Book reviews from amacadam

Two Bad Ants

by Chris Van Allsburg

The power of Van Allsburg in this instance is to enable a child to see the world from an ant's perspective. The magic of literature--to give us access to other minds and personalities--begins with books like this.

Clever Bill

by William Nicholson

William Nicholson is a superb illustrator of children's books--The Pirate Twins and Velveteen Rabbit are perhaps his most famous efforts. Clever Bill, a story he wrote, is a wonderful evocation of a child's relationship with a special toy.

Essays Ancient and Modern

by T S Eliot

Anyone interested in T.S. Eliot's thought--as opposed to either his poetry or his literary criticism--would be well-served by delving into this collection of essays. A re-working of "For Lancelot Andrewes,"(1928), this collection presents Eliot's thoughts on religion. The chilly waters of theology are not everyone's delight, but Eliot's article on Baudelaire chastens the myth-making perpetrated by Walter Benjamin and his disciples.