BIBLIOPHILE IN THE NURSERY

Bouillabaisse For Bibliophiles (1955) proved that Mr. Targ could round up tempting material for book collectors, this current omnium gatherum on old and rare children's books is again seductive, informative and lively. His introduction features collecting, with definite guidance on how to start, where and what rare items are, points of all kinds for students and sleuths. Authors, scholars and collectors write on various aspects of the children's field -- general history, from medieval ""Christ-cross rows"", hornbooks on through to modern comics; biographies, of Newbery, Bunyan, Frank Baum, Louis May Alcott; special chapters on Alice, Robinson Crusoe, McGuffey's Readers; literature for Puritan boys and girls (which is gruesome); the determined uplifting of young minds in the 18th century; back to the 15th century for nursery rhymes, etc., etc. Illustrators are not forgotten and have a section of brief biographies and, just like icing for a cake, there is a science fiction story about a unique collector's item. Something for every taste, illustrations galore, and a wealth of history, humor -- and nostalgia.