"Chop off my head, my hinny, my heart, Chop off my head, my own darling . . ." What is a poor girl to do, when the Frog of the Well of the World's End demands such a thing of her? Or what of the bride-to-be who spies this above the door she must enter: "Be bold, be bold, but not that bold, Lest that your heart's blood should run cold "

In 1867 Flora Steel married a member of the Indian civil service, and for the next twenty-two years lived in India, chiefly in the Punjab, with which most of her books are connected. She was interested in interacting with Indian women of all classes and used the birth of her daughter to meet these women. She encouraged the production of local handicrafts and collected folk-tales. Tales Of The Punjab was published in 1894. From the very beginning the young reader is drawn into the stories. "Would you like to know how these stories are told? Come with me, and you shall see. There! take my hand...

Pook Press celebrates the great Golden Age of Illustration in childrens literature. Many of the earliest childrens books, particularly those dating back to the 1850s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Pook Press are working to republish these classic works in affordable, high quality, colour editions, using the original text and artwork so these works can delight another generation of children. Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was one of the premier illustrators of the early 20th Century. He illustrated many books, the first of which was published in 1893. Throughout...