Many, many favorites -- all rolled into one! And, perhaps more importantly, you don't have to sacrifice the illustrations to get the quantity. Sometimes the stories in these compilations lose their charm because of missing pictures, but not here. Without doing a side by side comparison, it looks as though this book includes most, if not all, of the illustrations for each story. Madeline, for example, is 44 pages long, each with a picture. I love it! I bought this as a Christmas gift for my daughter. She may be a little young now, but the book contains stories for children of different ages, and seems to be one she can grow with. And, along with some old favorites, I think we've found some new stories to enjoy!

I have a friend who has recently become an elementary school teacher and is teaching kindergarten. She talked me into coming in to read to her class--any book(s)I wanted to bring with me.

My reading gig is coming up this week so this past weekend I asked my 16 year old daughter to go through her old children's books (she has 50-60 of her old favorites still on a bookshelf in her room) and she emerged with 2 or three books for the kid's but also with Goodnight Moon--which she wanted me to read to her.

As Miss Zoe was growing up we'd read every night and Zoe (my daughter) got to choose what we read. She'd usually pick 2 to 3 books and, for years and years, Goodnight Moon was always one of them.

The book itself is somewhat inexplicable--mostly it's just a silly little poem, really--but for my kids it really struck a chord. All I know is that if your sixteen year old daughter wants to curl up on the couch and have you read one of her childhood books to her, that's quite a book.

I always give this to friends when they have a first baby, and I have always found that a few years later they are still telling me it is their kid's favorite book.

So don't try to figure it out, just buy it and read it to your kids. It'll be a treasure you share for years.

I got this book (in the board version) for a shower gift for my now 2-year-old daughter. I didn't remember reading this book as a child and at first it seemed a little odd -- the pictures weren't tremendously appealing and the rhyme scheme seemed strange. I have, however, been converted. After reading the book several times to my newborn daughter, I noticed how soothing it was to her. She seemed to be able to see the pictures and, as she got older, would reach out to touch elements in each. We read it every night for months, because it seemed to set a good tone for bedtime. After learning a little more about how children think, I began to understand what made it so appealing -- the ritual of saying good night to familiar objects helped reassure her when she had to say good night to her mom and dad, which can be scary for tiny kids.

Now, of course, she's a big girl and says it's a "baby book". However, it's still by her bed and I've overheard her "reading" it to herself or to her baby brother many times. It's an excellent choice for a baby you love.

I have a friend who has recently become an elementary school teacher and is teaching kindergarten. She talked me into coming in to read to her class--any book(s)I wanted to bring with me.

My reading gig is coming up this week so this past weekend I asked my 16 year old daughter to go through her old children's books (she has 50-60 of her old favorites still on a bookshelf in her room) and she emerged with 2 or three books for the kid's but also with Goodnight Moon--which she wanted me to read to her.

As Miss Zoe was growing up we'd read every night and Zoe (my daughter) got to choose what we read. She'd usually pick 2 to 3 books and, for years and years, Goodnight Moon was always one of them.

The book itself is somewhat inexplicable--mostly it's just a silly little poem, really--but for my kids it really struck a chord. All I know is that if your sixteen year old daughter wants to curl up on the couch and have you read one of her childhood books to her, that's quite a book.

I always give this to friends when they have a first baby, and I have always found that a few years later they are still telling me it is their kid's favorite book.

So don't try to figure it out, just buy it and read it to your kids. It'll be a treasure you share for years.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most clever and entertaining books yet written. The author's use of language is extremely appealing to the younger readers. These young readers are attracted to this book because of the author's use of many songs. For instance the lullaby sung by the duchess to her child. The Mock Turtle also sang to Alice and the Gryphon a song about the Lobster Quadrille. The author also uses poems that are entertaining and fun to listen to. "You are Old Father William" is one of the many poems. Not only does the author use poems but she also uses commonly known poems and changes the words to fit the character saying them. For instance the Mad-Hatter sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in different words saying "Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky." If this isn't a unique way of writing I dont know what is. Another style of her writingthat is appealing is when she creates a picture, using words in a poem, about the poem. Yhis is used on page 37. The words in the book are nbot hard so the book can be enjoyable when it is being read, not stressful. The author brings animals to life which is an interesting style of writing. This is Lewis Carroll's style of writing. The main character in this book is a little girl with blonde hair named Alice. This child is full of fantasies and dreams, which is what the book is about. Alice is very curious and likes to know every little detail. She thinks she is very smart. For example, when Alice is listening to the Dormouse's story she asks questions like "What did they live on," and makes smart comments such as "They could'nt have done that you know, they'd have been ill." She is also a little bit bratty, especially to the Dormouse when she says: "Nobody asked your opinion." These characteristics pull together to make an interesting main character and to create a fabulous story. The theme of the story is sometimes you need to take a break out of every day life and dream of fantasize. This makes your life more interesting even if you dream about things that will never come true. Alice does this when she dreams about changing sizes and listening to talking animals. Dreaming doesn't hurt anyone except the people who don't do it. If nobody ever had dreams life would be extremely stressful and boring. The plot of the story is all about Alice trying to find the white rabbit, which of course is in her dream. Following the white rabbit takes ALice to interesting places, such as the Courtroom filled with animals, and the Duchess' house, along with meeting interestingpeople such as the Cheshire-Cat and the Queen. This amazing cat hes the ability to disappear whenever it wants to and it always smiles. In the end Alice finds the white rabbit and then wakes up from her dream. This is the plot of the story. The story is effective to the reader. This is so because after listening to such acreative dream and fantasy, it inspires people to take a little time out of the day and be creative and dream once in a while. All the parts of this five star story; the writer's style, the main character, the theme, and the plot; come together to create the overall effectiveness of the story. This is why I rated this book five stars.

