A scholarly and entertaining account that doesn't bother with the "improvement" type books but goes into great detail on books written with children's entertainment in mind. Invaluable for the collector. Disputes the commonly held idea that Newbery originated children's books in 1740. Fills in the gaps. Great illustrations assist in identification for the collector and are just gorgeous on their own merit. Third edition. B. T. Batsford. Ltd., London. 1985. Hb, Dj. USED. $40.00