MESSRS. THOMAS NELSON AND SONS''

JUVENILE BOOKS.

In the Wilds of Florida. By W. H. G. Kingston. With Thirty-seven Engravings.-A tale of warfare and hunting, told with all the author's well-known fire and fluency. Himself a great traveller, he had the art to describe what he had seen, so vividly as almost to beguile his reader into the belief that he too had been a spectator. Natural curiosities, proper to the country and climate, there are in abundance; adventures with wild animals, with "red-skins," and other indigenous perils, add piquant seasoning to an already highly-flavoured bill of fare. The engravings are full of life and spirit.

Frank Powderhorn. A Book for Boys. By J. Sands. With Twenty-four Illustrations from drawings by the Author and F. A. F.-It is not difficult to discriminate between a narrative of adventure made up out of books from that supplied, as in this instance, by personal experience. The scene of the story is laid in the Pampas of Buenos Ayres and the wilds of Patagonia, besides a good many recollections of the sea, of a whaling expedition, and traces of Robinson Crusoe and his prototype Selkirk at Juan Fernandez. The illustrations are excellent, and like all Messrs. Nelsons' books, paper and type are especially to be commended."

Shakespeare's Stories simply Told. By Mary Seamer. With 130 Illustrations.-It was perhaps a bold venture in an authoress to essay what had already been done, and done so well; but she has come well out of the ordeal, and her credit must be great in proportion. The plays are rendered into prose with directness and due economy of words; simply and without straining after effect. The illustrations, in outline, are in general admirable; so many of the subjects receiving and admitting of classical treatment. Our illustration of a scene in " King John" will explain our meaning. A better book for a present to a girl or boy of intelligence could hardly be named.

Jenny and the Insects; or, Little Toilers and their Industries. With Twenty-six Illustrations by Giacomelli.-The artist's exquisite skill exhibits the forms and habits of insects with a truthfulness not to be surpassed. Spiders, ants, bees, wasps (nature's own paper makers), and other species are displayed, and accompanied by Jenny's eager inquiries, to which the insects themselves respond, with a thousand particulars. The conception is excellent; and in its blue, black-and-gold ornamented cover the volume is a decided success.

Roe Carson's Enemy. By the Rev. E. N. Hoare. -A story of the West Coast of Ireland, full of boys' adventures and dangers, partly the effect of accident, partly of wilful absence of self-control, which was "Carson's Enemy."

Laura's Impulses.-A story with a purpose, intended to show that principle is a safer guide than feeling. Laura abounded in good impulses, but, for want of method, they did her and her friends more harm than good.

Working in the Shade; or, Lowly Sowing brings Glorious Reaping. By the Rev. T. P. Wilson. -The new occupier of Riverton Park, a long deserted mansion in the country, expended his energies and fortune in improving the condition of his poorer neighbours. The progress and results of his efforts are worked out in a very readable little tale. They are not at all impeded, rather the contrary, by a little episode of courtship and engagement between two of the young people.

May's Sixpence; or, Waste Not, Want Not. By M. A. Paull.-In little matters and in more important ones, the evil of waste only requires to be pointed out to be acknowledged. Young children learn to waste pennies, large households are the scene of plunder and robbery, through dishonest servants and tradesmen who make dishonesty profitable. Such is the "moral" of the little story of "May's Sixpence."

The Harrington Girls. By Sophy Winthrop, -A simple tale of an American sea-port, im. pressing upon the reader the duty of truthful reliance on Providence, and the certainty that, sooner or later, things will come right.

Yellow-Cap: And other Fairy Stories for Children. By Julian Hawthorne. (Longmans, Green and Co.)-It is not given to every one, or we should rather say, perhaps, it is given to very few, to be able to write about things and persons laughably impossible with an air of so much simplicity as to make it difficult to remember that it is all the merest invention. The author of this pretty book has the art in perfection, and happy will be the girl or boy into whose hands it will fall this Christmas.

With

Boys

The Favourite Album of Fun and Fancy. Illustrations. By Ernest Griset and others. (Cassell, Petter, Galpin and Co.)- Two good results strike us as likely to reward the publication of a book of rollicking fun like this. who have no turn for reading will acquire it, by sheer force of attraction and the necessity of reading, in order to pick out what it is all about. And, once they are caught by the stories and the pictures, they will, with hardly an effort, learn a good deal of the habits and appearance of many animals and plants. On the overflowing fun of the stories and illustrations we need not dwell.