I really like Alice in Wonderland and its sequel because it is so whimsical. The way Dodgson made fun of Alice so much makes one laugh until tears come pouring down. He based the character Alice, on his friend; a real life Alice. Throughout the book, he constantly makes references to her, or something related to her. For example, when a character asks her the exact day Alice replies May 4th. May 4th is the real life Alice's birthday. Alice walks through Wonderland, and she sees many strange things, but thinks otherwise. If you like poems, you will certainly like Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, for both books contain numerous poems. However, in the book Carroll takes the original poems and creates a parody out of them. Something interesting to know is that all the poems relate to the chapters. These are all minor details, but something to muse over. On the surface, Alice in Wonderland is a book where she meets weird creatures and walks away from them always feeling humiliated, as she thinks she is smarter than she really is. That is most of Alice in Wonderland.

Alice through the Looking Glass is similar to the prequel, yet glaringly different. The whole book revolves around a chess game, and so the character's actions correspond to moves on the chessboard. Alice joins in the game, starts out as a white pawn, and proceeds to move until she becomes a queen. At each square, she meets a new character, but in one chapter, characters from the previous book are in this one too. An important thing to know in this famous classic is that everything is backwards. It makes sense since Alice is on the other side of a mirror, yet she encounters difficulty sometimes in understanding this. But in the end, she manages to become a queen and to checkmate the red king. Both books are very enjoyable, and I strongly advocate both children and adults to read it. Enjoy!! Cheers!!!!! : )

When I was assigned Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to read for my Victorian Literature class, I was excited. Even though I had heard Alice's Adventures in Wonderland referred to countless times throughout my youth, I had never read the story or seen the movie. I had never heard of Through the Looking Glass, but while reading, I realized that many people who think they are talking about AAIW are actually referring to TTLG. The two texts seem to be conflated in a way that makes them indistinguishable from each other. It is for this reason that I enjoyed reading this edition of the texts. There is only a page separating the two stories, which allows the reader to easily make the transition between them. This small separation also allows the reader to recognize the undeniable connection between the texts and to understand why many people combine them in their minds.
AAIW is about a young girl named Alice whose boring day with her sister is interrupted when a white rabbit runs by her saying, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice's curiosity is aroused, but surprisingly not to a great degree. This is the first hint to the reader that Alice is not an average child, as she seems to believe that a talking rabbit is quite normal. She does become intrigued, though, when the rabbit produces a clock from his pocket, so she follows it down its hole and enters a world of wonder. I loved the story from this point on. It is filled with such unbelievable creatures and situations, but Carroll's writing style made me want to believe in a world that could be filled with so much magic and splendor. There was never a dull moment in the story, and each page was filled with more excitement. I will offer a warning, though. This story is not for those who like a neatly packaged plotline. It is written in a somewhat discontinuous nature and seems to follow some sort of dream logic where there are no rules. However, I enjoyed the nonsensical pattern. Without it, a dimension of the story would be lost. It offers some insight into the mind of a young, adventurous, fearless girl, and Carroll seems to be challenging his readers to be more like Alice.
The second text in this book, TTLG, is again a story about Alice. In this adventure, Alice travels through a wondrous world on the other side of her looking glass. As in AAIW, Alice again encounters absurd creatures, such as live chess pieces and talking flowers. The land she travels through is an oversized chessboard, which gives this story a more structured plot than AAIW. The chess theme provides Alice with sense of what she must accomplish in the looking- glass world, and it provides the reader with a sense of direction throughout the story. Alice's goal is to become a chess queen, so the reader knows that when she becomes queen, the story will be over. However, just because the story has some structure does not mean that it is not just as wild and marvelous as its predecessor. I enjoyed all of the characters. They seem to have an endless supply of advice that people in the 21st century can still learn from. My favorite example is when the Red Queen says, "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" Maybe what Carroll is suggesting is that if we read more nonsensical, unbelievable stories like his, we won't be so afraid to be adventurous and fearless like Alice; so that the next time a white rabbit runs by us, we might just see where it leads us.

