Witam,
Mam do sprzadania ksiazke: Children's Classic Compendium Black Beauty Wind in the Willows The Water Babies
Author: Anna Sewell, Kenneth Graham, Charles Kingsley
Three classic tales in one volume: — Black Beauty was the only book written by Anna Sewell, although its continued popularity among children, particularly girls, has justified that effort. Sewell was, remarkably, paid only twenty pounds for the book and it was published three months before her death, in 1877. However, its immediate success gave her great pleasure and she died in the knowledge that the book had indeed encouraged people to treat animals less cruelly. It is the autobiography of a horse, the ?Black Beauty? of the title, who narrates it. Through various owners who ask different tasks of Black Beauty, he grows and has numerous adventures. He goes from being a riding and carriage horse through being a mistreated town cab horse to eventual happiness in a secure home. Notably, the animal keeps strength and good temper throughout his suffering. The story was extremely influential as pro-animal propaganda but it is also an extremely exciting and moving children?s story.
In Wind in the Willows, Mole has a sudden case of spring fever, gives up on his house-cleaning, and wanders in the fields and meadows. He finds himself by a river (he has been such a stay-at-home that he has never seen it before) and meets the Water Rat, who invites Mole into his boat, something else he has never seen before. "Believe me, my young friend," Rat says dreamily, "there is nothing ?absolutely nothing ?half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
A world of friendships, the joy of carefree wandering, of picnicking, and playing has opened for Mole. Half way through the book, the Mole, the Water Rat and the Badger go to Toad Hall to try to help their friend Mr. Toad who has a bad habit of reckless driving. Toad has quite a few adventures. His irresponsible living and extravagance lead to the loss of his home to the barbaric stouts and weasels. The four friends go to battle to regain Toad Hall. The book ends with a banquet where all the friends rejoice at Toad?s return.
The Water Babies is the story of Tom, a young boy who is a chimney sweep employed by the brutal bully Mr. Grimes. Falling down a chimney, Tom finds himself in the presence of a girl called Ellie. Her cleanliness and neatness makes Tom aware for the first time of his own dirty blackened body. He is chased out of Ellie?s house and falls into the river where he enters a magical underwater world and becomes a water-baby. Like Carroll?s Alice?s Adventures in Wonderland or White?s The Sword in the Stone, this tale explores the possibilities of an alternative world following certain transformations. Here we meet the caddis fly, the salmon and other creatures that teach Tom morality. Readers will be carried away by the fantasy and its sense of hope and possibility in life just as Queen Victoria was (she read it to her children and appointed the author canon of Westminster). The famous characters of Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby and Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid appear in the story, and Kingsley portrays the water world in consistently vivid and exciting manner. The serious issues of whether enforced child-labour is immoral and of how the poor should be treated are major themes in this landmark children?s tale.
POLECAM, STAN DOBRY |
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