you can not give this book enough stars. this book brings cinderella to the next level very tastefully. thank you to the author for this teenage level.

The book is very good story. The author has done a very good job of telling the story. I have readed this book since 6th grade and now I'm first year in college. I have enjoy this book every time I read it. I recommend it to every one.

Eleanor Farjeon, now considered by some to be old-fashioned, is one of the classic retellers of fairy tales. Her reworking of the Cinderella story is charming, humorous and magical. A similar modern-day classic is Robin McKinley's first book, Beauty. One of the special things about The Glass Slipper is the enchantment that plays a vital part of Ella's daily life. The inanimate things she cares for in her stepmother's basement kitchen come alive for Ella, filling the void her mother's death has left in her heart. The illustrations are done with a wonderfully delicate hand and bring Ella and her world alive for the reader. Also written by Eleanor (and equally wonderful!) are the classic hymn, Morning Has Broken (Cat Stevens sang it), The Little Bookroom and The Silver Curlew (a retelling of the Rumplestiltskin story). Don't neglect these overlooked children's classics, and PRAY they come back into print!

I was given this book in 1955 and still have my well-read copy. I loved the stories and read and re-read them when I was around eight years old. I especially loved Westwood and the descriptions of the wonderful ball gowns that were made - each one more marvellous that the last. I also loved the story of San FairyAnn. I am going to get a copy for my granddaughter who loves to read and I hope she will be as enthralled with the stories as I was at her age. The stories are magical and transport the reader to a different world and I still remember them to this day.

It's a crying shame that this enchanting book is out of print. Perhaps tastes have deteriorated so much that the delicate, the lovely, the merely marvelous are no longer fashionable. Perhaps Eleanor Farjeon's sensibility, nurtured in the late Victorian period, and flowering in the 1920's and 1930's, is simply not able to connect with modern readers. But I don't believe it. I believe that the right child can still be entranced by her writing, and touched, even moved by her stories. Of particular note: "The King's Daughter Cries for the Moon," "Westwoods," "The Barrel-Organ," "Leaving Paradise," "And I Dance Mine Own Child," and the exquisitely poignant "The Glass Peacock." It seems unlikely that publishers comb these reviews for hints at what the public might buy, and less likely that one would see the value in this quiet masterpiece, but should one stumble across it I hope they pay attention and bring this book back to a new generation.

When I first read some stories from 'little bookroom', I was 9 or 10 years old, I didn't like them very much. They were very different from the stories which I liked those days such as 'little mermaid'. 'snow white' and others about beautiful princesses, hansome princes, faries, and so on in a far-away strange lands. The stories of 'little bookroom' said about a princess who left palace with a ragged servant, a king who married a maid, a goldfish who regarded a globe the whole world, a small school-boy who believed his father's white lies, and a farmer who went to poverty by spending all his money for other people etc. I thought then they were weird for fairy tale characters, so concluded the stories were unattractive. However when I grew older, I found myself thinkng repeatedly those stories and finding more and more beauties that I had not understood. I read them again and got to love them deeply. There were'nt much dazzling luxuries or heart-thrilling adventures in the stories, but all of them were warm, friendly...and so on. The weird ones I hadn't like very much looked as if some old friends whom I had thrown over the fence of 'westwood' due to my ignorance of their true beauties. Reading them, I thought I could feel what Eleanor Farjeon had felr in her little bookroom, and now I want my own little bookroom.

This book contains a catchy, rhyming poem and colorful full-page illustration for each of the English monarchs. Like the best children's literature, it is as much fun for the adult to read as for the child to hear. And not just for children--I found its jingles helpful in cramming for college English history exams!

Last night on Jeopardy!, someone flubbed a question re the Stuart dynasty. If they had only been exposed to this book, they would have remembered instantly: "James and Charles, Charles and James. They all looked well in picture frames." Another contestant did not know Cromwell's title. Farjeon fans would have recalled: "Lord protect us from Protectors." A unique, valuable, and fun book.

My first introduction to this wonderful book with a poem for each of England's monarchs was as a child in the early 50s. I loved it then (George was the king), and learned all the poems by heart. My children found it just as pleasing, and by the time these American youngsters were six they too could recite a poem for all the English kings and queens. As young adults, they are now arguing who will get to KEEP this much-read and much-loved book. How I wish I could find another copy!

I loved each poem. It has made it easier to remember who did what and remember the order of the English Monarchs. I think every American child should get the opportunity to learn these enchanting poems. As an adult, I enjoy the black and white characature each poem represents. This book is a must for any home that loves England, history and literature.

Any child, and I am now fifty-nine years old, who can recite Andy Spandy's ropeskipping rhyme has me for a friend. This is one of those tales for children that sounds better being told aloud by a good reader. When I was growing up, both my parents loved to read aloud, and my sister and I heard many fine tales before the fireplace, listening to mother or father.
But the lilt of the language as the rope swings round is the unforgettable part:
ANDY SPANDY SUGARDY CANDY
FRENCH ALMOND ROCK!
BREAD AND BUTTER FOR YOUR SUPPER'S
ALL YOUR MOTHER'S GOT!

There may be no better book for reading aloud to pre-teens. Originally one of the stories in Farjeon's "Tales Told Under the Green Umbrella" -- long out of print -- Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep is easily as much fun for the adult reader as for the young listener, and in this case that is saying a great deal. It is actually two consecutive stories (ideal for consecutive nights), one a delightful fantasy of fairies and skipping rope -- just as appealing to boys as to girls, honest -- and the second an adventure, at once enthralling and emotionally satisfying, with an ending that will bring tears of delight to all who hear it.

