Poems Of Childhood

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

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.

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.