The Water Babies, a children&#x27;s novel written by the Reverend Charles Kingsley and published as a book in 1863. Before that the story was serialized in Macmillan&#x27;s magazine in 1862 and 1863. The book was extremely popular and remained a mainstay of children&#x27;s literature through the 1920s. This was illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith in charcoal, watercolor and oil and titled &#x27;He felt the net very heavy . . . and lifted it out quickly, with Tom all entangled in the meshes.&#x27;