Gertrude M. Bradley (Grant Richards, 2s. 6d.); A Naval Alphabet, by John Hassell (Sands and Co., 3s. 6d.) ; A Japanese Doll, by Henry Mayer (Grant Richards, 6s.) ; The Bedtime Book, by Mrs. E. Ames (same publisher, 38. 6d.); Bird Pictures, by Alice Whitby, Illustrated by Sara W. M. Fallon (George Allen, 3s. 6d.) ; and The Disappearance of Anthea, by L. Rossi (H. J. Glaisher, is. net).