Books of wonder

Here are thirty-one enchanting selections drawn from Andrew Lang's famous series of colorfully titled fairy tale anthologies. Scholar, poet, novelist, and literary critic, Lang tirelessly collected magical stories from cultures all over the world-stories, according to Lang, that "have been inherited by our earliest civilised ancestors, who really believed that beasts and trees and stones can talk if they choose, and behave kindly or unkindly." The...

Charles Kingsley's classic, The Water Babies, was extremely popular in England, and was a mainstay of British children's literature for many decades. It tells the story of a young chimney sweep, Tom, who drowns in a river and is turned into a 'water-baby'. Tom then embarks on a series of adventures and lessons underwater, and meets characters such as the major spiritual leaders of the water world, Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby, Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid,...