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A unique and delightful zoo, this rich anthology of poems and short stories about magical beasts has been assembled by that most experienced and knowledgeable writer and collector, Ruth Manning-Sanders.
Gathered here are favorites old and new, from all over the world, from modern and ancient sources. Here are Andrew Lang's Firedrake, the saucer-eyed dogs from Hans Andersen's Tinderbox, the Frog who would a-wooing go, Tennyson's mysterious Kraken, E. Nesbit's enchanting and lovable Last-of-the-Dragons, and hosts of other fascinating creatures. The selections are taken from around the world—Japan, Serbia, England, Scotland, Wales, Russia, Scandinavia, Germany, India, Tibet—and range from the well-known Jabberwocky of Lewis Carroll to less familiar creatures such as The Stone Lion and the Hedley Kow.
Illustrations by Raymond Briggs capture all the enchantment of these marvelous mythical magical beasts.
Ruth Manning-Sanders was born in Swansea, Wales, the youngest daughter of an English minister. She was an omnivorous reader, and she and her two sisters wrote and acted in their own plays. At Manchester University she studied Shakespeare. She and her husband, artist George Manning-Sanders, traveled all over the British Isles by horse-drawn caravan. She has also toured with a circus for a year. Now a widow, Mrs. Manning-Sanders lives with her daughter in Bristol, England. She is the author of a number of popular books for young people and has collected stories for many popular anthologies.
Raymond Briggs is a popular British artist whose work is well known on both sides of the Atlantic. He has illustrated other anthologies collected by Ruth Manning-Sanders, and was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal of the British Library Association for the best illustrated children's book of the year.
—from the dust jacket
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