http://nhw.livejournal.com/160332.html[return][return]Lovely little collection of stories for the under-fives. Could never sell today as it doesn't have enough pictures.
This was one of the very first books I read as a child. I had my copy when I was about five when it was first published and I still own that very dog-eared copy and I still re-read it sometimes or get my husband to read Charles is Cross to me as a bedtime story when I am feeling poorly or out of sorts.
I had a quite privileged childhood so Charles' experiences matched mine closely and that made these stories all the more delightful to me as a child. They are very uneventful but cosy and comforting - like a bowl of tomato soup and a slice of buttered white bread on a cold afternoon.
Disappointed that the same ISBN was used for a radically different book! I read this book but it was written using the 'Initial Teaching Alphabet ', a script designed to make literacy easier for children in the 1960s. It was a dismal failure but the experience was a trip. The i.t.a. version has a bold bright yellow cover. This book would be a snore but for the i.t.a. mixing it is up so try to find the i.t.a. version if you read it.