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Winnie-the-Pooh #3
When We Were Very Young
“They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace – Christopher Robin went down with Alice.”
Curl up with A.A.Milne’s classic book of poetry for children, When We Were Very Young. This is the first volume of rhymes written especially for children by Milne – as popular now as when they were first written.
This collection is a heart-warming and funny introduction to children’s poetry, offering the same sense of humour, imagination and whimsy that we’ve come to expect from Milne's favourite books about Winnie-the-Pooh, that Bear of Very Little Brain.
This book is all the more special due to E.H.Shepard’s decorations, which are shown in full, glorious colour. They are truly iconic and contributed to him being known as ‘the man who drew Pooh’.
Do you own all the classic Pooh titles?
Winnie-the-Pooh
The House at Pooh Corner
When We Were Very Young
Now We Are Six
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood
The Best Bear in All the World
Once There Was a Bear
The nation’s favourite teddy bear has been delighting generations of children for over 95 years. Milne’s classic children’s stories – featuring Piglet, Eeyore, Christopher Robin and, of course, Pooh himself – are gently humorous while teaching lessons about friendship and kindness.
Pooh ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage. Whether you’re 5 or 55, Pooh is the bear for all ages.
Curl up with A.A.Milne’s classic book of poetry for children, When We Were Very Young. This is the first volume of rhymes written especially for children by Milne – as popular now as when they were first written.
This collection is a heart-warming and funny introduction to children’s poetry, offering the same sense of humour, imagination and whimsy that we’ve come to expect from Milne's favourite books about Winnie-the-Pooh, that Bear of Very Little Brain.
This book is all the more special due to E.H.Shepard’s decorations, which are shown in full, glorious colour. They are truly iconic and contributed to him being known as ‘the man who drew Pooh’.
Do you own all the classic Pooh titles?
Winnie-the-Pooh
The House at Pooh Corner
When We Were Very Young
Now We Are Six
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood
The Best Bear in All the World
Once There Was a Bear
The nation’s favourite teddy bear has been delighting generations of children for over 95 years. Milne’s classic children’s stories – featuring Piglet, Eeyore, Christopher Robin and, of course, Pooh himself – are gently humorous while teaching lessons about friendship and kindness.
Pooh ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage. Whether you’re 5 or 55, Pooh is the bear for all ages.
100 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1924
About the author
A.A. Milne
1,869 books3,310 followersAlan Alexander Milne (pronounced /ˈmɪln/) was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems.
A. A. Milne was born in Kilburn, London, to parents Vince Milne and Sarah Marie Milne (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, a small public school run by his father. One of his teachers was H. G. Wells who taught there in 1889–90. Milne attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied on a mathematics scholarship. While there, he edited and wrote for Granta, a student magazine. He collaborated with his brother Kenneth and their articles appeared over the initials AKM. Milne's work came to the attention of the leading British humour magazine Punch, where Milne was to become a contributor and later an assistant editor.
Milne joined the British Army in World War I and served as an officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and later, after a debilitating illness, the Royal Corps of Signals. He was discharged on February 14, 1919.
After the war, he wrote a denunciation of war titled Peace with Honour (1934), which he retracted somewhat with 1940's War with Honour. During World War II, Milne was one of the most prominent critics of English writer P. G. Wodehouse, who was captured at his country home in France by the Nazis and imprisoned for a year. Wodehouse made radio broadcasts about his internment, which were broadcast from Berlin. Although the light-hearted broadcasts made fun of the Germans, Milne accused Wodehouse of committing an act of near treason by cooperating with his country's enemy. Wodehouse got some revenge on his former friend by creating fatuous parodies of the Christopher Robin poems in some of his later stories, and claiming that Milne "was probably jealous of all other writers.... But I loved his stuff."
He married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt in 1913, and their only son, Christopher Robin Milne, was born in 1920. In 1925, A. A. Milne bought a country home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. During World War II, A. A. Milne was Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row, insisting on being plain 'Mr. Milne' to the members of his platoon. He retired to the farm after a stroke and brain surgery in 1952 left him an invalid and by August 1953 "he seemed very old and disenchanted".
He was 74 years old when he passed away in 1956.
A. A. Milne was born in Kilburn, London, to parents Vince Milne and Sarah Marie Milne (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, a small public school run by his father. One of his teachers was H. G. Wells who taught there in 1889–90. Milne attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied on a mathematics scholarship. While there, he edited and wrote for Granta, a student magazine. He collaborated with his brother Kenneth and their articles appeared over the initials AKM. Milne's work came to the attention of the leading British humour magazine Punch, where Milne was to become a contributor and later an assistant editor.
Milne joined the British Army in World War I and served as an officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and later, after a debilitating illness, the Royal Corps of Signals. He was discharged on February 14, 1919.
