Beautiful gift edition features the Yuletide classic as interpreted by The Wizard of Oz illustrator, W. W. Denslow, whose expressive full-color illustrations add a whole new dimension to the familiar tale.

A bibliography of the poem "The night before Christmas."

The father of the "American Picture Book," W. W. Denslow is best remembered for the distinctive illustrations he created for the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This unique compilation features 9 of the best stories from his 18-volume series of picture books from 1903 to 1904, which featured novel retellings of favorite childhood tales. High-quality color reproductions of the artist's drawings accompany stories of Humpty Dumpty, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and other beloved characters. Denslow rewrote several of these familiar stories, toning down harsher aspects of the original material to provide wholesome entertainment redolent of his era's mood and sensibilities. This new edition includes an Introduction by Oz historian Michael Patrick Hearn.

Recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Faculty Research Achievement Award in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at Syracuse University In 1939, Aleksandr Volkov (1891-1977) published Wizard of the Emerald City, a revised version of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Only a line on the copyright page explained the book as a "reworking" of the American story. Readers credited Volkov as author rather than translator. Volkov, an unknown and inexperienced author before World War II, tried to break into the politically charged field of Soviet children's literature with an American fairy tale. During the height of Stalin's purges, Volkov adapted and published this fairy tale in the Soviet Union despite enormous, sometimes deadly, obstacles. Marketed as Volkov's original work, Wizard of the Emerald City spawned a series that was translated into more than a dozen languages and became a staple of Soviet popular culture, not unlike Baum's fourteen-volume Oz series in the United States. Volkov's books inspired a television series, plays, films, musicals, animated cartoons, and a museum. Today, children's authors and fans continue to add volumes to the Magic Land series. Several generations of Soviet Russian and Eastern European children grew up with Volkov's writings, yet know little about the author and even less about his American source, L. Frank Baum. Most Americans have never heard of Volkov and know nothing of his impact in the Soviet Union, and those who do know of him regard his efforts as plagiarism. Erika Haber demonstrates how the works of both Baum and Volkov evolved from being popular children's literature and became compelling and enduring cultural icons in both the US and USSR/Russia, despite being dismissed and ignored by critics, scholars, and librarians for many years.

The pumpkins raised on the Pringle farm in Vermont are the finest in the world and highly prized by makers of pies and preserves. That's because Joe Miller, Farmer Pringle's nephew, has a secret for growing great, glorious pumpkins. On Halloween, he picks twenty-one of the biggest and best to carve into jack o' lanterns—and that's where this exuberant adventure begins. This charming Halloween fantasy ventures under the sea to recount Joe's comic exploits. In hopes of discovering the young farmer's secret, a wily Ancient Mariner sweeps Joe, along with his little cousin Pearl, below the waves, where they encounter fairies, mermaids, and the inmates of Davy Jones' locker, a rowdy crew of hungry pirates with an insatiable craving for pumpkin pie. This reprint of a hard-to-find original edition will enchant children of all ages. Scores of vivid illustrations include 16 full-page color images by W. W. Denslow, the artist of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Orphaned at a young age, Edna Earl is adopted by Mrs. Murray. Edna encounters numerous conflicts with Mrs. Murray's son, the Byronic St. Elmo, a harsh, cruel man with a dark past. Edna's sweet nature touches the lives of many around her, and her ambition causes her to strive for nearly unattainable heights.