17 NOVEMBER 1900, Page 9

The Mandarin's Kite. By G. E. Farrow. (Skeffington and Son.

Ss. 6c1.)—Cyril Deane and his young Chinese friend Tsu-foo, son of a Mandarin who lived next door, went up by accident on a gigantic kite, and reaching the Zodiac, saw many strange sights and heard many strange things. Hence it will be seen that this book is of the "Alice in Wonderland" type. These imitations are seldom very successful, and The Mandarin's Kite is neither above nor below the average. It hardly makes one laugh. Possibly it might have done so had it been the first. It is diffi- cult, too, to be original, for it is not every extravagance that makes really good nonsense. Is not the lion-and-unicorn joke used up by this time ? The illustrations, by Alan Wright, we can praise with less reserve, as being decidedly good.