A 150th anniversary tribute describes the cultural significance of Louisa May Alcott's classic, exploring how its relatable themes and depictions of family resilience, community, and female resourcefulness have inspired generations of writers.

While the modern children's book, intended specifically for the enjoyment of children, did not emerge until 18th-century Europe, its roots span centuries and continents: children's literature began with fables, myths and folk tales from the oral tradition. A History of the Children's Book in 100 Books takes a global perspective and traces the development of the genre from ancient stories such as Aesop's Fables and the Indian Panchatantra, through...

"Why do books have chapters? With this seemingly simple question, Nicholas Dames embarks on a literary journey spanning two millennia, revealing how an ancient editorial technique became a universally recognized component of narrative art and a means to register the sensation of time. Dames begins with the textual compilations of the Roman world, where chapters evolved as a tool to organize information. He goes on to discuss the earliest divisional...

"A light-hearted book about books and the people who write them for all lovers of literature. Do you know: Which famous author died of caffeine poisoning? Why Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was banned in China? Who was the first British writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature? What superstitions Truman Capote kept whenever he wrote? Who the other Winston Churchill was? A treasure trove of compelling facts, riveting anecdotes, and extraordinary...

"Once books change their brains, girls change history. Discover the foundation of reading that empowered some of the world's most influential women in this collection of 20 biographies"--

"Reports of the death of reading are greatly exaggerated. Do you worry that you've lost patience for anything longer than a tweet? If so, you're not alone. Digital-age pundits warn that as our appetite for books dwindles, so too do the virtues in which printed, bound objects once trained us: the willpower to focus on a sustained argument, the curiosity to look beyond the day's news, the willingness to be alone. The shelves of the world's great libraries,...