Many of the richest examples of early books for children - story books and volumes of poetry and chapbooks, books of moral instruction, nursery rhymes and homilies - are gathered in the Toronto Public Library's celebrated Osborne Collection. From the hundreds of rare volumes there, Leonard de Vries has culled this unique, unusually handsome anthology. It illuminates the heritage of modern children's literature and will fascinate lovers of folklore and English history, librarians, bibliophiles, and students of children's literature, not to mention the children themselves.