Tit-Bits for the Table. Excellent Recipes collected during Thirty Years. By a Lady. (Edmonston and Co.)-This little volume is designed to serve as an appendix to the ordinary cookery book, as it relates only to special dishes, or special modes of preparing them. The collection of recipes includes several which appear new to us. Bills of fare, reprinted from those of some famous clubs and hotels, are appended, and will furnish some hints to housekeepers.

Little Bullets from Batala. By A. L. O. E. (Gall and Inglis.)-The author, who is now engaged in missionary work in the Punjab, wrote the little tales contained in this volume for the benefit of natives who have learned to read English, in the hope that they might serve as bullets shot against idolatry. English children will not like them less on that account.

Norman Vallery: or, How to Overcome Evil with Good. By William H. G. Kingston. Illustrated. (Gall and Inglis.)-The small hero of the story is a troublesome little imp, thoroughly spoiled by indulgence, who comes home from India to be the plague of a quiet household, and a perpetual torment to his elder sister. However, he mends in time, thanks to the patient gentleness of his chief victim. The little book is most abundantly illustrated with capital engravings on wood.

Dogged Jack. By Frances Palmer. (William Wells Gardner.)-A story closely bearing on the influence of parents over their children, showing how misunderstandings lead to serious mischief. The runaway Jack goes on a voyage of adventure, which is very naturally described, and illustrated by half a dozen full page oleographs.

MESSRS. MARCUS WARD & CO.'S

PUBLICATIONS.

BRIGHT colour, good drawing, and perfect taste we have long been accustomed to look for in Messrs. Marcus Ward and Co.'s annual pub. lications for the amusement of children. This season brings us fresh proof of their excellence in this line.

Marcus Ward's Picture Library of Animals.Twenty plates in colours, and numerous woodcut lustrations. Cows, horses, barn-door fowl and rabbits describe themselves in the pictures to children who cannot yet read; and for older children there are many charming stories provided, into which the fairy element of the marvellous enters pretty largely.

The Parables of our Lord.-Twenty large plates in colours, true to Eastern life. The text adapted from the Gospels. A very superior class of pictures indeed; in a style and of a size to impress children forcibly with the narrative of the parable. Such pictures are far from common; they ought to be widely encouraged by nursery authorities.

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Topo: A Tale about English Children in Italy. By G. E. Brunefille. Illustrated by Kate Greenaway. (Marcus Ward and Co.)-A new edition of a charming little book, in which artist and author vie in their efforts to please young readers, and old ones too. We do not wonder at more than one edition having been called for. Topo and her brother and sister form a trio of most captivating spirits, whose mischievous inclinations must command ready sympathy in the nursery, and where the story of their adventures will awaken the keenest interest. Their Italian surroundings additional piquancy to the narrative, which is most vivaciously related from beginning to end. As we have said, the illustrations are admirable. Hilary's Love Story. By Georgiana M. Craik. (Marcus Ward and Co.)-This comes in the now familiar cover of one of the "Blue-Bell" series of novels. The story is not one to set the pulses of a young lady reader going at a gallop, but nevertheless the chances are that it will be read from end to end by whoever takes it in hand. The gradual development of the heroine's character is managed with considerable skill, and certain boisterous school-boys, who are the indirect cause of there being a story to tell, are all genuine specimens of their kind. Most of the Blue-Bell stories are worth reading, and this one is a degree above the rest in point of interest.

The Quiver of Love: A Collection of Valentines, Ancient and Modern. By B. Montgomerie Ranking and Thomas K. Tully. With Coloured Illustrations. (Marcus Ward and Co.)-Here we have valentine verses, contributed by all the poets from Chaucer downwards, fitted to every possible phase of the tender passion that could animate the thoughts of lovers of either sex. With such a collection at hand, there is no need to cudgel the brains for rhymes that will not come; all that need be done is to consult the index, pick out the verse best suited to the case, and the business is accomplished. The volume is as delicate as the subject demands, and the coloured illustrations are all appropriate to the theme.

The Broken Balsam; or, The Story of a Week. By Ennis May. Illustrated. (Marcus Ward and Co.)—The little hero begins by accidentally destroying a favourite plant, and his subsequent efforts to conceal his fault lead to all sorts of difficulties, and, after all, the truth has to be

told at last. The tale is pitched in the right key to amuse young children, and the lesson it teaches is sufficiently obvious.

Descartes. By J. P. Mahaffy. (William Blackwood and Sons.)-The opening number of the publishers' "Philosophical Classics for English Readers" gives the highest promise of an excellent series. The Life of Descartes is judiciously chosen to lead the way. He was eminent as an original thinker, a man whose speculations acted on many other minds, and struck out new paths of philosophical enquiry. In Professor Mahaffy's hands, full justice is done to the man and his ingenious theories.

