February 11, 2009

Children's Classics: A.A. Milne

As I was deciding which Milne book to read in order to participate, I took 2 things into account:

1. I needed it to hold my kids' attention!
2. I wanted it to fit into our current routine.

When We Were Very Young fit the bill beautifully. This is a book of 44 poems, first published in 1924, and illustrated by E.H. Shephard. Each poem is a delightful nugget for young children to enjoy. I was amazed at how much variety there was. Some poems were a few words, some were a few pages. Both humans and animals were spotlighted, and different rhyme & rhythm was used throughout. Of course the highlight is poem #38, Teddy Bear, where Winnie The Pooh is pictured for the first time in literature.

Both of my kids (3 & 5) enjoyed these poems. We read 4 or 5 before bed each night, and I had a great time exposing them to classic poetry that wasn't Dr. Seuss! I felt like each of these poems could be made into it's own picture book, since many of the poems had the same number of words. These poems were also the perfect reading size for my son.

For more works by A.A. Milne, please visit 5 Minutes for Books!

1 comment:

Stephanie said...

My 5yo has been pushing to read our pink Winnie the Pooh book ... I hadn't even looked to see that it was poems, yet! It may come into rotation soon. :)