Ursula seemed to know EVERYBODY. While this book is a fascinating look at some of the "big name" writers of children's literature, I really was hoping for more biographical data to accompany the letters. It was a frustrating reading experience at times. Ursula seemed to be "treading on ice" when she wrote letters to E. B. White and Laura Ingalls Wilder, but totally free and breezy (and perhaps bordering on rude at times) when writing to other authors. I was puzzled from time to time at the complete changes in Ursula's tone . . . and I am more curious than ever about Louise Fitzhugh, writer of "Harriet The Spy." Something went wrong in Louise's life after writing "Harriet," but there are few clues in this book to explain what happened. Ursula apparently took some of her most interesting knowledge to the grave; I wish I knew more.

She was cajoler, enabler, champion, critic, and friend. She was Ursula Nordstrom, Director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls from 1940 to 1973 - a one of-a-kind editor who took 20th century children's literature by the scruff of the neck and gave it a good shake.

Mentor to such luminaries as Maurice Sendak, Ruth Krauss, E. B. White, Shel Silverstein, and Garth Williams, she was a visionary who dared publish the antithesis of yesteryear's bland, sugary children's prose. Thanks to her discernment and determination youngsters found thrall in a myriad of now time-honored stories, including Charlotte's Web, Goodnight Moon, and Where The Wild Things Are.

Reading her collected letters titled Dear Genius (for she considered each of her authors and artists to be preternaturally gifted) is tantamount to having a lively, albeit too brief, one-on-one with the self-effacing, wry Ms. Nordstrom. You leave her presence reluctantly, knowing that such stimulating conversation is rare.

The only child of two beautiful people - "a gaslight-era matinee idol" and a pretty young actress, the editor would "forever regard herself as an ugly duckling born of swans." This lack of personal self-confidence didn't temper her considerable professional aplomb. When a doughty influential librarian challenged her by asking "what qualified her, a nonlibrarian, nonteacher, nonparent, and noncollege graduate to publish children's books," Ms. Nordstrom replied, "Well, I am a former child, and I haven't forgotten a thing."

Unmarried and childless, she nonetheless related companionably to youngsters, continually seeking to publish books that would make "any child feel warmed and attended to and considered." Belittlers of her choices were dismissed as "adults who sift their reactions to children's books through their own messy adult maladjustments."

Fearlessly confrontational in defense of her authors and artists, she was also psychological and practical support, shoring up a diffident young Sendak with, "You may not be Tolstoy, but Tolstoy wasn't Sendak, either." To Garth Williams, whom she feared financially strapped, she offered a monthly stipend.

A chatty, voluble correspondent Ms. Nordstrom's letters hold self-revelatory comments - a regard for Adlai Stevenson; an aversion to New York City - "a cement island;" and eclectic tastes: "Would Virginia Woolf be sickened to know that she is loved by one who also reads 'Confidential'?"

Her notes are punctuated with an engaging, self-deprecating wit, as when she admitted, "....I may have tried to impress you at one time with the beauty and general poetry of my existence....That is balderdash, dear.....I am a real mess...I can walk onto a lovely green plot of land, and tall strong trees turn brown..."

These letters, penned between 1937 and 1982 are a chronicle of the highlights in the children's publishing world, as well as affirmation of the editor's devotion to her craft and colleagues.

Ursula Nordstrom left no immediate heirs when she died in 1982 - generation upon generation of delighted "warmed and attended to" children are her beneficiaries.

A must read for any writer or lover of children's books, Dear Genius gives remarkable insight into the mind and career of Ursula Nordstrom, long-time director of Harper's children's literature department. Ursula poured her heart into many of her professional relationships, and her letters to authors, critics and fans are shrewd, witty, intelligent and sometimes sad--I didn't want it to end, but of course it had to, leaving me wanting more.

This is a wonderful selection of children's stories. I remember them from my childhood and own many of the individual books. Unfortunately, while the original little books had illustrations and a short text on each page, only a fraction of the pictures from each story have been retained for the treasury. In some extreme cases the text of 15-20 page picture books has been included all on one page with 1-2 small pictures. My 4 year old finds these somewhat boring, though she has loved the original books since before age 2. This book is worth buying if you don't have access to the originals, but it would be much better for young children if they had included more of the art which captures the imagination.

Looks like a good one but can be had for 2 dollars less at your local book store!

It amazes me how expensive children's books are these days! Well, here's a way to get more for your money... a collection of favorites from a respected children's book publisher, Golden Books, for a price that won't break the bank. Especially for 46 stories! So if you have kids who like to read (or you like to read to!), this is a great addition to any library. Also a great way for a grandparent to have several kids books without the mess of lots of individual books.

Awakened by the Moon is a somewhat interesting account of the life and times of Margaret Wise Brown but it drags itself down in minute details.

It could have moved along a little faster but it is essentially an interesting read. Just don't expect a page-turner.

Thoughtfully written biography of an intriguing woman author. All the "interesting" details present without dropping into lurid. Many would consider this a "dry" reading book, but in the context of that specific time in US history she really broke ground, both professionally and personally.

A fascinating account of a pioneer of children's literature. This book provides a great deal of insight into the personal and professional dealings of children's book publishing in the earliest days. Margaret seems to have been a woman ahead of her time in many ways and quite a character herself. A very entertaining and well researched book.