The knife-grinder's budget of pictures & poetry, for boys and girls

Step into a lively penny picture-book filled with market cries, country scenes, busy trades, and playful verses for young listeners. A knife-grinder introduces a colorful procession of apple sellers, barbers, sailors, gardeners, chair menders, brush sellers, laundresses, and many more, while children, animals, and everyday mishaps bring each little rhyme to life.

The poems are simple, rhythmic, and easy to follow, making them well suited to reading aloud or sharing with the whole family. Alongside the humor and bustle are gentle lessons about obeying parents, performing one’s duty, working for a living, caring for animals, and recognizing the dangers hidden in seemingly harmless amusements. From a goat perched on a crag to a boy struggling with a hound and a musician whose blindness does not dim his gift, this collection offers a charming glimpse of ordinary nineteenth-century life through compact verses and vivid scenes.