The Water Babies: Water-Babies, a Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby

The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a children's novel by the Reverend Charles Kingsley. The book was extremely popular in England during its day, and was a mainstay of British children's literature. The protagonist is Tom, a young chimney sweep, who falls into a river after encountering an upper-class girl named Ellie and being chased out of her house. There he dies and is transformed into a "water baby", as he is told by a caddis fly—an insect that sheds its skin—and begins his moral education. The story is thematically concerned with Christian redemption, though Kingsley also uses the book to argue that England treats its poor badly, and to question child labour, among other themes. This edition is enriched with several beautifull colour illustrations, made by Warwick Goble and adjusted by Fairy. Enjoy!