I'm currently reading A.S. Byatt's new novel, The Children's Book. It's based on the life of E. Nesbit (not, as some have claimed -- presumably out of ignorance -- Beatrix Potter), who was one of the primary influences on C.S. Lewis' Narnia books. Nesbit invented the sort of children's story where several siblings embark on a series of adventures (magical or not) free of adult interference. Edward Eager's children's novels (Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, etc.) were patterned after such...