Cecil Aldin, Farm Babies
Aldin, Cecil. Farm Babies. Second Edition. 1911. Hardcover with pictorial front cover (no dust jacket). It is in very good minus condition. There is a tear to the upper spine, bumped corners, and minor scratching to the covers. There is minor foxing to the pages, but it is confined to the text pages, not the attractive color plates.
This children’s book from the United Kingdom, first published in 1909, never saw an American edition. It is a gem: one of those books that are rarely intact because it contains twenty-four marvelous color plates suitable for framing. The book follows the adventures of a curious duckling as he explores a farm interacting with the other creatures typically found there—puppies, pigs, turkeys, cows, etc., mostly babies like himself. Divine.
“One must never be too hard on puppies. They are poor little helpless, clumsy things, that have to be coddled and cuddled, and mustn’t do this, and mustn’t do that.”
--Farm Babies