After the war, he wrote a denunciation of war titled Peace with Honour (1934), which he retracted somewhat with 1940's War with Honour. During World War II, Milne was one of the most prominent critics of English writer P. G. Wodehouse, who was captured at his country home in France by the Nazis and imprisoned for a year. Wodehouse made radio broadcasts about his internment, which were broadcast from Berlin. Although the light-hearted broadcasts made fun of the Germans, Milne accused Wodehouse of committing an act of near treason by cooperating with his country's enemy. Wodehouse got some revenge on his former friend by creating fatuous parodies of the Christopher Robin poems in some of his later stories, and claiming that Milne "was probably jealous of all other writers.... But I loved his stuff."
He married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt in 1913, and their only son, Christopher Robin Milne, was born in 1920. In 1925, A. A. Milne bought a country home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. During World War II, A. A. Milne was Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row, insisting on being plain 'Mr. Milne' to the members of his platoon. He retired to the farm after a stroke and brain surgery in 1952 left him an invalid and by August 1953 "he seemed very old and disenchanted".
He was 74 years old when he passed away in 1956.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 868 reviews
May 30, 2021
A sweet and wholesome collection of poetry! Recommended if you want something light and easy
January 17, 2021
This book failed me totally.
It is a collection of poems. The poems have nothing to do with Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tiger, Owl, Kanga and Baby Roo. I do not think the poems will appeal to a child and they did not appeal to me, an adult. Skip this.
It is is not made magical even by the Peter Dennis' excellent audiobook narration.
****************
*Winnie-the-Pooh 5 stars
*The House at Pooh Corner 4 stars
*When We Were Very Young 1 star
It is a collection of poems. The poems have nothing to do with Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tiger, Owl, Kanga and Baby Roo. I do not think the poems will appeal to a child and they did not appeal to me, an adult. Skip this.
It is is not made magical even by the Peter Dennis' excellent audiobook narration.
****************
*Winnie-the-Pooh 5 stars
*The House at Pooh Corner 4 stars
*When We Were Very Young 1 star
December 25, 2017
Shall I go off to South America?
Shall I put out in my ship to sea?
Or get in my cage and be lions and tigers?
Or - shall I be only Me?
Extraordinarily funny and cute, When We Were Very Young features a variety of poems by A. A. Milne. One of them first introduces us to Winnie-the-Pooh.
While I enjoyed most of them, and love others dearly, a few didn't hold my interest and were rather unimpressive.
It's one of those books that I will read to my future children, if they'll like it or not.
P.S.: Can someone please tell me what is the matter with Mary Jane?
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Shall I put out in my ship to sea?
Or get in my cage and be lions and tigers?
Or - shall I be only Me?
Extraordinarily funny and cute, When We Were Very Young features a variety of poems by A. A. Milne. One of them first introduces us to Winnie-the-Pooh.
While I enjoyed most of them, and love others dearly, a few didn't hold my interest and were rather unimpressive.
It's one of those books that I will read to my future children, if they'll like it or not.
P.S.: Can someone please tell me what is the matter with Mary Jane?
Find more of my books on Instagram
May 28, 2015
Childhood is a beautiful country, one which I was loath to leave but had to, all the same. It is the inevitable tragedy of the human condition. But writers have the magic in their pens, using which they can take us back to that hallowed place. This is one thing that A. A. Milne does wonderfully well. No wonder his books for children have outlived his more "serious" works.
Reading these poems, I could visit Christopher Robin's pre-school world of late mornings, drowsy afternoons and exciting days spent in the nursery engaged in such momentous pursuits as naming a dormouse, catching a beetle or stalking a brownie behind the curtains. In this world, a chair can become a pirate ship or a lion's cage and one has to be very careful to avoid the cracks in the pavement while walking, so that the bears who lie in wait are kept at bay. It is a time when life is just one big repository of wonder, when time has not become the tyrant it will soon be, and one is not goaded by the devil of purpose.
Really, what does it matter where one goes? Ultimately, we all reach the same place.
Reading these poems, I could visit Christopher Robin's pre-school world of late mornings, drowsy afternoons and exciting days spent in the nursery engaged in such momentous pursuits as naming a dormouse, catching a beetle or stalking a brownie behind the curtains. In this world, a chair can become a pirate ship or a lion's cage and one has to be very careful to avoid the cracks in the pavement while walking, so that the bears who lie in wait are kept at bay. It is a time when life is just one big repository of wonder, when time has not become the tyrant it will soon be, and one is not goaded by the devil of purpose.
Where am I going? I don't quite know.
Down to the stream where the king-cups grow-
Up on the hill where the pine-trees blow-
Anywhere, anywhere. I don't know.
Where am I going? The clouds sail by,
Little ones, baby ones, over the sky.
Where am I going? The shadows pass,
Little ones, baby ones, over the grass.
If you were a cloud, and sailed up there,
You'd sail on water as blue as air,
And you'd see me here in the fields and say:
'Doesn't the sky look green today?'
Where am I going? The high rooks call:
'It's awful fun to be born at all.'
