Annotated edition of "Water Babies"
Handsome new edition annotated with the latest scholarship reflecting Charles Kingsley's acceptance of Darwinian thought. Highly recommended.
Beautiful story, beautiful book.
Reading this really makes you want to get away, just like Tom does in the story. Although this is sort of a longish fairy tale, it is delightful and intriguing. For me, though, this book's biggest selling point is the illustrations by Warwick Goble. As a fairy tale fan, I first came across Goble in The Moon Maiden and Other Japanese Fairy Tales, where all the color illustrations are in the middle of the book. Here, they are sprinkled throughout the book, more closely accompanying the story, and adding that much more to the reader's enjoyment. While the text is crisply printed on stone-white paper, the color illustrations have a glossy finish that really makes them pop. Old and young should derive plenty of satisfaction from this book.
Just a beautiful tale
I read this book nearly half a century ago in my native England, then I read it to my American step daughter, and saw the same sense of wonder and delight in her face that I probably had on mine. It taught me Karma, it taught me the value of home, that kindness can be a gift; and it still provides the subtitles to emotions I feel today - "to the sea, to the sea". Perhaps it struck a chord with me, the father of another man's child, rereading Tom's struggles to find his way without a parent. It was a sweet return.
Transformation and redemption
This is a classic British "children's" story and is more for adults or older children. It was written in the 1860's. It's a charming look at the transformation of a dirty chimney sweep into a clean 4" water-baby, but on a higher plane also a look at the death of children during this Industrial Revolution time period. Beware: some of the author's prejudices come out in this book especially when it comes to the Irish which he represents as dishonest and magical. There is also an abridged version, and if you use this book with children, you might want to use the abridged version or explain these things to them. If you are an adult, you should read the unabridged version. Charles Kingsley had a good time writing this book!
New unabridged edition forthcoming
I would like to point out that in 2008 Broadview Press will publish my unabridged edition of The Water-Babies with the original illustrations by Linley Sambourne. There will be a substantial introduction to the work as well as works by Lewis Carroll, Kingsley himself, and other contemporary writers that help place Kingsley's work in context.
http://www.broadviewpress.com/product.php?productid=912&cat=0&page=1
(20 reviews)
