|
 |
|
When We Were Very Young (Pooh Original Edition)x$5.27
 (12 reviews)
Best Price: $5.27
When We Were Very Young, the first of A.A. Milne’s four world-famous books for children, introduced Christopher Robin to innumerable friends, and has probably been read more widely than any other book of verse for children published in our time.
For sheer delightfulness the children’s rhymes of A.A. Milne are in a class by themselves, with their charm, humour, and understanding – to say nothing of their irresistible rhythms.
Ernest H. Shepard’s illustrations are an important complement to the verses. A.A. Milne has here created a book of proven classic quality, a book that goes straight to the heart.
In all likelihood, your mother or father read you these poems and remember their parents reading the same. This collection of poetry by the creator of Winnie the Pooh was first published in 1924. With its companion volume Now We Are Six, the little books became two of the biggest bestsellers in publishing history. Children all over the world have heard about changing the guard at Buckingham Palace; James James Morrison Morrison Weather by George Dupree; the three little foxes who kept their handkerchiefs in cardboard boxes; and, of course, Christopher Robin, named for A.A. Milne's son. Adults and older children will enjoy Milne's poems too, as some of his humor is subtly directed at a more sophisticated audience. But younger children are the ones who love the naughty Mary Jane (lovely rice pudding again?) and the bears on the corners of London's streets. Read these poems aloud and pass along (or start) a family tradition. (Ages 5 to 9)
|
Customer Reviews
|
poems for childhood remembered
By A3ATTCCO32ZXET on 2002-11-23
Forget the smoke-filled coffee shop, the microphone on the podium and the beatnicks huddled around their coffees. The real test of a reader's poetic prowess is A.A. Milne, the living room couch and a handful of kids waiting for your renderings of growling bears and timelessl human characters.It takes an extraordinary book to capture children's attention on the strength of words alone. It's not that there are no illustrations here, just that each poem has just one or two small, original ink drawings; delightful, but bowing appropriately to the genius of words that can hold children spellbound. For instance, Milne takes a subject like sidewalks and transforms it into the stuff of playacting in Lines and Squares - an irresistible cadence to chant on a walk (or a lumbering gait): And the masses of bears
Who wait at the corners all ready to eat the sillies who tread on the lines of the street
And I say to them, "BEARS.....
Just look how I'm walking in ALL of the squares!" As I read I can now recall the precise inflection and finger-shaking combination from Disobedience that it took to elicit giggles from my sisters and me, now working its comedy on my four-year-old son: James James SAID to his mother, "Mother", he said, said he;
"You Must Never Go Down To The End Of Town If You Don't Go Down With ME!" When We Were Very Young is a collection of poems for children, about childhood, and for those who wish to remember its special magic view on the world. This book is a beloved tradition in my family, starting with those cozy evenings on my Grandmother's couch as we all snuggled up to hear about the brownie that lives behind the curtain, Jonathan Jo (who had a mouth like an O), the three foxes and Christopher Robin, who couldn't stop his hoppity hop. Your family is sure to find its own traditions in reading these poems to each other, young and old alike.
Like "A Child's Garden of Verses"
By A3FVAWZNKW9GX on 2000-05-09
Like "A Child's Garden of Verses," the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, A.A. Milnes' "When We Were Very Young," collects and reminds us of childhood bliss. However, unlike Stevenson, Milne has the whimsy of Edward Lear's limericks and verse. Milne captures the joy and gentleness of youth.
For example, Milne has a poem with a refrain, "Jonathon Jo/has a mouth like an 'O'" It is fun to say, and it almost means something. Another poem talks about halfway up and down the stairs, getting a child to see the difference and sameness of the situation, great for critical thinking.
If you want pure silly humor, go buy Silverstein, but for great writing and solid bedtime reading to teach your child wit and poetry, buy this tiny book. There's a good chance you will like it as well.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
It reminds me of Dad
By A2QTLY1MVVFQJS on 2001-06-25
My father died 10 years ago when I was nineteen. I know he used to read "when we were very young" to me when I was a child, but it wasn't until I began to read the poems as bedtime stories to my 2 year old, that I began to remember my dad's emphasis and inflections. As I read my favourites to my son, I can almost hear Dad reading them to me.I am thrilled that my son asks for Christopher Robin as his bedtime stories and "Hoppity" and "Market Square" have become his favourites too. He is an avid reader and I am just beginning to introduce him to poetry, what better way than A A Milne - It makes me feel like a child again and connects a grandson and a grandfather who never met each other.
