A SINGITIARLY charming as well as instructive volume among the
heap of toy-books, fairy-tales, nonsense-rhymes, and nursery-rhymes crowding our table is Mr. Kearton's Adven- tures of Cock Robin. The title suggests a rechaufe of the old love-story that had Jenny Wren for heroine. But though
• (1) The Adventures of Cock Robin and his Mate. By R. Kearton, F.73. Illustrated by Photographs taken direct from Nature by C. and R. Rearton. London : Cassell and Co. [6s.]-(2) In Fairy Land. Tales Told again by Loney Chisholm. With Pictures by Katharine Cameron. London : T. C. and E. C. Jack. [7s. 6d. net.]-(3) Fairy Tales from Mans Andersen. Illustrated by E. Stuart Hardy. London : Ernest Nister. [is.] -(4) Babies' Classics. Chosen by Lilia Scott Macdonald. Illustrated by Arthur Hughes. London : Longmans and Co. pm. 60. net. j-(5) Three Little Gardeners. By L. Agnes Talbot. Illustrated by Gertrude Id. Bradley. London : Brown, Langham, and Co. [26. 60.1-(6) Trusty: Our New Forest Pony. By Mary E. Buck. land. Illustrations by Phyllis, Ethel, Numb, and Sybil Bucklanrl. London : R. Brimley Johnson. [2s. 6d.] - (7) The Tale of Two Bad Mice. By Beatrix Potter. London : F. Warne and Co. [Is. 60. and Is.,)-(8) Pat and the Spider. By the Author of The Story of Little Black ?dingo." London : J. Nisbet and Co. I Is. 6c1.1-(9) The St°.tj without an End. From the 'German of Carov6. By Sarah Austin. Illustrated by Foul Henry. London Duckworth and Co. [Ls. 60. net.]-(1O) The Snob : Some Episodes in a Misspent Youth. By Walter EmsameL Illustrated by Cecil Aldin. London : Lawrence and Millen. [Ss. 6d.]-(11) Baffles: the Story of a Dog. By A. L. Illus. Stated by Sybil Y. Micholls. London : Bickers and Son. [3s. 6d.)-(12) The Barbarous Babes : being the Memoirs of Molly. By Edith Ayrtou (Mrs. Israel
there is much about Jenny Wren in this book, neither her adventures nor those of Cock Robin are here related in the vein of the classical nursery romance. The matter of the book has all been gathered from real life by keen observers of Nature who are also affectionate lovers of birds and beasts, and the result is a volume full of genuine anecdote and incident. The letterpress is excellent, and equally high praise must be accorded to the illustrations. More than a hundred and twenty pictures of varying size, but all in black-and-white, give us a gallery of most graphic and dainty representations of birds and birds' nests, field-mice, rabbits, &c. Each illustration is a living picture of the little animal and its natural or arti- ficial surroundings. How various these surroundings are in the case of Cock Robin may be gathered from a passage in the introduction in which the author expresses his wonder that the domestic habits of this bird are to so many people still a
mere bundle "of nursery errors in spite of the fact that he has rendered his ways and manners particularly easy of study, in return for kindnesses received, by building his nest and rearing his young in gardens, stables, tool-sheds, and even libraries and bedrooms." Altogether different in character, but not less fascinating according to its kind, is Mrs. Chisholm's sumptuous volume, In Fairy Land, in which many of the fairy-stories that never stale are told again with beautiful coloured illustrations by Miss Katharine Cameron, which do credit equally to the artist and the chromo-litho- grapher, justifying the pretty pretence of the fanciful preface that the pictures were supplied by a lady "who loved fairies and often lived in fairyland." Another very attractive fairy- book is the minute volume of Fairy Tales from Hans Andersen, published by Mr. Ernest Nister, and delicately illustrated by Mr. E. Stuart Hardy.