Where am I going? The ring-doves coo:
'We do have beautiful things to do.'
If you were a bird, and lived on high,
You'd lean on the wind when the wind came by,
You'd say to the wind when it took you away:
'That's where I wanted to go today!'
Where am I going? I don't quite know.
What does it matter where people go?
Down to the wood where the blue-bells grow-
Anywhere, anywhere. I don't know.
Really, what does it matter where one goes? Ultimately, we all reach the same place.
September 23, 2021
This book was written about 100 years ago in 1924. I think in those hundred years a lot has changed and I'm not sure that the intended audience would enjoy this book any more. Maybe kids 1-2, but with fast entertainment and hyper music around us, I'm not sure kids would appreciate this any more. I don't see my niece or nephew sitting still to listen to this. They would grow tired of it. They wanted funny.
I can see that many people loved this, but I wonder if it is adults rating with nostalgia? Maybe kids do like this still, we are all different. There were only a few stories in here that focused on Pooh and a few on Christopher Robin and the rest were on other things. There isn't really anything to focus on that we know. It's a simple poem after simple poem.
The pacing of storytelling has changed so much over the last 40 years. Stories and movies I watched as a kid have a slow pace and my niece and nephew explain to me, after I force them to watch something, that these things are boring. They like the quick pace that began happening in the 90s and it just speed up and up. I used to watch 'the Wizard of Oz' yearly, and it was special. My niece and nephew think it's boring and have never sat through it. There was a new cartoon on Netflix and they loved that. They will not sit for a slow paced story. They expect fantasy to look real.
I'm only saying all this to say, I feel like this book really is from a different era and I don't know that many people can relate to it anymore. I have read Book 1 and 2 in this series and I loved them, but this seemed unlike the other gems. This seemed antiquated to me. I didn't think the prose were consistently very good either. It could be clunky.
I would stick with the book about Winnie and friends and leave this be unless you want to read only so-so poetry.
I can see that many people loved this, but I wonder if it is adults rating with nostalgia? Maybe kids do like this still, we are all different. There were only a few stories in here that focused on Pooh and a few on Christopher Robin and the rest were on other things. There isn't really anything to focus on that we know. It's a simple poem after simple poem.
The pacing of storytelling has changed so much over the last 40 years. Stories and movies I watched as a kid have a slow pace and my niece and nephew explain to me, after I force them to watch something, that these things are boring. They like the quick pace that began happening in the 90s and it just speed up and up. I used to watch 'the Wizard of Oz' yearly, and it was special. My niece and nephew think it's boring and have never sat through it. There was a new cartoon on Netflix and they loved that. They will not sit for a slow paced story. They expect fantasy to look real.
I'm only saying all this to say, I feel like this book really is from a different era and I don't know that many people can relate to it anymore. I have read Book 1 and 2 in this series and I loved them, but this seemed unlike the other gems. This seemed antiquated to me. I didn't think the prose were consistently very good either. It could be clunky.
I would stick with the book about Winnie and friends and leave this be unless you want to read only so-so poetry.
July 7, 2023
I’m sure for many this is the perfect blend of nostalgia, childhood dreams, and hope. For me, it was just average. The content was too simple at times and seemed alarmingly outdated. I craved the original magic of the Hundred Acre Wood!
That being said, I did have some favorite poems. My favorites were: Water Lilies*, The Alchemist, and Teddy Bear.
*Funny side note on Water Lilies – it reminded me of a funny moment for my husband and I. Recently, we had a week of storms every day and a pond literally formed behind our apartment! At night, we started hearing what sounded like hundreds of frogs singing near the pond. One morning as we left for work, my husband said next thing we know there will be lily pads in the pond too. Then we started questioning how in the world lily pads even come to exist. I proceeded to imagine with my wild imagination that the frogs send out a special crew of frogs to go and retrieve them like little rolled up sleeping bags and deliver them to their new areas. LOL 😂 My husband died laughing. Turns out Google has a much more logical and better explanation! But I still like mine. 😉
That being said, I did have some favorite poems. My favorites were: Water Lilies*, The Alchemist, and Teddy Bear.
*Funny side note on Water Lilies – it reminded me of a funny moment for my husband and I. Recently, we had a week of storms every day and a pond literally formed behind our apartment! At night, we started hearing what sounded like hundreds of frogs singing near the pond. One morning as we left for work, my husband said next thing we know there will be lily pads in the pond too. Then we started questioning how in the world lily pads even come to exist. I proceeded to imagine with my wild imagination that the frogs send out a special crew of frogs to go and retrieve them like little rolled up sleeping bags and deliver them to their new areas. LOL 😂 My husband died laughing. Turns out Google has a much more logical and better explanation! But I still like mine. 😉
September 10, 2013
For people who missed Private Eye's obituary poem a couple of decades ago:
Seventy-seven, shorn of his locks
Christopher Robin beds down in a box
No need to whisper, we've got past that stage
Christopher Robin has died of old age
June 24, 2007
Also know this one by heart. My poor future kids are going to have A. A. Milne rammed down their throats. "Can I please have some dinner?" "REPEAT 'JAMES JAMES MORRISON MORRISON'!!!"
