Product Description

"It's lovely rice pudding for dinner again!" Milne's poetry effortlessly transports the reader into a child's mind, with its wonders, tantrums and frustration at adults who seriously think rice pudding is appealing. Readers will remember these poems from their own childhood, and want to pass them on to the next generation. "When We Were Very Young" also features the very first appearance in print of Winnie-the-Pooh, in a delightful verse exploring the tribulations of stoutness for a philosophical teddy bear.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6139 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

Hush, Hush, whisper who dares.....
Having grown up with the classic poems in this book, and its slightly lesser known companion volume "Now We Are Six", and knowing that it's of my oldest posessions, it's hard to describe how it feels to now be revisiting its battered pages and reading them to my own children, but I rarely read them out loud without an enormous lump in my throat. It's a testimony to the timelessness of Milne's work that its as universally loved by them as it was by me at their age. There's something about his style that paints such a vivid picture of childhood that the reader is irresistably swept up by the imaginative and colourful landscape of Milne's writing. Some of these poems have become famous in their own right - 'Buckingham Palace' , 'Halfway Down' 'The King's Breakfast' to name but a few. Among my personal favourites though, are 'Sand Between The Toes', 'The Island, 'Before Tea' and, the haunting closing 'Vespers' but in all of them, the author conveys the child's view of the world in a way that has been much imitated but in my opinion never equalled. Immersing yourself in the lines of these poems, somehow you are really there, peeping through a crack in the door as Christopher Robin kneels muttering by his bed, or watching him as he sits halfway up the stairs, or walking with him, coin tucked tightly in hand on a windswept beach. Such is the evocative power of the text.

Of course, all this is only enhanced by the illustrations of E.H Shepherd who "helpd" make the visual aspect so memorable, and who created the pre-Disney Winnie-The-Pooh that we all know and love. No bookshelf of child adult or anywhere in between can be complete without a copy of this unforgettable work!

When We Were Very Young by A A Milne
I bought this book as a present and I was thrilled when it arrived. The detail on the cover made it extra special as a gift. I will remember it and may buy another copy in the future when I am unsure what to buy to give to someone. Also, very good value for money. Thank you Amazon.

This is the one to buy!
Bought these editions of "When We Were Very Young" and "Now We Are Six" for my mother as it was a favourite book of hers when she was young. They are beautifully produced with the original Shepherd drawings very tastefully painted in, in watercolours. Printed on pale yellow pages with a quality book binding. Overall these have a lovely feel and lovers of these rhymes will not be disappointed. I am very pleased I chose these editions and so is Mum!