Everyman's Library CHILDREN'S CLASSICS

Although E. Nesbit regarded her poetry as her most important work, it is her children's books (written 'to keep the house going') that ensured her lasting fame and which are still enjoyed with such affection today. Her readers have their oen favourites, but the film version of THE RAILWAY CHILDREN, with Jenny Agutter as Roberta, the eldest daughter of the man unjustly sent to prison, and the Bernard Cribbins as the friendly railway porter, brought the book to a new generation of readers who love it for Roberta's courage and the satisfaction of the ending when her father is vindicated and restored to his family. The film is regularly shown on British Television.

This story of two spoilt and lonely children, whose happiness is regained as they bring to life a neglected garden, has become the best-loved of all Mrs. Burnett's books, but it did not acquire universal popularity until long after its first publication in 1911 Although set in Yorkshire, it was inspired by the rose garden at Great Maytham Hall in Kent (which still flourishes) where its much-travelled author lived from 1898 to 1907. The story has many illustrators, bur none has surpassed Charles Robinson who first created in his pictures the romantic and mysterious atmosphere of Misselthwaite Manor and the locked, forgotten garden.

Aesop is believed to have lived in the sixth century B.C., a slave on the Greek island of Samos. His ability to teach lessons in morality through story has made his name synonymous with the genre of 'fable'. In the witty and entertaining tales attributed to him sly foxes, wicked wolves, industrious ants, and others, provide a commentary on human behaviour while the storyteller recommends the virtues of common sense and worldly wisdom. The Fables had already been popular for centuries before Roger L'Estrange published a new English translation in 1692, with the declared intention of making a comprehensive selection addressed to children. Everyman reprints his text, together with Stephen Gooden's superb engravings which were first published in 1936 in a limited edition.

Frank Baum set out to write 'a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nighmares are left out'. Published in May 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had sold 100,000 copies by the following January, proving that this was exactly what his young readers wanted. The story of Dorothy, carried by a cyclone from a her uncle's Kansas farm to the Land of Oz, and her adventures on the yellow brick road with the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, has been an firm favourite with children ever since. The original illustrations by W. W. Denslow, which are reflected in the film and stage versions, have often been imitated but never surpassed.

Lewis Carroll's Alice has been enchanting children for over 150 years. Head strong Alice, the impatient White Rabbit, the fearsome Queen of Hearts and the hilarious Mad Hatter are among the best loved literary creations.
This beautiful collectable illustrated edition has the original illustrations and is cloth bound.

In The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, young Lila has learned from her father almost all there is to know about his profession—but he insists upon holding back the final secret. With the help of her friend Chulak, Lila discovers that anyone who wants to be a true firework-maker must face down the Fire-Fiend of Mount Merapi. It is only after Lila has set off on her quest that Chulak discovers the other half of the secret—and without it, Lila will perish. In the company of Hamlet, a talking white elephant, Chulak sets off to find Lila before it's too late.

Clockwork features an apprentice clockmaker who is tempted to sell his soul. As the townspeople of Glockenheim gather on the eve of the annual unveiling of a new figure for the town clock, Karl, the apprentice, confides to Fritz, a storyteller, that he has failed his task to create one. Fritz, in his turn, has no idea how to finish the new story he has begun concocting, which he calls “Clockwork.” He begins to tell it anyway, only to see its dangerous antagonist materialize in front of the two boys and offer Karl a Faustian pact.
Real life and storytelling merge, and destruction must be narrowly averted, in this unusual and suspenseful tale of the power of creativity.