Science for All. Edited by Robert Brown. Illustrated. (Cassell, Petter, Galpin and Co.)— If modern science is destined to divide the field of education with other studies hitherto almost exclusively associated with the training of the young, it is well that it should make itself betimes popular and attractive. Messrs. Cassell, at all events, have done much in this direction, and no one can take this beautiful book in his hand without an eager curiosity to examine its contents, and learn something of subjects which can be so agreeably exhibited. The same intelligent expositors as before have undertaken the task of instructing the learners. Dr. Mann, first of lecturers in clearness of style and peculiar knowledge of his subject, tells us all about clouds, and snow, and hail, and thunderstorms. Professor Martin-Duncan has some wonderful things to relate about the formation of coral reef, of which a coloured illustration is in the frontispiece, showing the tiny polypes at work, transforming the sea water into solid rock. Mr. Denning is the interpreter of astronomical science, and in a plain, intelligible way. His subjects are Mars and Jupiter and comets. Captain Cooper King gives an excellent description of the sun-telegraph, of which we have heard so much, in North of India warfare, of late. Passing over many subjects of a lighter nature, Professor Barff has something interesting to say about the chemistry of a colour-box; and Mr. Bower is able to show how a penny toy may teach science. The numerous woodcut illustrations are far above average merit.

The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde, and other Stories. By Mary De Morgan. With Illus. trations by Walter Crane. (Macmillan and Co.)-Tales of the marvellous will always have a fascination for children. 'Princess Fiorimonde" is one of them; very picturesque and well told. Its companion stories are quite as charming; and Walter Crane's illustrations have all the graphic force we are accustomed to associate with his art. The little volume is bound and ornamented in a very attractive way.

The Steam House: Part I. The Demon of Cawnpore. By Jules Verne. Translated from the French by A. D. Kingston. Illustrated. (S. Low, Marston and Co.)--We leave it to the critics to determine the value of Jules Verne's descriptions if they were shorn of the marvellous in which he delights to clothe them. All we can say is, his grotesque images are highly amusing. Here we have the story of the Sepoy Mutiny in India, and hear a great deal about the terrible Nana who set it a-going. The Steam House is a gigantic engine of steel, fashioned like a huge elephant, impelled by steam, and dragging several vast cars as big as houses, up and down the country. We meet with this droll conception in many of the illustrations.

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The Old House and its Little Inmates. (Alfred Holness.)-Little Neddie is a bright little fellow. He and his mother have been left in poverty, but they contrive to live together very happily, notwithstanding that the bread has sometimes no butter on it, and the rent-money cannot always be made up promptly. But after many trials, times at length mend. Ned's father, who is a sailor, is not dead, as was thought. ship was lost, but he and others were saved, and carried to Australia by the vessel which rescued them; and the story ends with his return to England. Children will enjoy the book, and we shall be greatly mistaken if little Ned does not become as great a favourite with them as he was with everybody in the story. Illustrations are numerous. The one we have selected shows us the small hero himself.

Earl Hubert's Daughter; or, The Polishing of the Pearl. By Emily Sarah Holt. (Shaw and Co.)-A tale belonging to the 13th century, of what the Authoress terms "the Protestants before the Reformation;" private fiction being interwoven with the recorded events of public history in England.

The End of a Coil. By the Author of the "Wide, Wide World.". (James Nisbet and Co.)-Miss Wetherall's stories are invariably sure to repay the trouble of reading; and the present one is no exception. It is an inartificial narrative of real events; its plot is carefully elaborated; a wholesome, but far from obtrusive element of religion giving its tone to the whole. A healthy tale, which young people will at once appreciate without the necessity of skipping a single page. The volume contains several good illustrations.

The Lonely Island; or, The Refuge of the Mutineers. By R. M. Ballantyne. With Illustrations. (James Nisbet and Co.)-The true story of the Mutiny of the Bounty seems never likely to grow stale; and even at this time of day, so long after the event, in Mr. Ballantyne's fresh account of it, under the thin disguise of fiction, it promises to be more interesting than ever, particularly to young readers. The chief actors in the drama are vividly represented, and the settlement on the lonely Pitcairn Island in the Pacific is described with the minute realism of Defoe.

volume the pictorial element is well represented, and, as a commendable feature, we note the useful adoption of good French literature, by way of translation-an innovation daily becoming commoner among us, to the manifest advantage of the English reader. Manners and customs in foreign countries receive much attention; nothing, in short, of wholesome human interest is regarded as foreign to the purpose of this magazine. The wood-engravings, after eminent artists, are of a kind that, a few years ago, would have excited astonishment in a popular serial. Now one magazine competes with another as to which shall have the very best.