1925 The Now-A-Days Fairy Book - Anna Alice Chapin (Jessie Willcox Smith Illust) J. Coker & Co

1925 The Now-A-Days Fairy Book - Anna Alice Chapin (Jessie Willcox Smith Illust) J. Coker & Co Hardback strong binding gorgeous illustrations. Good for age one small repair to one image.

First, a note: While J. Coker & Co published editions of The Now-A-Days Fairy Book in the 1920s, the earliest recorded edition is 1911 (by Dodd, Mead and Company in New York), and the 1925 version you mentioned is likely a reprint. Here’s its synopsis:

The Now-A-Days Fairy Book is a children’s collection that blends classic fairy tales with a playful, interactive frame narrative. At its heart, a group of children gathers with their grandmother, who tells them well-known stories like the Brothers Grimm’s Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood, Charles Perrault’s Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty, and Mme d’Aulnoy’s The Three Bears, alongside lesser-known tales such as The Mist Island and Fairy Talk.

What sets the book apart is how the children engage with the stories – for example, reenacting The Three Bears with their teddy bears on a picnic, or imagining Beauty and the Beast with a toy monkey as the "beast" (a softer twist on typical scary portrayals). The tone is gentle and nostalgic, focusing on joy, imagination, and the magic of shared storytelling, with six full-color illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith that bring the whimsical world to life.