This is a book of morality in essence! It deals with the notion of child labour. It is about a boy chimney sweep called Tom. He has a rather distasteful master, Grimes, who washes himself once. Tom seeing this also wishes to be clean of the dirt of sweeping chimneys and in pursuing that he is 'taken away by the fairies', a euphemism for dying - he basically drowns. He then becomes a water-baby and goes on an adventure of learning various moral lessons, often with his companion Ellie. On his journey he encounters Grimes again, which acts as a plot device of reflection. It is in itself a charming story for children, ...  Read the complete review

This is a beautifully written Victorian tale about a child chimney sweep. Charles Kingsley records for posterity, the terrible lives of these children. Most of us know the story of the Water Babies as a childrens story. It is only in reading it as an adult that I first became aware of what was exposed. This short novel has become a classic not just because of its story line. It is beautifully written and deserves to join the ranks of 'English Classics'. ...  Read the complete review

I have owned Water Babies for the best part of 40 years. I have it in small print and, even in my much younger days, I had no problem reading such books...I have always been an avid reader and owned a shelf of classics by the age of 8. However, I must have attempted more than 20 times to read Kingsley's tome but, somehow, I can't get beyond more than a few chapters. I have seen the part animated film and that was okay but I really find the book hard to read. Perhaps he intended it for children but I do not know of many children who have been able to understand it very well. I think it is only considered a children's book because it is ...  Read the complete review

I picked up an old copy of Charles Kingsley's classic 'The Water Babies' in a Save the Children Fund shop, quite appropriately. This is one of those books I should have read, I thought, and I opened it at a beautiful description of cool, clear water, so I bought it, for 10p. This is a Victorian book with a moral, but it defies classification. It is deservedly famous, really quite strange and wonderful. It made me think of showers and baths in quite a different way. It may have been about chimney sweeps and child labour over a century ago, but it is speaking out against cruelty for all time, and it is about development of character. We need some ...  Read the complete review