Written by Rudyard Kipling to amuse his children, this book is a wonderfully entertaining little gem. A brother and sister stumble across Puck, the woodland sprite of English mythology also known as Robin Goodfellow. (Those up on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream" will recognize Puck as the jester to the King of the Fairies, Oberon). Puck teaches them about Old England from the time of William the Conqueror, to the Roman's guarding Hadrian's Wall against the PIcts, and even into the court of King John. Each story is told with a person from that time magically brought to the present to tell his tale. The children learn about the history of the area where they live, Pook's Hill, and what battles were fought there and why.

It is of interest to note that Kipling lived in East Sussex region of Pook's Hill, so his children would have known all the geographical references he makes, as do the two children in the book.

A delightful book, and well worth reading. I particularly enjoyed our copy with Arthur Rackham's illustrations. His Puck reminds me in some ways of Psamathos Psamathides, chief of all Psamathists, from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Roverandom". That novella was also written to entertain the author's children!