Customer Reviews

Poems of Childhood (Scribner Classics)

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Some of these poems are for children. Some are merely about children. Some are for grown ups who love children. Some are for children who have no idea how dear they are to the grown ups in their lives.

Despite having had my copy of Poems of Childhood for ten years, I know absolutely nothing about Eugene Field save what I can infer from the poems in this collection. From their recurring themes, and the order in which they appear, I can guess that Field lost a child who was very precious to him . . . was slowly healed of his grief by the love and presence of other children . . . and was given a second chance with the birth of a new baby.

There are about 15 poems that hint of that lost child and a handful that juxtapose sleep and death, making me wonder if the baby died in its sleep. Other sad poems are merely wistful about beloved children who have grown up. Thankfully, there are just as many happy poems as sad ones: cheery verses about toys, imaginary creatures, and playground games. Field also wrote several lullabies that are perfect for rocking children to sleep, whether or not they are put to music.

I dont know any other poet who has brought such dignity to "babytalk." Toddlers in his poems are called names like Pittypat, Tippytoe, Googly-Goo and Luddy-Dud. His imaginary fairies include Amberglee, Daisybright and Pilfercurds. Moreover, Im sure that no other collection of childrens poems has this many terms for "dreamland"--Blinkiwink garden, Shut-Eye town, and Hushaby street, to name a few.

Though Field could be accused of writing the same poems over and over again, most of his verses have such distinctive _personalities_ that this is not entirely true. What they _all_ have in common is his delicate touch--yes, even the ones in which his voice turns rustic and homey--that has endeared him to children and grown ups alike.

I received this book as a gift when I was about 8 or 10, and it was one of my favorite all time books. The poems are dear and the illustrations are simply magical. This volume had poems I had heard before, like "Winken, Blinken, and Nod", and many that were new to me. Over the years, when I had to memorize a poem for school, it was always one of these I chose -- "Jest 'Fore Christmas", "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat", and "the Dickey bird is singing in the Amphalula tree."

One of my very favorite books of my childhood. The copy I have was given to my mother in her childhood, and she read the poems to me. This book introduced me to not only some wonderful poetry, but also to the amazing artwork of Maxfield Parrish. I'm delighted that Scribner's has reissued the book in the original design.

This was a book from my childhood and which I have searched for many years. So happy to find it at Amazon's. Maxfield Parrish, the illustrator , with his imagination was the right choice for this book of poetry. Eugene Field's love of children and the sadness which was part of his life makes the poetry memorable.

To answer the extremely perseptive reviewer, who seemed to have gotten so much more from this book than any body else besides myself...yes, Eugene Field had a son who died. He wrote a poem about it too, and it is called "Little Boy Blue". My mother used to torture herself reading this poem..and it got so bad she just couldn't any more. This book of poetry is just wonderful. The illustrations by the renown artist Maxfield Parish are a pure delight, a treasure unto themselves.
By Eugene Field
Little Boy Blue

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
"And don't you make any noise!"
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue---
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true!

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place---
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face;
And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue,
Since he kissed them and put them there.

The poems in this collection are somewhat old fashioned and in places somewhat sad. I've heard that Mr. Field lost a child and this explains some of the wistfulness and sadness of some of the poems. The poems are sweet without being cloying and reflect a father's delight in childhood and children. My main desire to write this review is to encourage anyone thinking of buying it to buy it in the hardcover edition with the fabulous Maxfield Parrish full color pictures. There are 10 full page color pictures in all and I believe they are unique to this book, as I've only seen a couple of them in collections of Parrish's illustrations. The colors are true--Parrish's color palette was often very subtle. There are some sideways nudes, but these are not distasteful, being handled in a way that illustrates the freedom of youth (The children look nonsexual, as if the sexual parts of their bodies didn't exist). I heartily recommend this book for the gentle poems and the marvelous pictures. So hold out for the hardcover and find one with the Parrish pictures.

I purchased this copy of Poems of Childhood by Eugene Field because it said that it was illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. Even the picture of the book cover here features an image of a Maxfield Parrish painting. While I am happy to have my own copy of the poems finally, I am quite disappointed that it does not include the images that were implied to be included in the book. This company got my business because their item for sale was mis-represented in its presentation online. It's not clear to me if this was because of how the company or Amazon advertised the item.

~ Renee

Wanted to share the story and the pics I grew up with. This book has no illustrations. The story I wanted to share is within another section of book that I had to search to find. The story Winken, Blinken & Nod you have to spend some time to find. Disapointed with this and everything else from Kindle.

The poems in this collection are somewhat old fashioned and in places somewhat sad. I've heard that Mr. Field lost a child and this explains some of the wistfulness and sadness of some of the poems. The poems are sweet without being cloying and reflect a father's delight in childhood and children. My main desire to write this review is to encourage anyone thinking of buying it to buy it in the hardcover edition with the fabulous Maxfield Parrish full color pictures. There are 10 full page color pictures in all and I believe they are unique to this book, as I've only seen a couple of them in collections of Parrish's illustrations. The colors are true--Parrish's color palette was often very subtle. There are some sideways nudes, but these are not distasteful, being handled in a way to illustrate the freedom of youth. The children look nonsexual, as if the sexual parts of their bodies didn't exist. I heartily recommend this book for the gentle poems and the marvelous pictures. So hold out for the hardcover and find one with the Parrish pictures.

I bought the book as a gift for my mother. She just loves the book. The poems and the poet are her favorites. The book was in great condition and we expected it to be worn a little. It was the greatest gift she has gotten in years. She has it beside her chair and reads it every day. She tells people about it always. I thank you so much for the convenience and availability on your site. Sherlene Smith