October 12, 2021
The books about Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh and their friends are amongst the most delightful in English literature — for readers of all ages. A. A. Milne was a genius. When We Were Very Young is listed as the third in the series. The fourth is the very next on my reading list.
February 26, 2021
After reading The Enchanted Places, I was feeling rather nostalgic about these books which I loved as a child, so it was nice to find a copy and refresh my memories of this one.
April 7, 2009
Utterly charming and lovely--delightful rhythm, fun rhymes, and illustrations that fit it perfectly! This was my first introduction to A.A. Milne.
July 18, 2023
cute, fun, not for me
August 21, 2022
Nice poems, some were really brilliant but most of them were just okay in my opinion. Maybe I thought these would be more thought-provoking than they were.
November 21, 2011
When We Were Young by A. A. Milne is composed of endearing 44 poems for children. Some of these poems I thought I heard when I was a young boy in the Pacific island. But at that time, I neither had knowledge of who A. A. Milne was nor I did have any interest on English poems. What I and my friends were singing were local poems like the very funny ”Tong-tong-tong paketong-ketong/ Alimango sa dagat…” or the funnier ”Lumakad sya sa tubig, ang paa ay nabasa… Nguni’t ang kanyang *beep-beep* ay hindi nababasa” or the one where you have to go inside the circle and dance ”Bubuka ang bulaklak…” or when we grew a bit older, the double-meaning ”Si Haring Solomon, may alagang pagong/ May biyak sa likod parang pinalakol…”
Of course we also had our ”A, B, C, D… Now I know my ABC, won’t you come and sing with me” but that type of song or poem we only sang or recited while inside the classroom. When outside, we sang ”Ako ay may lobo…” so that we would not be asking for balloons anymore when we went to the mainland and saw one. Obviously, the Disney characters were not big hits also in the island as we did not have electricity yet and so there were no movie houses and television sets. I only came to know Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White, etc. via the very few books in the school or newspaper ads. I used to sell newspapers in the island every afternoon when I was in grade school.
But among the 44 poems in this book, I remember I read some like “Jonathan Joe” and I thought I liked it because of the relationship between Jonathan and his grandpa. I remember I could not understand “Little Bo-Peep and Little Boy Blue” like who between the two lost the sheep and how they ended up marrying each other. “What’s marry?” I remember asking my sister and I thought marrying was like the two of us being together most of the time. Among her 3 brothers, I am the one closest to my sister so she is always ready to lend me money even up to now ha ha.
Seriously, this book by A. A. Milne is very nice. The poems really have the pure voice of an innocent child. The verses are simple yet scintillating and they are a delight to read and recite aloud. I regret having not read these to my daughter when she was a young girl. Although she had my share of my Tagalog children’s songs like ”Daraan ang reyna/Bubuka ang bulaklak…” not because I taught her those but she heard them on the radio or saw on T.V. because The Sexbomb Dancers were very popular when she was growing up ha ha. Kidding aside, I will make sure I’ll read these A. A. Milne’s books to my grandchildren if and when my daughter will have some kids. No pressure, dear daughter.
I remember many Christmases back when in a Christmas party, somebody joked us by asking ”What is Winnie-the-Pooh’s gender?” We were all caught surprised. Nobody knew the answer because Winnie-the-Pooh is this bear who has no pants and yet you do not see his or her genitalia. Moreover, “Winnie” could be a girl’s name here in the Philippines because we used to have a teenage star called Winnie Santos, the sister of Governor Vilma Santos. Hah, had I read this book prior, I would have answered correctly. Winnie-the-Pooh is a boy since his former name was Mr. Edward Bear as he was introduced in this book. His first public appearance!
The funny thing during that party was that we latter found out that the one asking the question also did not know the answer.
So, you see, many of us here in the Philippines, did not read this book when we were young.
Of course we also had our ”A, B, C, D… Now I know my ABC, won’t you come and sing with me” but that type of song or poem we only sang or recited while inside the classroom. When outside, we sang ”Ako ay may lobo…” so that we would not be asking for balloons anymore when we went to the mainland and saw one. Obviously, the Disney characters were not big hits also in the island as we did not have electricity yet and so there were no movie houses and television sets. I only came to know Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White, etc. via the very few books in the school or newspaper ads. I used to sell newspapers in the island every afternoon when I was in grade school.
But among the 44 poems in this book, I remember I read some like “Jonathan Joe” and I thought I liked it because of the relationship between Jonathan and his grandpa. I remember I could not understand “Little Bo-Peep and Little Boy Blue” like who between the two lost the sheep and how they ended up marrying each other. “What’s marry?” I remember asking my sister and I thought marrying was like the two of us being together most of the time. Among her 3 brothers, I am the one closest to my sister so she is always ready to lend me money even up to now ha ha.
