The Mollyday Holiday Margaret Storey. Illustrated by Janina Ede (Faber

£1.25) A long journey can be very tiring and boring for a small child, but this drive from London to Cumberland where nothing more extraordinary than a breakdown occurs is not so. The two small girls run through the usual repertoire of car games, mother tells rather an imaginative story and father sings, jokes and entertains. There is real insight into a child's feelings: at first excitement, then boredom, discomfort and "fidgets in the legs" and, finally, mounting anticipation. The journey's end is everything it promises to be. This is a story in the same series as The Smallest Doll and The Smallest Bridesmaid. The illustrations are excellent.

Richard's M-Class Cows P. D. Pemberton. Illustrated by Gareth Floyd (Faber 95) After hearing about P-class submarines from his elder brother, Richard begins to collect an imaginary herd of cows with names beginning with M — thus M-class cows. The book hinges on the uncertainty of whether the cows are real or imaginary — the truth is revealed in the final dramatic episode. This is the genuine world of make-believe. Richard and the central story are good; the peripheral material is less convincing.

Aelfred Ted Greenwood (Angus and Robertson 90p)

The adventures of a mediaeval drawbridgekeeper who hopes to invent a revolutionary mechanism. The trappings are not sufficient to evoke a mediaeval atmosphere and the action could have as easily taken

place in the life of a department store. The illustrations are cheerful and cartoonlike. Mr Greenwood is more successful when he is not his own author (e.g. in Sly Old Wardrobe with Ivan Southall).

The Dagger and the Bird Margaret Greaves. Illustrated by Jill MacDonald (Methuen £1.10)

A fairy tale in a historical setting. Bridget and Luke discover their brother Simon is s changeling. With him they travel to the faery world in order to find the real Simon a smith to the fairies, whose talents art urgently required by his father. A series el adventures follow, but no major mishaps. Indeed there is insufficient mystery and tension. However, the story arrests the reader's attention and makes a worthwhile distinction between fleeting, valuable human joys and eternal, therefore value less, faery ones. The illustrations are bold and expressive.

All Along Down Along compiled hY Leonard Clark. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes (Longman £1.00) A collection of favourite narrative poen° including Widdecombe Fair and The Walrus and The Carpenter. Somewhat ill at ease among them is John Heath-Stubbs1 fitful poem about Noah's Ark which ups0 the balance as it lacks the ballad elemeot present in the other poems.

Oh How Silly! compiled by William Cole Illustrated by Tomi Ungerer (Methuen' 95p)

"This silly book which has no use except of course to make you grin" it selection of modern nonsense poems fro' England America with witty illustratiol The twentieth century answer to Lear ar/e Carroll. The humour and rhythm of the,sfr poems guarantees their success WI' children.

The Prospect of Whitby R. C. sail Illustrated by Doreen Roberts (00 University Press £1.25)

A narrative poem to be read aloud v-it several voices. The ' Prospect ' sails fOri Whitby with a mermaid in her wake. 11/01 mermaid loves the cabin boy and, Ai giving him power over the twelve will enables him to dispose of the rest of crew who ill-treat him, and to becortlo captain. The ballad has rather fr uncomfortable rhyme scheme, but it, lively and incorporates several themes. The illusrations are first-re colourful and imaginative.

Who Live in Your Garden? Barhs° Prescott (Faber £1.00) „ A book for the young naturalist. PA1 equally pertinent for a town child anuo country child, and emphasises that even one's own garden there are hundreds it tiny creatures, wherever one happe0S4 live. The text is simple and does 0, condescend even when explaining Peo words. The illustrations, by the author good detailed line drawings.

Fuzzypeg's Brother Alison Uttley. trated by Katherine Wigglesworth (CO' 35p) A Ole "The grass was covered with little and clover and blue milkwort and yellow pansies" — Alison Uttley's cou,nev side in which Grey Rabbit and her frl, ve have their adventures, is old-fashioneu '

fresh. This time the Hedgehog family have a new addition — Little Urchin. He sleeps in a rush-plaited hammock, plays games with the Wind who gives him a balloon, goes to school, and, after winter hibernation finds Spring has garlanded his balloon with flowers. All Grey Rabbit readers will welcome this book.

China; Western Europe Robert Clayton and John Miles (Rupert Hart-Davis each 80p) Two well illustrated up-to-date geography books. China's past is outlined in order to provide a yardstick by which to measure her present development. By taking Western Europe as a whole, valuable cultural and economic comparisons can be made, and contrasts drawn as there are similarities of government, the linking of many countries by the Rhine, and the Common Market. The books are general enough and stimulating enough to provide a background to other subjects.

The Zebra Cook Book Maureen Williams (Evans 25p) It includes all the basic essentials for the young cook. Everything is done the proper Way, no short cuts, mess must be cleaned up and everything put away tidily. The instructions are clear and straightforward. The range of possibilities is fairly wide Without being too difficult. This book should be a delight and encouragement to every aspiring small cook and not too much of a mother's headache. It's laminated cover should resist most cooking Spills and it is sufficiently inexpensive to replace if overtaken by domestic disaster.

