Customer Reviews

Piping Down the Valleys Wild

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
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We bought this in November for a precocious three-year-old friend of ours. She'll get it for Christmas... or a little after... if we can manage to let go of it by then. I've been reading it out loud to my husband while he's washing dishes. It's just the right mix of old favorites and things that are new to me -- and a remarkably low number of poems where you're left scratching your head and saying "Why'd they waste the ink on that one?"

The book itself is the cheapest of newsprint with a basic paperback binding. We may someday need to find a more beautiful copy, but in the meantime, "cheap" means that normal damage won't precipitate a crisis, and that's always an appropriate choice for a preschooler.


One last thought: If you're looking for a collection of poems for a family that strongly objects to Halloween or "magic," then you need to keep looking. While this book has many poems which refer to God and/or the Divine in one way or another (without being the least bit preachy), it also has a chapter of poems which talk about witches and goblins and other Halloween characters, as well as a few about fairies or other fanciful creatures. I found none of them offensive, and individual poems are easily skipped, but a few people on my gift list are particularly sensitive on this point, and it's well to know what you're getting into in advance.

This is, by far, the best book of children's poetry I've ever seen. I've owned my copy for over twenty years. I read almost every poem in the book to my children while they were growing up, and we memorized many of the poems. I used the book extensively in my classroom when I was an elementary teacher. Now, as a college professor, I read from the book often to inspire my student-teachers.

My mother gave me this book when I was about five or six, and I learned many of the poems by heart. I still have my (very battered) copy and intend to pass it on to my own son, in the hope that it will inspire in him the same love of poetry that it did in me. An excellent introduction to poetry for any child - I am thrilled to learn that this wonderful book is still in print!

I treasured this book as a child. My allowance was usually spent on books, stuffed animals or candy. I don't really have anything left from my childhood spending sprees except a worn, fragile copy of Piping Down the Valleys Wild that I spent 95 cents for in the early 70s. This is the most wonderful collection of children's poems that I have ever come across. Both adults and children are brought to laughter at the antics of "Eat it Alll Elaine", "Catherine"s sharing of her mud cake, or the little boy in "Missing" asking Aunt Rose if she's seen his mouse. The poems are wonderfully visual and instilled in me a love of poetry that I still have today. This remains my all time favorite book of poetry and I'm glad it was re-issued so that I might share this gift with my son and give him his own copy to take with him.

This is a wonderful collection of poetry. Our children, ages 2 and 4, look forward to hearing selections from this book every night. It strikes a balance between poetry written for children and poetry written for adults without getting into anything too dark for young children. I highly recommend it.

My husband was told by an older lady that this book had some fun poetry for reading out loud with kids. He has enjoyed paging through it with our kids, ages 8 and 10. I haven't personally looked at it much, but they seem to like it.

I read this book to my children until the pages were yellow and fragile. I am delighted to see that I can still get the book for my grandchildren. The poems are delightful and there are elements to appeal to all moods and seasons. One of my favorite things about owning this book is that, as I read it now, I find I am enjoying the memories of the special times reading with my children, and, at the same time, remembering some of the best feelings of my own childhood.

This collection has been a favorite of mine since I was a child, and now that I am teaching I use it frequently for my 1st grade class. It is a good mix of poetry, classic, enchanting, silly, and sophisticated. Highly recommended.

This is a marvelous anthology! Something for everyone! I'm so glad to see it available again!