{"product_id":"the-water-babies","title":"Die Wasserkinder","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat if a chimney sweep could escape beneath the water—but still had to learn how to be kind?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTom spends his days climbing chimneys for his brutal master, Mr. Grimes. He cannot read, and kindness is scarce. At Harthover Place, a wrong turn brings him into Ellie's beautiful bedroom. Then a stream leads him into a stranger world, where he becomes a tiny water-baby who can breathe beneath the surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn The Water-Babies, Charles Kingsley fills rivers and seas with talking creatures, strange lessons, and fairies who teach through consequences. Tom longs to be clean, but learning kindness takes more than water. Beneath the adventure runs a fierce anger at child labour, alongside comic nature writing and jokes aimed at scientists.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat you'll discover\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA world beneath water\u003c\/strong\u003e – Follow Tom among salmon, otters, and lobsters, where familiar creatures share an unfamiliar world.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eKindness with consequences\u003c\/strong\u003e – Meet Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid, whose punishments make wrongdoers feel the hurt they cause.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eComfort beside stern lessons\u003c\/strong\u003e – Discover Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby, a motherly fairy who guides children with sweets and stories.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAnger beneath the wonder\u003c\/strong\u003e – Look beyond the fairy tale to Kingsley's attack on treating poor children as cheap labour.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA storyteller beside you\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enjoy a narrator who speaks directly to you, jokes, scolds, and wanders into natural history.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers who enjoy fairy tales with a point, Victorian oddities, and direct storytelling, and families who like reading aloud.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page now and follow Tom from the dark chimneys toward a world beneath the water.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534638645596,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/02836_en_ebook-front_c20_2cae3279-7d25-46ba-b2ac-14050291a0b6.jpg?v=1792174992","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/de\/products\/die-wasserkinder","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}