Miss Macdonald's collection of Babies' Classics, illustrated by Mr. Arthur Hughes, is one of those beautiful books that do equally well for children and for those who were children long ago. It includes most of the loveliest things that have been written by men and women of genius for particular children, and have become the property of all who understand the mind of childhood. Many pieces are borrowed from Anne and Jane Taylor, some from Isaac Watts ; Charles Kingsley contributes "I once bad a sweet little doll, dears," and "Valen- tine's Day "; Blake gives us "The Lamb," "The Chimney. Sweeper," and "The Little Black Boy "; Mary Howitt, "The Wood-Mouse" and "The Sparrow's Neat." But greater names than these are laid under contribution,-Tennyson, Browning, Ben Jonson, Milton, George Herbert, Shakespeare ! It is, in truth, a very beautiful collection of gems of poetry, sympathetically illustrated, and worthily printed and bound.
Miss Agnes Talbot has had the happy thought to write a book about gardening that will really teach young children how to manage their "allotments." It is called Three Little Gardeners, and tells the story of the gardener's year in the experience of Mark, Dorothy, and Ruth, with the help of the real gardener, "old Giles." It is prettily and cleverly illus- trated by Miss Gertrude Bradley. Trusty : Our New Forest Pony, is a story of actual occurrences, though it is put into the mouth of ` Trusty ' himself. The real author-Miss Mary Buckland-explains on the title-page that the illustrations, which are very full of character and originality, though not unnaturally a little crude, are done by her four nieces, of whom the eldest is eleven years old. Miss Beatrix Potter's Tale of Two Bad Mice is a quaint little conceit, exquisitely illustrated. Pat and the Spider, by the author of The Story of Little Black Mingo, is in much the same vein as the other volumes of the series. The Story z ii tout an End is trans- lated from the German. It is mysti, a'. and pretty, and will Zangvrill). London R. Brimley Johnson. [2s. 60.]-(13) Bea, Bea, Black Sheep. Pictured by WilL Kidd. Loudon Dean and Son. Pa. 6cl.1-(14) Our Baby's Book. London Ernest Mister. [2e. 61.]-(1.5) The Twins' A B C. By Olga Morgan. London : Liberty and Co. (Is. 6d.)-(16) An Alphabet. Br E. J. Thorley. London : Blackie and Sou. [Is. -(17) Little Red Ridio*g Hood. Told in Verse by Maurice C. Mime, MA., LL.D. Illustrated by S. Rosamund Praeger London : Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. (I&J-(18) Cat Tales. By E. Nesbit and Rosamund Bland. With Illustrations by Isabel Watkin. London Ernest blister. [6d.]-(19) The King of the Beasts. By Carton Moore Park and "The Cockiolly Bird." London Blackie and Son. [3s. 6d.3-(20) Taffy and the Merboo. By Phyllis M. Goteb. Loudon R. Brimley Johnson. [tied -(21) The Pearl an I the Pumpkin. By Paul West and W. W. Denslow. Illustrations by Dens! w. New York :0. W. Dillingham Company. [1•25 dols.]-(t2) Denslow's Sca..ecroto and the Tinman, and other Stories. Same publishers and price.-(23) Snap-Shots for Small. People. By W. It. Carey. London : Swan Sounenschein and Co. [1,.]-(24) Mr. Punch's Christmas Book. Edited and Illustrated by Olga Morgan. London : Bradbury, Agnew. and Co. [66.]-(25) Our LittLe People's Book. London : Ernest Mister. 15s. J-(26) The Doll Bsiok. By May Gladwin. London: Wells Gardner, bartan, and Co. Ra„]-(22) The Story of Cie Five Rebellious Dolls. By E. Nesbit. Illustrated by E. Stuart Hardy. London : Ernest Mister. [58.] The "Snob" was a dog hero to whom fate gave the best oppor- tunities of distinction when it sent him to live with an aristo- cratic family in a smart house in Belgravia.. But `Fluffikins' —as the dog was called in real life—was a cynic at heart, and spoiled his chances, first by being too clever, and after- wards by taking up with low company. The author is Mr. Walter Emanuel, who gave a sample of his humour a year or two back in his Dog Day. That was good, but this is much better. Fluffikins ' observes his masters and the servants of his masters with the eye, or the nose, of a four-footed