The Little Bookroom is an immensely satisfying collection of Farjeon's own favorite stories, easy to get lost in, and lingering in the mind long after the book is closed. Several years ago I was delighted to see Candlewick publish two different editions of her lighter-than-air story 'Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep.' And now, the New York Review of Books, which is just embarking on a program to reprint children's classics, has chosen The Little Bookroom as one of its inaugural offerings. Sadly and undeservedly, most of her work is now out of print, with just the odd poem occasionally appearing in one anthology or another. The child Eleanor, born in 1881, grew up to be an accomplished writer best known for her lyrical poems and stories for children. I desperately longed for just such a room, to experience what Farjeon so enticingly described: 'That dusty bookroom, whose windows were never opened, through whose panes the summer sun struck a dingy shaft where gold specks danced and shimmered, opened magic casements for me through which I looked out on other worlds and times than those I lived in: worlds filled with poetry and prose and fact and fantasy.' She described growing up in a house filled with reading material, where 'it would have been more natural to live without clothes than without books.' Although there were books in every room, the little bookroom was given over to them completely, crammed floor to ceiling with haphazardly arranged titles, 'much trash, and more treasure.' Every visit the young Eleanor made to the bookroom was an expedition of discovery, every book examined had the potential to be a lifelong friend. One of my most vivid childhood memories is of reading Eleanor Farjeon's entrancing introduction to her short story collection The Little Bookroom (1955). AFT resources for organizing and back to school programs.Safe and welcoming public schools for all.DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).Standing united to protect immigrant rights.Paraprofessionals & school-related personnel.

Hansel and Gretel by Arnold Lobel