A Child's Garden of Verses (Hardcover)

by Robert Louis Stevenson (Author), Jessie Wilcox Smith (Illustrator) "I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."

With this "Happy Thought," Robert Louis Stevenson speaks for all the delights of childhood. But he doesn't stop there. A Child's Garden of Verses, written over a century ago, is filled to the brim with what are usually considered to be the first real poems written for children. This classic volume is an old friend to the generations of readers who were brought up on "I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me/ And what can be the use of him is more than I can see." In this perfectly lovely edition, the gossamer art of Jessie Willcox Smith (who first illustrated Stevenson's poems in the early years of the 20th century) is reproduced in all its charming glory. Black and white drawings throughout and eight full-page, warmly colorful paintings show beautiful, yet pleasantly imperfect children, busy at their daily activities--climbing trees, watching their reflections in a river, or sick in bed with an army of toy soldiers on guard. Place this on the shelf next to Mother Goose, Dr. Seuss, and Peter Rabbit. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
This compendium of information "for, by and about young people" features chapters on sports celebrities, health, games, clubs, history, law and science.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (1985)
• ISBN-10: 0517209799
• ISBN-13: 978-0517209790
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,212,411 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully done, but not complete, November 21, 2001

By	Brenda Jo Mengeling (Davis, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Child's Garden of Verses (Hardcover)

This is a very lovely edition of Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses." The paintings illustrating each poem are well chosen and quite beautiful. The print quality is also excellent. However, I was a little disappointed to see this selection not include some of my favorite poems from Stevenson's work, most notably "The Pleasant Land of Counterpane." What is included is exceptionally well done, but this is not the complete Garden of Verses.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Portable, Usable 'Child's Garden of Verses', April 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Child's Garden of Verses (Hardcover)

Everyone knows Robert Louis Stevenson; everyone has at least one of the myriad books of his poetry. There are some stunningly illustrated collections of his poetry out now, notably two by Thomas Kincaide, among others. But how many of us have actually read all or most of his work? I'm guilty as charged.

This smaller, quieter version of Stevenson's poetry helped me finally, actually read all the Garden poetry. True, the illustrations are spare, but delightfully accurate. My children (7 and 10) were not as mesmerized by this book as they are by others with fanciful graphics, illustrations and larger type to accompany the poetry.

Still, this small book found its way into my purse to be used for waiting moments, e.g. at the orthodontist, doctor, and also to my bedside, where it's shear diminutive size did not dissuade me from reading "for only a minute or two." And within Stevenson's words and language lie the ferment of creative pictures. I liked to have my children close their eyes while I read short poems to 'force' them to use only their mind's eye.

I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures, moods, and images Stevenson conjures and at long last can understand why his poetry remains so classic.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heirloom Edition of a Venerable Classic., April 19, 2001

By	Darryl Nightingale (Chung Li City Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Child's Garden of Verses: A Classic Illustrated edition (Hardcover)

This review is of the Chronicle Books edition (ISBN 0877016089).

First published in 1885, Stevenson's marvellous collection of children's poetry has never gone out of print, and remains near the top of numerous "best book's for childen" lists. For example, Maurice Sendak, when asked to list books that he thought every child should have the opportunity to read, named this collection first. Harold Bloom, renowned literary critic (he has received more major awards from his peers than any other) and author of the thought-provoking and controversial "The Western Canon", included ACGoV in the list he furnished in response to an interviewer's request for a "Western Canon, Jr". Among the homeschooling set, everyone from "Unschoolers" to "Classical Christian Educators" recommend it.(It"s on the Classical Christian Support Loop's "1000 Good Books List").

The Chronical Books edition, containing all 64 of the poems that appeared in the original 1885 edition, is lavishly illustrated with more than a hundred pictures, many of them full page, by several of the most distinguished children's book illustrators of the late 19th and early 20th century. The book is well laid out, with a pleasing juxtaposition of art and text, and printed on high-quality paper. It was named one of the "Top Ten Picturebooks of the Year" by Redbook, was an American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists" in 1989, and was given a starred review in Booklist.

Stevenson perfectly captures the child's world of sunshine, stars, dreams, toy boats, swings, apple tarts, fairies, flowers, and far-away places in simple, evocative language which remains just as accessable for today's children as it was for their grandparents. And I can think of only one poem that might offend modern "Politically Correct" sensibilities: "Foreign Children", wherein the speaker imagines asking various nationalities' children "O! don't you wish that you were me!" I guess the historical and socio-cultural context of this poem could be discussed with your child if you were so inclined.

In short, this venerated work, and especially this glorious Chronical Books edition of it, belongs in every child's library. No other volume of children's poetry has been so well loved by so many generations. ...