Some beautiful illustrations from an old tale in one of its permutations. I love the title, I love the story behind it.

Check out the rest and tell me which three you like best. Morgor guessed mine effortlessly - the ones with gazing women... he's right, but not for the gazing, for the moon and the birch trees. Birch trees are my favourite trees. I love how these are half Chinese, half Klimt. And for the women and the moon like the moon passage in Jane Eyre, when she's leaving before her wedding, to maintain her own integrity - she's going out alone into the dangerous world, without friend, family, or means, and she looks at the moon, to me a symbol of the mother within her, the female power and strength - and she goes, she doesn't stay and marry the man with the crazed wife in the attic, who will marry her anyway. She follows the moon. Being the fraidy-cat that I am, I find that very inspirational.

Anyway, a hard copy of this story goes on my wishlist - not an early edition, something affordable, in good condition it's alright to handle. I could browse and buy children's books all day - I think if I had to choose between them and adult fiction I'd stick with children's. Maybe if adult fiction were illustrated, that would be different. But there's a purity and artistry to the child's story I find perfect. Any illustrators out there looking for someone to work with? I'm sitting on all this material and never getting the wings under me to do any drawing. I'm wasting time.