Dream Days [Hardcover]

Kenneth Grahame (Author), Ernest H. Shepard (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

From the imaginative author of "The Wind in the Willows," an enchanting pair of books that map the imaginative landscape of childhood.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There is no book about children like "The Golden Age," unless it is "Dream Days."" -- BOOKMAN

From the Publisher

Kenneth Grahame's unjustly neglected collections of vignettes, reminiscences, and inventions capture the ingenuities of a family of children -- three boys and two girls -- who live magnanimous lives nourished by the secret expeditions and private games they share. Written in the last few years of the 19th century, as Grahame looked back fondly at his own childhood, these sketches of growing up are poised artfully between two states of consciousness -- that of a child protagonist and that of a remembering adult -- and so manage to evoke both the active energies of youth and the nostalgic tenderness of reflection. This book, and a companion volume entitled "The Golden Age," remain beguiling today. While their language is sophisticated, confident reader of ten and up might easily find themselves caught in the web of story the author weaves; older readers have no excuse not to revel in these marvelous volumes.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 163 pages
• Publisher: Akadine Pr; First Edition edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585790184
• ISBN-13: 978-1585790180
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,661,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare gem indeed, September 28, 2000

By 

John Pilgrim - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dream Days (Hardcover)

If you are picking up this book, you most likely have read its companion, THE GOLDEN AGE. This book continues the exploits of the children introduced in the first volume. Veddy, veddy English. Completely delightful, though.

I am not sure today's children would enjoy this book. The 19th Century British-isms will probably be quite tedious to any but the most precocious of children. And nothing really "happens" so to speak. No adventures of overwhelming magnitude. Rather, the children's imagination governs what happens throughout the book. Small things are turned into events of great importance. Children brought up with video games will most likely be bored. But for an adult, ahhh! This is a find. It will make you yearn for the idyllic childhood you never had or anybody had for that matter.

Each chapter is like sunlight shining on a bead of dew in April. Or something similarily poetic. Grahame's the better writer anyway.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recalls the past, May 7, 2000

By 

"fionaraven" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dream Days (Hardcover)

I'm sorry to see that Grahame's "Dream Days" is so unavailable. It's a deeply enjoyable book that demonstrates the power of "stories" to pull us out of the here and now and make us to stand up straighter, to imagine ourselves as knights and ladies. Grahame's book would be great for older children (young ones may find themselves fidgeting - there is a certain amount of description and archaic language). Adults may actually enjoy this one more than kids. Reading it brought back to me the days of my youth, when a good story could fire my imagination for days, and the characters lived right along side of me, as sort of doppelgangers. This story reminds me of E. Nesbit, another great Edwardian children's writer. Children should read these books, they are well-written and can help foster a love for the "right word" and the well-turned phrase. Try to find a copy with Parrish's illustrations. This whole book is just a wonderful aesthetic experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful surprise, July 20, 2011

By 

Jill (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dream Days (Hesperus Classics) (Paperback)

I admit it: I bought the Wordsworth paperback edition of this book for one reason -- its cover. Not being a great fan of Wind in the Willows, I was a little leary of what I'd find inside, but have discovered that Grahame's use of language and subtle depiction of character are quite delicious. This would be great for reading aloud to a bright child who enjoys words. That said, it would have to be a child with a sophisticated sense of humour: while Grahame describes everything from the viewpoint of a child's imagination, I get the feeling he's really smiling at the adults over the top of said child's head. I can't wait to read The Golden Gate, which Grahame published a few years before this book.