Seriously, this book by A. A. Milne is very nice. The poems really have the pure voice of an innocent child. The verses are simple yet scintillating and they are a delight to read and recite aloud. I regret having not read these to my daughter when she was a young girl. Although she had my share of my Tagalog children’s songs like ”Daraan ang reyna/Bubuka ang bulaklak…” not because I taught her those but she heard them on the radio or saw on T.V. because The Sexbomb Dancers were very popular when she was growing up ha ha. Kidding aside, I will make sure I’ll read these A. A. Milne’s books to my grandchildren if and when my daughter will have some kids. No pressure, dear daughter.
I remember many Christmases back when in a Christmas party, somebody joked us by asking ”What is Winnie-the-Pooh’s gender?” We were all caught surprised. Nobody knew the answer because Winnie-the-Pooh is this bear who has no pants and yet you do not see his or her genitalia. Moreover, “Winnie” could be a girl’s name here in the Philippines because we used to have a teenage star called Winnie Santos, the sister of Governor Vilma Santos. Hah, had I read this book prior, I would have answered correctly. Winnie-the-Pooh is a boy since his former name was Mr. Edward Bear as he was introduced in this book. His first public appearance!
The funny thing during that party was that we latter found out that the one asking the question also did not know the answer.
So, you see, many of us here in the Philippines, did not read this book when we were young.
June 6, 2019
What a delightful little poetry book! I came across this by chance in the school’s old library a few days ago. I grew up with Winnie The Pooh, though I don’t see Disney rerunning any of the old episodes except only the occasional full length movie, it’s sad really.
Until lately I was unaware that the tales were originally written for Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, who had inspired them. Now if a father who had devoted writing little books of bouncing tigers and bossy rabbits and the likes for his little boy, isn’t sweet, I don’t know what is. After finding this out and thinking back on the shows, I realized how personal it all was. If anything, it made me love the Hundred Acre Woods and it’s weird and dear inhabitants even more.
Reading this, I remember years ago when I would plop my butt down on the shaggy carpet in front of the television at eight in the morning to see what they were up to, the Heffalumps were out then. In that particular corner of my memory it’s always sunny and airy and a little gusty.
There are I think forty four poems in all, most of them silly and gay and all rhyming like it was nobody’s business, appealing to children and still remains charming to adults alike. The illustrations by Mr. Shepard are simply lovely, they went well with each poem. My favourites of the lot are Politeness, Hoppity, Johnathan Jo, Halfway Down, The Invaders and Vespers.
I’ll be out hunting for a copy of my own very soon. If I ever have children I will definitely read this to them. It’s a wonderful thing isn’t it, sharing a piece of your own childhood with them and knowing that they might love it as much as you had, and still do?
Until lately I was unaware that the tales were originally written for Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, who had inspired them. Now if a father who had devoted writing little books of bouncing tigers and bossy rabbits and the likes for his little boy, isn’t sweet, I don’t know what is. After finding this out and thinking back on the shows, I realized how personal it all was. If anything, it made me love the Hundred Acre Woods and it’s weird and dear inhabitants even more.
Reading this, I remember years ago when I would plop my butt down on the shaggy carpet in front of the television at eight in the morning to see what they were up to, the Heffalumps were out then. In that particular corner of my memory it’s always sunny and airy and a little gusty.
There are I think forty four poems in all, most of them silly and gay and all rhyming like it was nobody’s business, appealing to children and still remains charming to adults alike. The illustrations by Mr. Shepard are simply lovely, they went well with each poem. My favourites of the lot are Politeness, Hoppity, Johnathan Jo, Halfway Down, The Invaders and Vespers.
I’ll be out hunting for a copy of my own very soon. If I ever have children I will definitely read this to them. It’s a wonderful thing isn’t it, sharing a piece of your own childhood with them and knowing that they might love it as much as you had, and still do?
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February 8, 2017
I've never read any Winnie-the-Pooh books but am extremely aware of what it's about. These are poems from the same author and they are extremely hit-and-miss, but those that hit are utterly wonderful.
Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard, the poems centre around young people who are in charge of their own lives and worlds. They are whimsical and very Carroll-esque in their magical and lyrical prowess. Some are droll, however, but most are nice.
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Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard, the poems centre around young people who are in charge of their own lives and worlds. They are whimsical and very Carroll-esque in their magical and lyrical prowess. Some are droll, however, but most are nice.
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June 19, 2018
I decided to read the Winnie the Pooh books on a whim. I have no children, so I never have reason to visit the children’s wing of the Louisville Library. However, I recently discovered that section when I decided to read the classic Ferdinand. While picking up Ferdinand, I saw A.A. Milne’s work and picked up the Winnie the Pooh tales and When We Were Very Young. WWWVY is a short book of childish poems.
