The Animal Story Book: Special Edition

Book excerpt: If anyone believes that style does not appeal to the young readers, let him open Mr. Andrew Langs "The Animal Story Book", and read to any intelligent child of nine years Dumas' description of Mysouf I., Mysouf II., and Pritchard, and note how soon Dumas becomes a living personality to the child. Then let him turn and read, out of the same book, the account of " Cowper and his Hares." Bess and Puss and Tiney were doubtless as interesting in their way as the dogs and cats and monkeys owned by Dumas; but the child does not care for them - he begs you to read more from Dumas. Young as the child is, Dumas has cast a spell around him - the spell of a sparkling and animated style. Mr. Lang's " Animal Story Book " ought to delight both old and young, as one may find therein pen-portraits of most of the remarkable animals that have interested the world since primitive times. And because authors are, as a class, peculiarly fond of animals, the reader of this charming book is brought into intimate relations with Pliny, Théophile Gautier, and many other remarkable men.We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.