This volume presents over 200 selected original artworks from the collection of Betsy Beinecke Shirley, one of the great collectors of American children's literature. Shirley gathered an authoritative collection of books, original illustrations, manuscripts, as well as drawings and paintings from such children's classics as ''Treasure Island'' and ''Eloise.'' The artwork in Shirley's collection guides the reader on a tour through the stages of childhood reading, this volume begins with ABC's and nursery books. It continues through adventure stories, magazines, and more, then concludes with a miscellany section of odds and ends. The images demonstrate how children's books evolved, from the nation's first days of independence to modern times. Artists whose works are represented include many of the favorites, among them Ludwig Bemelmans, Maurice Sendak, A.B. Frost, Wanda Gag, Peter Newell, N.C. Wyeth, Tony Sarg, Robert Lawson, and Johnny Gruelle.