The Oxford Book of Children's Stories (Oxford Books of Prose) Book

Covering a vast historical range, this anthology is the only book to document the evolution of the children's story in writing over the last 250 years. Jan Mark, herself an accomplished children's author, has selected an inspired sampling of children's stories--44 in all--that brings us both the best-loved and widely-read stories from our youth as well as those gems of storytelling long lost to our children's sleepy bedtime ears. Tracing the evolution of the children's short story from 1749 to the 1990s, the collection includes the work of familiar figures like Rudyard Kipling, Louisa May Alcott, Evelyn Nesbit, Christina Rossetti, Walter de la Mare, and Philippa Pearce, along with those long-forgotten tales that have the power to revive the majesty of childhood imagination. Along the way, Mark shows that despite the varied history of children's writing, the ingredients of a good children's story--magic, mystery, and enchantment--have remained constant, and that they can still captivate the minds of children (and parents) today.Read More