Great poems for our smallest bookworms
By A8F2AZWB20X1H on 2004-03-09
Re-reading the poems in this volume takes me back to when I was very young, and fast-forwards to me reading them to my son when he was three or four. A.A. Milne's timeless verses stay with us long after other childhood books have been forgotten. Every child has his or her own favorites; I remember my son especially loved listening to "James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree", "The King's Breakfast" (The King asked the Queen and the Queen asked the Dairymaid: "Could we have some butter for the Royal slice of bread?"), and Emmeline, who slipped off in a snit when someone told her her hands weren't clean. Ernest Shepard's simple pen and ink drawings are a nice compliment to the poems. Reading these poems to your youngsters is sure to be the start (or the continuation) of a family tradition.
Perfect poems for small children
By AULH2KBKWQKZ5 on 2003-12-15
When I was a little boy, my father would read these poems to me. I still have my heavily-battered copy, and every time I look through it, I am overwhelmed with fond memories. The poems in this book are often very simple, but all are very sweet, and Ernest Shepard's illustrations perfectly complement the poems. Every child should have a copy of this book.
- a literary fountain of youth
By A27ZOCD5B63Y0P on 2005-05-12
A.A. Milne's early classic, WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG, reads like a literary fountain of youth. It's a short little book aimed most likely at those who are not old enough to read and probably only barely old enough to be read to. Yet fans of A.A. Milne (there are far more adult fans than young fans) as well as lovers of English verse will fall in love with this little book. It contains 44 poems, all of which are fun and simple. The illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard provide wonderful compliments to each poem. This is the perfect introduction to A.A. Milne.
- Milne's Beauty in Simplicity
By ADB8XCKNSDY5Z on 2007-01-28
I had to read this for a little while before I got to a poem I really liked. The first 10 or so poems just seemed incomplete to me. "Independence" caught my eye first. In very few words it pretty much tells us adults that our kids are going to do what they want, despite all the things we say. It's followed by the wonderful poem "Nursery Chairs" where a child pretends the chairs in his house are different things. Then after "Nursery Chairs" is another strong poem, "Market Square" where we learn that there are things all around us in nature that we don't need to get from the market.
"Disobedience" is another interesting poem. It's kind of a role-reversal story about a kid whose mother disobeys his orders to stay away from the end of town, and she gets lost as the result of her disobedience.
"Spring Morning" emphasizes the beauty of nature to us, saying, "It's awful fun to be born at all." Next is "The Island" which has a wonderful closing message that screams, "God made it all - FOR US!" to me.
And there are so many other joyous poems in this quick read too. There's "Jonathan Jo," "Rice Pudding," "The Wrong House," "The Dormouse and the Doctor" (which has some terrific rhythm), a very touching "Little Bo-Peep and Little Boy Blue," "The Invaders," "If I Were King," etc., etc.
But perhaps my favorite poem in the collection is "Halfway Down" which is about nothing more than sitting on stairs. Man, if someone can take such a simple act and make it so astoundingly wondrous, then that person truly must be one of the greatest writers ever.
- The gentle rythm of rose-budding Romance in rhyme.
By on 1997-09-09
This booklet bears sweet memories of me and my sweetheart, our magic-filled holiday in Cornwall, were we met, and fell in love and whispered these brilliant verses to each other, equally enchanted by the topics, the rythm and the wit of the man who brought us the Great Philosopher Pooh, and all his wisdom. Be a child at heart, and find happiness therein
- When I Was Very Young
By A3KRCRJ6M4ZT0R on 2005-06-08
My copy of this book is 51 years old and has my grandmother's autograph. Talk about a lasting gift! I love books as gifts, and this is my all-time favorite.
- When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne
By A304KNVQDXQ5S0 on 2005-09-01
This is one very good book and can be enjoyed by people from 2 to 92. I've read it to senior citizens as well as my grandchildren. The subjects are universal. The rhyme and rhythm are delightful.
|
|
You may also be interested in...
|
|
|
|
|
|
