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"There was a gallant ship from the North Country, and she was called the Golden Vanity..."
So begins John Langstaff's version of the old ballad that has been sung for more than three hundred years. It was noted down as early as 1650 in England and was probably transplanted to the United States by the early colonists.
Now Mr. Langstaff, a well-known concert artist and author of Frog Went A- Courtin', Ol' Dan Tucker, and other books for children, has chosen his favorite variants of both the words and the music and, together with the English artist David Gentleman, has made this old sea story into a colorful and attractive picture book for young children. The appeal of the ballad telling of the cabin boy's shrewdness and heroism is heightened by the catchy repetition of the last two lines of each verse and by the fascinating details of David Gentleman's action-filled illustrations depicting the old sailing ship, the salty captain and crew, and the daring of the cabin boy. The result is a book that will be a welcome addition to libraries and to a child's own bookshelf.
—from the dust jacket
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