Edith Nesbit's collection of stories is witty and original, with imaginative and creative story lines. However, it was first published in 1901, and good gracious, it is dated. There are SO many casual references to the boys being adventurous and strong and brave, while the girls are flighty and vapid and shallow.
The stories here are indeed quite good, but the language and bias against girls must be taken in the context of the time in which it was written.

Edith Nesbit's collection of stories is witty and original, with imaginative and creative story lines. However, it was first published in 1901, and good gracious, it is dated. There are SO many casual references to the boys being adventurous and strong and brave, while the girls are flighty and vapid and shallow.
The stories here are indeed quite good, but the language and bias against girls must be taken in the context of the time in which it was written.

Eight short stories, each with a different dragon, obey the familiar fairy tale formulas with some modern (circa 1900) twists. The dragons are menacing and destructive, but they are also simple and easily outwitted by each tale's child (or childlike) hero. Silly and ever so slightly subversive, the stories promise good fun as read-alouds. Nesbit's chatty style was a great influence on C.S. Lewis when he wrote the Chronicles of Narnia series; here, you can experience the charm of the original.