An Alphabet of Old Friends

"An Alphabet of Old Friends" by Walter Crane is a charming collection of children's verses and rhymes written in the late 19th century. This book serves as an engaging introduction to traditional nursery rhymes, exploring a delightful assortment of whimsical characters and scenarios. Its primary aim is to entertain and educate young readers through rhythm and rhyme. The content of the book is structured as an alphabet, where each letter corresponds to a different story or rhyme featuring beloved classic characters. For instance, the letters present memorable figures such as the "carrion crow," "Black Sheep," and "Little Bo-peep," alongside various cheerful narratives and moral lessons. Through this playful collection, readers encounter a delightful blend of imagination and storytelling, making it not just a literary exploration but also a joyful reading experience for children and their families. The rhymes are both fun and easy to remember, fostering a sense of nostalgia while introducing new generations to the charm of classic children's literature. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Walter Crane was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway, one of the strongest contributors to the child's nursery motif that the genre of English children's illustrated literature would exhibit in its developmental stages in the later 19th century.