'The very essence of all illustration for children's books' said The Times on Christmas Eve, 1878, shortly after the publication of Caldecott's first two picture books, or Toy Books as they were called, John Gilpin and The House that Jack Built. They were an immediate success, and in Caldecott's special talent for juxtaposing words and pictures, he created a tradition of children's picture-book making that continues to the present day and has influenced many artists, in particular, Maurice Sendak. Between 1878 and 1886 Cldecott produced sixteen picture books, taking as texts traditional rhymes and songs, and illustrating them in sepia colour with great humour and feeling for the English countryside which so often provides the background. The collection reproduces eight of his books, including The Babes in the Wood, Oliver Goldsmith's Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog, The Great Panjandrum Himself, The Queen of Hearts, Ride a Cock-Horse to Banbury Cross, and Sing a Song Of Sixpence.
