Marguerite de Angeli's warm and wonderful talent has delighted young readers since the publication of her first book in 1935. That earliest book, Ted and Nina Go to the Grocery Store, is full of the same qualities that have endeared her to each succeeding generation—her intimate knowledge and love of the subjects she deals with, her ability to invest simple things with their natural beauty and dignity, her humor and tenderness in recognizing a child's feelings and conveying them in both words and pictures.

The illustrations for The Old Testament, one of her most recent books, were done after a trip through the Middle East to absorb the atmosphere of the countryside. This knowledge of the Biblical setting is also evident in her BOOK OF FAVORITE HYMNS, combined with the gently pictures of children, animals, flowers sunsets—all of nature's beauties—that are so characteristic of Mrs. de Angeli's work.

Mother of five herself, and grandmother of thirteen, Mrs. de Angeli has always done much of her work from live models. She was born in Lapeer, Michigan, and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where she now lives), as a child.

Over the years, eighteen of her books have found their way from her heart to the hearts of children all over the world, and this book, like her others, is testimony to the joy in living she is able to share with her readers. In 1950 Mrs. de Angeli was awarded the Newbery Medal for The Door in the Wall, as the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children of that year.

From the dust jacket