Dream Days

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.

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.