Dickens' Christmas Books might be some of his most overlooked works, except for, of course, "A Christmas Carol." But in these stories he has captured the season's spirits of reflection and faith better than any other work I've read. "A Christmas Carol" is an acknowledged masterpiece; "The Chimes" and "The Battle of Life" are particularly moving as well. Four of these five stories bring me to tears by their ends.

I started in 1991 to read one story per year in the published sequence, (for Christmas 2000, I'm reading The Haunted Man again) and this has made December and its holidays more enjoyable and meaningful for me. I hope to continue the cycle and look forward to reading "this year's Christmas story" aloud to my family as my kids grow up.

Oxford Press/World's Classics publishes excellent quality paperbacks, and they do justice here to Dickens' powerful works. I highly recommend this work (and especially this publisher) to anyone; if you're looking for "A Christmas Carol", get this volume of all the Christmas Stories and enjoy even more of Dickens' masterful ability to weave the human condition into such moving short stories.

This book is an inspiration for children and adults alike. The deep Christian message of this beautifully illustrated book will stir the innermost spirit of those willing to consider it's message. My two year old daughter loves to sing along with the ancient yet familiar gaelic melody popularized by Cat Stevens in the 1970's. Revisit a familiar melody and reconsider the profound meaning of the text while you delight you children with this wonderful book. A real keepsake for those fortunate enough to have found it!

I love The Silver Curlew because it is a truly magical book, and is very funny too. Poll, the ever-curious heroine, reminds me of myself when I was three years old. I am now her age, but unfortunately I, like many others, have grown out of asking 'Why?'

The scene in the Witching-Wood is enough to chill you out of your very bones. The little black imp (I won't tell you his name!) is rather like the imp in the fairy-tale that mirrors this story.

Every single character is memorable, even the palace servants, and Poll especially is brave and spirited, and always intelligent and curious. Charlee the Loon is an intriguing character, the flute-player who befriends the puffins. And the Queer Things in the Witching-Wood are simply too creepy to describe. The ending of this story is extremely satisfying, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This tale is tinged with magic all around and is a must-read for all those children-at-heart. It cannot fail to entrance you. You may laugh, cry or even realise that in the lovable characters, you see yourself.

Farjeon is a remarkable writer with a wonderful imagination. She uses the tone and the style of British fairy tales to create her own stories with great skill and charm. It just occurred to me that she should be required reading for scriptwriters of TV evening soaps, with her ability to tell stand-alone short stories within an encompassing, ongoing narrative.

Like the other reviewers, I read this book and its companion, "Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field," when I was a child, probably pre-teen. They were my mother's books, and I discovered them in the cellar. Happy day!

The stories in this book are for older children, and probably would appeal more to girls. They're sophisticated enough for adults, however, and stay in the memory. I think they'd be wonderful read aloud to 10 to 12-year-olds.

Like the rest of the reviewers, I wish this book and "...Daisy Field" were still in print. I'd buy multiple copies and distribute them far & wide.

I agree with the other two reviewers. I too read this book and 'Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field' when I was a teenager. The stories are unlike any others--there is an amusing one about a little pig who ends up getting the magic gift of forever staying thin(and therefore ummarketable!)In a totally different vein, there is a beautifully crafted story about a woman who appears good and lovely on the surface but has evil in her soul--not very original, you say? Ah, but the way she is ultimately saved by the man who is strong enough to literally root out the blackness is very different. The descriptions of the West Country in England have made me long to go there--maybe one day I will.

I am a Japanese woman and I read this book again and again since when I was around 10. The auther's other books which are mentioned in the previous review are all still well selling here in Japan. You can find her books in almost every libraries.

Ever since I was fascinated by the exoticism of the Farjeon's good old British atmosphare, I've been longing to read these books in the original text.

I was very disappointed to find out that most of her books are out of print even in her own country. It is a shame. There are gems of short stories which gives very good influence to the children's fantasy. It is also ideal for the story telling text.

Thanks to the Amazon.com, I could find 'The little book room" but Martin pippin series...

Please do reprint, it's a very charming magical book.

This is the story of the renowned poet Edward Thomas's last four years, told by Eleanor Farjeon, a wealthy woman who loved him very much, but who never told him so. Farjeon, a poet herself and writer of books for children, met Thomas in 1912. He was already married and had three children. They became very close friends, but, you know, in that discreet and rigid British-Victorian way (they, for example, kissed cheeks only once, when he was going to war).

Eleanor became also a close friend of Thomas's wife Helen. She knew Eleanor loved his husband, but she was assured that would never be a problem. In fact, Thomas's relationship with his wife was surprisingly "modern" and unconventional, even by today's standards. The story is full of repressed passions, interesting side-stories, intimate aspects of other famous poets' lives, including of course Robert Frost, the main influence in Edward Thomas's life, Walter de la Mare, and others.

The text makes full use of Thomas's letters to Eleanor, a glimpse into his intimate family life. It will be interesting to specialists, but also for those who want to have a close flavor of what life in those years was like in England. In the end, it's a wonderful love story, because it contains the elements of an impossible love and a tragic ending. Very tragic indeed. A plus is contained in the additional essays, where Eleanor remembers his beloved one, forty years after his death.