James Reeves (1) (1909–1978)

Very basic retelling of classic folktales. I recognize this was probably the intention, but it makes for a somewhat bland reading experience. I did get some entertainment out of how bizzare some of the stories got...my favorite was the golden snuff box which made exactly zero sense and featured a lot of talking animals and parties.

A delightful, small, pocket size book. Illustrated rhyming verse - the story of little Jackie Thimble, with delightful Ardizzone illustrations. Edward Ardizzone and James Reeves collaborated on a number of books and this might just be one of their finest.

Jackie Thimble is just 16 inches tall and one cold winter's day he exlores a post box while the mailman is emptying the pillar box.... and then he gets shut inside. He keeps his spirits up by singing and passersby stop to hear the singing show more post box and start posting pennies and other coins into the box, to hear some songs. Thankfully Jackie doesn't have to stay in the postbox overnight and is able to return home, with riches enough to keep his house warm and he and his parents fed through the winter.

Delightful. show less

I remember these a little from when I was quite young (7 or 8?), borrowed from the library. He's in the same tradition as Walter de la Mare and Eleanor Farjeon, writing whimsical but thought-provoking 20thC poems for children, though I think Farjeon has the edge as a poet. Edward Lear is lurking somewhere too, the original inventor of Prefabulous Animiles (though their ultimate ancestor is Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky).

A retelling of the fall of Troy from the perspective of a young Trojan boy, featuring the mythic Trojan horse. Follows the account told in the Aeneid closely. Illustrations have an epic, ancient quality.