2 AUGUST 1930, Page 25

" Magic and Mystery, Nonsense and History " arc supposed

to be the subject of The Pelican and the Kangaroo which is described on the cover as " a story for children,- by Erie M.

Silvanus (Jonathan Cape, Os.). A Puzzle for Grown-up People " would have been a better name for the book. It is suggested that adult readers may had " Science, faith and politics typified in the three wise men" whom the hero and heroine conic across in their adventures. Obviously there is a meaning and perhaps even a moral to the story. The present writer has searched for it from beginning to end of the book with almost breathless interest—but in vain. Ile cannot guess what the story means. Will children who read without hope of intellectual spoil follow the story with the same pleasure 7 Possibly.