Mesrs. Nelson and Sons send us The Friend of Little
Children : a Short Life of Christ (3s. 6d.) We have no fault to find with this as far as the letterpress is concerned. The illustrations are of varying merit. The frontispiece, with its highly conventional angels, is not to our taste. The tone of the other pictures is good, but we do not always find the central figure satisfactory. On the whole, it is better to keep to the traditionary face of Christ. This we have in "The Good Shepherd," but not in "Christ and the Woman of Samaria," and still ,less in "Christ Asleep in the Storm." In "Christ and the Doctors" the figure of the boy does not express the humility of the pupil at the feet of the teachers.
Of picture-books, whether periodical or other, for children we have received many, more, it seems to us, than usual. It is not easy to classify them, or to distinguish one from another. A good place is certainly due to The Child's Companion (R.T.S., Is. 6d.) and Our Little Dots (same publishers, Is. 6d.), the first intended f.)r older, the second for younger, children. The illustrations in both are good, and the matter in The Child's Companion, where there is mere scope for variety, deserves special praise. We wish that the pictorial advertisements could be dispensed with. They are distinctly unlovely.—We greatly admire The Old Man who Lived in a Wood (G. Allen, 3s.) The verses are good, the story of how the boasting "Old Man "— "Who thought he could do more work in a day -
Than his wife could do in three "—
wsts brought to shame is excellent, and the pictures by Mr. T. Butler Stoney are very amusing.—From Messrs. Nelson we have a variety of "old friends under new faces": Mother Hubbard's Cupboard of Nursery Rhymes ; Red Riding Hood's Picture Book ; Beaks and Bills, with some pretty pictures of birds, and rhymes to match ; Fur Coats, with various four-legged creatures (but can it be said that cattle, dogs, goats. are clothed in "fur"); Country Cousins; The House that Jack Built ; Pick-a-Back ; and Ride a Cock Horse. We note generally the goodness of the illus. trations.—The Louis Wain Nursery Book (J. Clarke, Is.) is comic, perhaps too laboriously comic, but still, we doubt not,
laughter-moving. .
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