We have included 2 children’s books for families to read together over the next 4 months. (Reading together can be reading aloud to each other or all reading the book by the end of the 4 months, making comments below as you read along)

Everyone thinks they know the stories of The Water Babies and Alice in Wonderland, but have they actually read the books?

Did you know that Charles Kingsley (a priest and chaplain to Queen Victoria) was in correspondence with Charles Darwin and, inspired by his ideas, wrote The Water Babies which is full of allusions to evolution?

Alice in Wonderland was described by F J Harvey Darton as ‘the first real liberty of thought in children’s books’. It also contains some of the most iconic moments in children’s literature, some of the best verse and, most importantly, a little girl who questions everything as she metamorphoses in and out of adventures. Some of our best illustrators have illustrated Alice – from Sir John Tenniel, Arthur Rackham and Salvador Dali to Helen Oxenbury and Anthony Browne.

These classics can be read, listened to, discussed and enjoyed by all members of the family.

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