The combination of engaging narrative and literary prose guarantees that children's classics will always be read. Whether or not modern children's books meet this criterion will determine their longevity in print.
Henrietta Branford's Dipper's Island, charmingly illustrated by Patrick Benson (Walker Books, £7.99 in UK), is beautifully written, evoking forest and fairy tales from the Golden Age of children's fiction. Unfortunately, the gender balance also reflects older, less enlightened times. All the adventurous characters are male, while the troublesome and needy characters are female. To be read aloud or alone. 5-8 years.
The Arctic Fox, by Mary Ellis, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton (Collins, £3.99 in UK), is competently written despite the initial crude dispatch of the mother. Alex and her explorer father travel from Scotland to the frozen Arctic to return Siku, a little white fox, to his home. The adventure leads to a dangerous expedition with an Inuit boy who is searching for his long-lost father. Fascinating glimpses into Inuit life and myth add to the strong plot and likeable characters, making this an excellent read. The black-and-white brush drawings complement the tone and atmosphere. 6-11 years.
Paula Murray's Matt the Mitcher, illustrated by David Braysher (Veritas, £3.99), will not be everyone's cup of tea. However, there are few Dubliners who haven't heard of Matt Talbot wrapped in chains, and that should encourage the reader's curiosity. The writing is neither lyrical nor profound but the clipped pace moves Matt smoothly from deprived child to "hard man" and finally holy convert from alcohol addiction. Despite the sermonising on behalf of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Society and the off-putting cover, it is an odd but good read. 9-13 years.
Sandy the Great, written and illustrated by Lucinda Jacob (Poolbeg Wren, £3.99), is not an example of classical writing but rather reflects the current trend towards banal prose and sketchy characterisation. That said, this little tale of a girl and her hamster is amusing and heart-warming, a must for all hamster owners with its tips and how-tos. The illustrations alone are absolutely "dotey".
It's a sign of pure gold that a character created at the beginning of this century would inspire a major children's film at the end of it. And who hasn't heard of him? In Doctor Dolittle to The Rescue and Doctor Dolittle The Bravest Man in the World (both Red Fox, £2.99 in UK), Charlie Sheppard has abridged works by Hugh Lofting in a form suitable for today's children, ages 6-10. The first book tells the suspenseful and hilarious story of the release of a seal from the circus by the doctor and his animal friends. The second is the more reflective tale of how the doctor acquired his assistant, Tom Stubbins, and their first voyage away from Puddlebyon-the Marsh. With the fine prose of the original work and Lofting's own illustrations, the stories stand the test of time, being both compelling and entertaining.
It's no surprise that Oxford University Press is still reprinting Fairy Tales of Scot- land, retold by Barbara Ker Wilson, illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe and Fairy Tales of England, retold by James Reeve, illustrated by Rosamund Fowler (£4.99 each in UK), first published in 1954. These story-tellers display the same exquisite power with words as the wizards they write about. The Scottish volume includes the fabulous Tam Lin, Thomas the Rhymer, and seven tales of Fionn Mac Chumail, "who belonged to both Eirinn and Alba, as Ireland and Scotland were called in those far-distant days". The English collection offers such well-knowns as Tom Thumb, Dick Whittington, and Jack and the Beanstalk, as well as wonderful surprises like Catskin, the tale of a beautiful kitchen-maid with dresses of gold, silver, feathers and catskin. The stories in both books reflect the strange amoral and dream-like quality that led Jung to claim a universal origin for all such lore, the collective unconscious. For children and adults of all ages.