The most memorable thing about this book wasn’t the content really. For me, it was the Introduction. The poems are very simple and more like nursery rhymes. However the Introduction explains that Milne wrote these while his son was a toddler. He wrote them as Christopher Robin experienced new things. It was beautiful to see a father noticing and appreciating his child so much.
The most memorable thing about this book wasn’t the content really. For me, it was the Introduction. The poems are very simple and more like nursery rhymes. However the Introduction explains that Milne wrote these while his son was a toddler. He wrote them as Christopher Robin experienced new things. It was beautiful to see a father noticing and appreciating his child so much.
May 4, 2009
LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! I used to love reading this book with my Mum and Dad. Inside is one of my favorite poems of all time...
'Halfway Down'
Halfway down the stairs
is a stair
where i sit.
there isn't any
other stair
quite like
it.
i'm not at the bottom,
i'm not at the top;
so this is the stair
where
I always
stop.
Halfway up the stairs
Isn't up
And it isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery,
It isn't in town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head.
It isn't really
Anywhere!
It's somewhere else
Instead!
'Halfway Down'
Halfway down the stairs
is a stair
where i sit.
there isn't any
other stair
quite like
it.
i'm not at the bottom,
i'm not at the top;
so this is the stair
where
I always
stop.
Halfway up the stairs
Isn't up
And it isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery,
It isn't in town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head.
It isn't really
Anywhere!
It's somewhere else
Instead!
September 23, 2021
1924 was the year Alan Alexander Milne published When We Were Very Young, the first in a steady stream of classics featuring some of the most charming characters in the history of British literature. In it, illustrator Ernest H. Shepard defines the visual trajectory of Winnie-the-Pooh for a century and beyond, and we meet Christopher Robin, a tiny chap bursting with enthusiasm to explore the great big world. He is our guide through most of the poems in this book, and his energy quickly gets the reader into the spirit of the narrative.
Christopher Robin enjoys a stroll with Alice, his nurse, to Buckingham Palace in one of the book's first poems. He has fun with animals indoors and out, cavorts with fairies, and ventures outside to claim his share of independence. How far might he travel someday to see the world? In the poem Market Square, he goes to market with a few small coins, asking vendors if they have a rabbit for sale. None do, and when Christopher Robin takes his leave and sits on the common surrounded by wild rabbits, he realizes that life's sweetest gifts aren't sold in a store. Once winter drifts languidly into spring, Christopher Robin flies a kite, and later imagines sailing a ship to an island of his very own. In Politeness the boy observes that adults are always exchanging pleasantries, but he would sometimes rather not participate. I think everyone sees a bit of themselves in Christopher Robin's earnest admissions. He then has fun out and about with Jonathan Jo, who gives generously to the youngster without expecting money in return.
A boy searches for his lost pet mouse, asking Uncle John and Aunt Rose if they know where he is. The King and Queen have a fancy breakfast, though it's difficult for the King to get what he wants to eat, and Christopher Robin continues his whimsical fun in Hoppity. Summer is exciting; Christopher Robin can't help getting sand between his toes when he plays at the seashore. Halfway Down shows us a boy sitting in the middle of a staircase, pondering the peculiarity of doing so. Where is he when he sits right here? He's somewhere in-between top and bottom, between here and there. Occasionally it does one good to spend a few moments in limbo and simply think. Emmeline is a girl with messy hands, who appeals to an authoritative source to prove they aren't messy. And then we have Teddy Bear, perhaps the highlight of this book, the introduction of a bear of very little brain, named Edward. He frets over his portliness, unsure if a round tummy is at all becoming, but a special stranger shows up to reassure him. Edward Bear would return in many A.A. Milne books, known by a new name. Silliness follows with Sir Brian Botany, a knight, and Christopher Robin considers what it will be like to grow up. The last poem is Vespers, as the boy kneels by his bed for prayers and settles in to sleep ahead of another action-packed day. In the real world Christopher Robin Milne grew up, but in the pages of his father's books he remains an innocent, imaginative child forever.
When We Were Very Young isn't as insightful as the poetry of Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky, but as an early glimpse into A.A. Milne's storytelling career it's a worthwhile read, and some of the poems are thoughtful as well as humorous. Childhood in the 1920s appears superficially different than decades or centuries later, but its heart is the same, and for one hundred pages this book allows kids young and old to feel the same age. That's a fine accomplishment for any author.
Christopher Robin enjoys a stroll with Alice, his nurse, to Buckingham Palace in one of the book's first poems. He has fun with animals indoors and out, cavorts with fairies, and ventures outside to claim his share of independence. How far might he travel someday to see the world? In the poem Market Square, he goes to market with a few small coins, asking vendors if they have a rabbit for sale. None do, and when Christopher Robin takes his leave and sits on the common surrounded by wild rabbits, he realizes that life's sweetest gifts aren't sold in a store. Once winter drifts languidly into spring, Christopher Robin flies a kite, and later imagines sailing a ship to an island of his very own. In Politeness the boy observes that adults are always exchanging pleasantries, but he would sometimes rather not participate. I think everyone sees a bit of themselves in Christopher Robin's earnest admissions. He then has fun out and about with Jonathan Jo, who gives generously to the youngster without expecting money in return.
