Originally published in hardcover by Philomel and then brought out a few years later in a trade paperback, this book of essays has become well identified with me. And the phrase, "Touch magic, pass it on" shows up in the oddest places. After five years out of print, the book in an expanded and revised edition has been reissued by the folklore publisher, August House. The new section is called "Touchstones" and has six new essays: "Fabling to the Near Night," "Killing the Other," "Throwing Shadows," "Literature As a Social Disease," the eponymous "Touchstones," "An Experiential Act," and an updated and revised Preface. - Jane Yolen

    A collection of essays relating to the author's experience as a writer of novels for children, and her ideas on children's literature in general.

    

    The aim of this book is to fulfil just that purpose, with an indication of the best edition, and a concise description of the book and its significance. A Lifetime's Reading is arranged year by year over fifty years, judging ten great works to be a good annual average. The selection is balanced between novelists, poets, essayists, playwrights, biographers and religious and philosophical teachers, from China to India, from the U.S.A. to the U.S.S.R., from England to Morocco, Colombia, Iran ... Translations are evaluated, and guidance is also offered on music, art, and travel, arranged generally speaking in ascending order of the books' complexity and the reader's maturity, from Alice in Wonderland to Immanuel Kant, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shimazaki Toson.

    Each book is described briefly, though not always reverently, and awarded symbols to denote relative merit, type of content, etc. The editors' intention is to answer the questions "Where shall I begin?" and "What shall I read next?" with candour, without condescension and without concealing the fact that some subjects are more difficult (and rewarding) than others.