Conjuring written and illustrated by Eric Hawkesworth (Faber E1.00) Rather a good conjuring book. Not only does it teach the tricks but also the patter Which is, after all, part of the equipment. The tricks are skilful and require practice rather than expensive apparatus. The diagrams are helpful. A book that will Provide hours of amusement for parents and children.

Aircraft Kenneth Munson; Trains Rixon Bucknall; Cars Robert Wyatt; Ships Brian Benson (Macdonald each '75p) Excellent books tracing the origins and developments of these forms of transport from their beginning to the present day. Each book ends with a projects supPlement which makes use of ' material in the book and gives instructions for modelmaking. High-level educational entertainment — the best of the Macdonald reference series, as it is reasonably priced and contains clear, informative, quality Illustrations. A good choice for the young enthusiast.

An Alphabet of Ancient Rome Mary Chubb and Jill Wyatt (Geoffrey Bles £1.40) A potted picture history of Ancient Rome. The illustrations are mostly based on existing buildings and archaeological Material. The text is clear and interesting and includes not only well-known colourful events, but details of domestic life with Which a child can identify. No well-worn historical myths are perpetuated; the position of the ' Emperor ' Augustus is Made quite clear without being too scholarly. A few quibbles: for instance, ' farm ' might have been a better description of the true function of a villa than 'country house.' One of the better history books for children who will enjoy it in or out of the classroom.

The Further Adventures of Puss-in-Boots Nicholas Stuart Gray. Illustrated by W. M. Hatch (Faber £1.20) Puss-In-Boots having seen his master married to the princess leaves their comfortable castle rather than play second fiddle to the princess's baby. The arrogant capable cat does a round-the-world tour with plenty of adventures en route. The perfect answer to "and then what happened... " after the original Puss-InBoots story; it is written in a lively, entertaining style.

The Kingdom Under The Sea Joan Aiken. illustrated by Jan Pienkowski (Jonathan Cape £1.60) These retellings of East European folk tales, as fresh, charming and deft as one would expect from Joan Aiken, feature local legendary figures — the Dawn Maiden, Baba Yaga the witch and Daybog the Sun god, as well as the mandatory cast of fairies, witches, dragons and princesses. A prince splits open a reed and finds his bride; a fisherman, unsatisfied with his lot, seeks the sea king's palace; a little girl grinds flour for the Sun's birthday cake. The fanciful illustrations, delicate silhouettes against marbled backgrounds, fantastic and unattainable as shadows, Spectator, November 13, 19'71 incorporate fear and wonder.

The Broken Fiddlestick John Smith. Illustrated by David Goddard (Longman 90p) An ususual tale of a boy's association with a family of gipsies. Benjamin, wishing to play the violin, is delighted with the magic fiddlestick of the Gregori family. He is thwarted when the spiteful Tarbath family attack his friends and steal the fiddlestick. Eventually he recovers it and the nature of its magic powers is revealed. The illustrations are remarkably detailed and expressive engravings, unusual in a children's book.

The Song of Caedmon Words by Arthur Sorley. Music by Donald Swann. Illustrated by Victor Ambrus (Bodley Head £1.50) Caedmon was a 'lay brother at Whitby Abbey in the seventh century. Unable to sing, he would leave the hall after supper when the traditional entertainments began. A divine vision suddenly enabled him to sing and compose poetry and his beautiful and simple hymn praising creation still exists. The book, carrying dramatised story and musical score should be used in schools. It is well illustrated; but what a pity it adapts Caedmon's hymn beyond recognition.

At the Stroke of Midnight Helen Cresswell. Illustrated by Carolyn Dinan (Collins £1.95) Helen Cresswell has found that the traditional versions of many folk tales are too involved for young children. In this book she has rewritten such stories as Aladdin, Puss-In-Boots and Snow White " especially for telling aloud," stories which, she says, are like the grit in an oyster from which each child will slowlY form his own pearl. These well illustrated stories provide a satisfying answer to an obvious gap.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Sarnia Taylor Coleridge illustrated by C. Waite' Hodges (Chatto and Windus £1.25) A dramatic and sensitive series of illustrations for Coleridge's well-known poem, which is not an obvious choice for younger readers. Mr Hodges's versatile drawings do reflect the changing moods el the poem, at once nightmarish arid fantastic; occasionally they recall Dore:s engravings — as in the picture of the shIP stranded in the land of ice where ". . . through the drifts the snowy clifts/ Did send a dismal sheen ". But unlike Dore, they have also a certain innocence and should appeal to children.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin Robert Browning illustrated by C. Walter Hodge9 (Chatto and Windus E1.10) C. Walter Hodges exploits the visual richness of this poem to the full arlu captures both its humour and lyrical grace' "All the little boys and girls/With rosY cheeks and flaxen curls" come runrung after the Piper jostling each other like Of mediaeval houses of Hamelin. The indiviu' ual characters are excellently portrayed the Piper, slender and whimsical, tIls Mayor, solid and Germanic. Mr Hodges 11, sometime designer of scenery and c°' tumes is much in evidence here.

Ruth Marris