A boy searches for his lost pet mouse, asking Uncle John and Aunt Rose if they know where he is. The King and Queen have a fancy breakfast, though it's difficult for the King to get what he wants to eat, and Christopher Robin continues his whimsical fun in Hoppity. Summer is exciting; Christopher Robin can't help getting sand between his toes when he plays at the seashore. Halfway Down shows us a boy sitting in the middle of a staircase, pondering the peculiarity of doing so. Where is he when he sits right here? He's somewhere in-between top and bottom, between here and there. Occasionally it does one good to spend a few moments in limbo and simply think. Emmeline is a girl with messy hands, who appeals to an authoritative source to prove they aren't messy. And then we have Teddy Bear, perhaps the highlight of this book, the introduction of a bear of very little brain, named Edward. He frets over his portliness, unsure if a round tummy is at all becoming, but a special stranger shows up to reassure him. Edward Bear would return in many A.A. Milne books, known by a new name. Silliness follows with Sir Brian Botany, a knight, and Christopher Robin considers what it will be like to grow up. The last poem is Vespers, as the boy kneels by his bed for prayers and settles in to sleep ahead of another action-packed day. In the real world Christopher Robin Milne grew up, but in the pages of his father's books he remains an innocent, imaginative child forever.
When We Were Very Young isn't as insightful as the poetry of Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky, but as an early glimpse into A.A. Milne's storytelling career it's a worthwhile read, and some of the poems are thoughtful as well as humorous. Childhood in the 1920s appears superficially different than decades or centuries later, but its heart is the same, and for one hundred pages this book allows kids young and old to feel the same age. That's a fine accomplishment for any author.
November 19, 2019
A very dear friend in her 80's, before she died, gave me this book to read to Squirt, because it had meant so much to her. She could recite poem after poem. I cannot tell you how lovely she was to me, and how much I want to share her love for these poems with my son, both to honour her, and to honour poetry itself, especially the "childishness" of it, the wonder and delight of words and meaning.
All that being said, these poems talk about things that are not a part of my son's world. He hasn't heard of a "brownie", or a dormouse, or stockings - and who is this "nurse" that Christopher Robin keeps mentioning? It's a world that he finds strange and foreign. But! Isn't that the fun of it? Don't we love strange and foreign places like the past?
So I will keep reading these poems to him. For love of Annette, of poetry, and of my son, whom I hope will travel in his mind (at the very least) to wonderful places where learning to listen and observe will hold in in good stead for a lifetime.
All that being said, these poems talk about things that are not a part of my son's world. He hasn't heard of a "brownie", or a dormouse, or stockings - and who is this "nurse" that Christopher Robin keeps mentioning? It's a world that he finds strange and foreign. But! Isn't that the fun of it? Don't we love strange and foreign places like the past?
So I will keep reading these poems to him. For love of Annette, of poetry, and of my son, whom I hope will travel in his mind (at the very least) to wonderful places where learning to listen and observe will hold in in good stead for a lifetime.
March 25, 2019
When I first picked this book up I thought it would be a continuation of the first book. A collection of short stories taking place in the hundred acre wood. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
This book #3 in the Pooh series is a collection of poems. The poems are silly and don’t really go together. The author, A.A. Milne states in the introduction that these poems came to him while on walks with Christopher Robin.
My kids thought they were just okay. I’m glad I borrowed this from the library because I probably won’t read this one again.
This book #3 in the Pooh series is a collection of poems. The poems are silly and don’t really go together. The author, A.A. Milne states in the introduction that these poems came to him while on walks with Christopher Robin.
My kids thought they were just okay. I’m glad I borrowed this from the library because I probably won’t read this one again.
December 11, 2018
While I was sad when I opened the book and found it wasn't another Winnie-the-Pooh story, instead a book of short poems by the author inspired by his son, I decided to give it a try anyway. It was pretty cute. Poetry tends not to be my thing, I find it confusing, but this book made me want to look more into it.
December 11, 2016
The 'Third' book in the Winnie-The-Pooh series, unlike the first two this is series of poems rather than short stories.
Pooh hardly features, but it's still an enjoyable collection.
Pooh hardly features, but it's still an enjoyable collection.
June 18, 2018
Ages 5 to 9!!!???
Balderdash.
I've been reading this book ever since my older sister Di and I discovered it in our Nana's bookcase in the early 1950's.We eventually knew just about every poem off by heart, not because we set out to achieve this noble task but merely because we just read the poems over and over and over again, delighting in their rhythms and rhymes and subjects.