Thackeray, and gives us an admirable satire on life from the point of view of the dog. The humour of the letterpress is carried out in Mr. Cecil Aldin's sketches. Flufflkins "crunching boats" in Kensington Gardens, "barking the baby into convulsions," biting the footman's calf and finding it separable, are admirable in conception and execution; and these are but a few of the scenes represented. A much gentler dog, with a story prettily told by "A. L." and illus- trated by Mrs. Micholls, was Buffles."Builles' was a person who suffered from too much self-consciousness, and what goes so often with an excess of self-consciousness, a liability to be misunderstood. Just as he had got quite happy with his little mistress Helen, he fell into disgrace and was pro- nounced unsafe as a companion for her. He had, however, the qualities of his defects, and showing himself a hero in a new misunderstanding, was reinstated in time to give a happy ending to a pleasant little book.
Mrs. Zangwill's Barbarous Babes is a very clever chronicle of nursery exploits, purporting to be written by one of the children in the story. It is in the favourite vein of the day, the vein of the girl-pickle who always does the wrong thing and always means the right one. Molly and her brothers and sister are much nicer and much more amusing than most real children. One fondly hopes that they are also much mote dan- gerous than average "babes." "The Martyrdom of Humphrey" is a chapter so full of fatal suggestion that it becomes a point of honour with a reviewer to warn parents against putting it into the hands of their children without first reading it themselves.
Among books for very young children we note Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, and other old nursery rhymes, printed upon paper that appears to be strengthened with an invisible layer of cloth, and " pictured " in very solemn colours ; Our Baby's Book, very light and gay, in the old-fashioned style that has no pretensions to high art ; a quaint and humorous alphabet book called The Twins' A B C, published by Messrs. Liberty; another Alphabet, equally quaint and more human, that comes from Messrs. Blackie ; a very pretty Little Red Riding Hood, told in verse by Mr. M. C. Hime, and capitally illustrated by Miss Rosamund Praeger ; a book of Cat Tales, simple and innocent, by Mr. Nesbit and Miss Bland, with piquant pen-and-ink illustrations by Miss Watkin ; a burlesque large-paged book called The King of the Beasts, by Mr. Carton Moore Park, a lively bit of comic versifica- tion with singularly clever animal drawings ; and a very fantastical nonsense-book called Taffy and the 21ferboo, in which some of the illustations, notably that of "The Curious Fish," imitate the Japanese manner and scheme of colour.
Two substantial books from Messrs. Dillingham, of New York, The Pearl and the Pumpkin, and Scarecrow and the Tinman, bewilder by the pantomime wildness of their plots, and startle by the free use of violent orange and vermilion in the illustrations. They are clever, however, and will please those who like an admixture of topical humour and allusion in juvenile literature. And the same taste will be gratified by the tiny book called Snap-Shots for Little People.
Mr. Punch's Christmas Book, edited and illustrated by Olga Morgan, is more than usually charming. It is a miscellany of grave and gay, with gay decidedly predominating, and the general effect is one of graceful humour. Worthy of commendation also, because it will be absolutely delightful to every small child who gets it, is Mr. Ernest Nister's simpler miscellany called Our Little People's Book. It is, as the title- page announces, "full of Bright Pictures and Stories for the Little Ones," and quite innocent of " asides " for the elders.
For Miss Gladwyn's Doll-Book we prophesy a hearty welcome in many children's corners ; but we are not sure that
The Story of the Rebellious Dolls, clever as it is in parts, is quite clever enough to redeem the tawdry colouring of some of its full-page illustrations.
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