23 OCTOBER 1897, Page 24

The Bear's Kingdom : a Fairy Tale. By Eva C.

Rogers. (S.S.U.) —Doris is one of the numerous "Alice in Wonderland" family. We are not sure that we do not like her better when she is re- deeming captive bats and nestling swallows with her goods and chattels than when she is having marvellous adventures in the "Bear's Kingdom." It is but a poor reward for her goodness to have all these terrifying experiences.—Adventures in Toyland. By Edith King Hall. Illustrated by Alice B. Woodward. (Blackie and Son.)—If the volume noticed above reminds us of "Lewis Carroll," so this suggests Hans Christian Andersen. A little girl has the good luck to wander into a toyshop (kept by her cousin) at the psychological moment when a marionette is enjoying the opportunity of talking to a mortal, which comes to all dolls once in their lives. The stories which the marionette tells are fairly good; but the illustrations are quite admirable. The "Farthing Doll" as she turns away with a blush from the " Grocer" is perfect. —Fun in the Animal World, Humorous Pictures by Munich Artists. (H. Grevel and Co.)—These pictures are decidedly good. It would be interesting to know their date. The "Champion Bicyclist" is flying from a lion on one of the "bone shakers" of seven or eight years ago.—Another volume of a similar kind, and also "made in Germany," is Zoology up to Date, by Kate Schonberger (same publishers), "Thirty Pen-and-Ink Sketches from Human and Animal Life." These are not less humorous than the animal pictures, and, we are inclined to think, more effective. It would not be easy to match "A Lovely Tie—Real Silk," where a cat is admiring herself and her new acquisition in the glass.