This is a 1938 edition. Pre World War Two. And post Edward and Mrs Simpson. It actually looks as though it may have been blitzed a few times in WWII. But in fact it has just been thoroughly loved to near destruction by three children who were introduced by it into the Magic World of Poetry. It still bears Dianne's name which she neatly inscribed on the inside cover. And our little sister Janie applied scribble on a title page with red colouring-in pencil Such were the claims of love and possession. Later I taught many of the poems to my classes.
Now if this isn't enough to make you rush out and purchase a copy of this little gem for yourself, then consider yourself a Lost Soul!!Yes, perhaps it may appear dated today, but THAT is precisely part of its charm. And the now famous illustrations by Ernest Shepard are a delight.
Since January 1953 Our Book has been constantly REread,
because Poetry Books can NEVER be DONE WITH. They are NOT that sort of reading.
They are the REread Books because one will always find something New
and something Forgotten and something Worth Rereading.
Constant Friends.
We have ALL got Our Own paperback Set NOW.
The Original 1938 edition was the one I read in bed this morning
...in One Swoop, of course. June 2018.
Why deprive yourself of so many nice remembered and Forgotten Joys and Pleasures !?!?!?
And then there are the Illustrations of Ernest H. Shepard...
Balderdash.
I've been reading this book ever since my older sister Di and I discovered it in our Nana's bookcase in the early 1950's.We eventually knew just about every poem off by heart, not because we set out to achieve this noble task but merely because we just read the poems over and over and over again, delighting in their rhythms and rhymes and subjects.
This is a 1938 edition. Pre World War Two. And post Edward and Mrs Simpson. It actually looks as though it may have been blitzed a few times in WWII. But in fact it has just been thoroughly loved to near destruction by three children who were introduced by it into the Magic World of Poetry. It still bears Dianne's name which she neatly inscribed on the inside cover. And our little sister Janie applied scribble on a title page with red colouring-in pencil Such were the claims of love and possession. Later I taught many of the poems to my classes.
Now if this isn't enough to make you rush out and purchase a copy of this little gem for yourself, then consider yourself a Lost Soul!!Yes, perhaps it may appear dated today, but THAT is precisely part of its charm. And the now famous illustrations by Ernest Shepard are a delight.
Since January 1953 Our Book has been constantly REread,
because Poetry Books can NEVER be DONE WITH. They are NOT that sort of reading.
They are the REread Books because one will always find something New
and something Forgotten and something Worth Rereading.
Constant Friends.
We have ALL got Our Own paperback Set NOW.
The Original 1938 edition was the one I read in bed this morning
...in One Swoop, of course. June 2018.
Why deprive yourself of so many nice remembered and Forgotten Joys and Pleasures !?!?!?
And then there are the Illustrations of Ernest H. Shepard...
August 15, 2021
Aww so cute.
(I tried to read some of these poems to my six-year-old sister and she was Not Havin' It. I guess I always thought the book looked boring when I found it lying around at Grandma's house when I was her age, though, too.)
(I tried to read some of these poems to my six-year-old sister and she was Not Havin' It. I guess I always thought the book looked boring when I found it lying around at Grandma's house when I was her age, though, too.)
May 6, 2019
It's okish. Maybe is a kid I'd have been amused by the rhymes, but it felt overall silly. I didn't like the excessive line repetitions in the longer poems just for the sake of rhythm and melody. Some of the poems were on the brink of moral lessons and others were purely whimsical.
July 31, 2020
I only really liked one poem, but loved the illustrations. Some poems are about/from Christopher Robin, but most of them where random and some about the British culture. I wish the poems where more from Pooh's brain, because he's very poetic and lyrical in the story.
November 25, 2017
I've read this many times, but not recently. Still so charming and sweet.
August 7, 2020
The cutest book of verses ever. Such simplicity and innocence that evokes feeling of nostalgia. Some of the poems can be deep too. Love it.
December 12, 2021
It has been since I was a child that I read this collection of poems. I loved Winnie-the-Pooh and wanted to read this when the librarian told me that a few of the poems were about Christopher Robin and there was a fun one about a teddy bear. I took her advice and even as a young child of eight learned to adore more of A.A. Milne's talent.
As an adult, I think I appreciate these nostalgic and whimsical pieces even more that take one back to the innocence of childhood. When a child has learned to be polite and is, but grows weary in the chore, when a child gives impressions of a visit to the zoo, or is regaled with tales from a favored aunt, or loses his pet mouse in a relations' house, or imagines an adventure of the imagination.
I will definitely be returning to this slim volume of poetry when I need to see a simpler, brighter, dreamier world. Recommend for young and the young at heart alike.
As an adult, I think I appreciate these nostalgic and whimsical pieces even more that take one back to the innocence of childhood. When a child has learned to be polite and is, but grows weary in the chore, when a child gives impressions of a visit to the zoo, or is regaled with tales from a favored aunt, or loses his pet mouse in a relations' house, or imagines an adventure of the imagination.
I will definitely be returning to this slim volume of poetry when I need to see a simpler, brighter, dreamier world. Recommend for young and the young at heart alike.
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