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Child's Garden of Verses
Child's Garden of Verses
Child's Garden of Verses
Audiobook1 hour

Child's Garden of Verses

Written by Robert L Stevenson

Narrated by Robin Field

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

When I am grown to man's estate. I shall be very proud and great. And tell the other girls and boys. Not to meddle with my toys. Thus reads the whimsical, “Looking Forward,” of this delightful collection. From the sweetness of “Land of Nod,” to the imaginative dreams of “Pirate Story” and “Travels,” Robert Louis Stevenson's beloved poems celebrate childhood in all its simplicity and joy. Originally published in 1885, A Child's Garden of Verses has served as a wonderful introduction to poetry for each new generation.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 1, 2010
ISBN9781596448186

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Reviews for Child's Garden of Verses

Rating: 4.344827586206897 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

29 ratings28 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the perfect first poetry book to add to a child's personal library. The poems range from very short to page long, with focus on nature, fantasy, make-believe, and other fun activities of childhood.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Two of my favorite poems are in this book. The swing poem and my shadow.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A Child's Garden of Verses is the epitome of poetry for and about children. The imagination of a child grows wild and free among the pages. Hopes and fears are expressed as only children can. The sense of wonder and innocence resonates as reminders to all adults about how the world once was.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A beautiful edition of A Child's Garden of Verses, also interspersed with Bible verses and prayers. Throughout the book are the lovely illustrations of Thomas Kinkade. When my boy was little, he would not sit still for a story, but he loved to be read to from this book. There was always something for him to find in the pictures.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great poems about childhood. They remind me of how I felt as a child. With wonder at every corner.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An amazing author puts together amazing poems! This is a wonderful book for any aged reader & makes poetry very fun. Shows how beautiful poetry can be!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This delightful collection combines 19th century poetry with simple illustrations that capture the innocence of childhood. The images are colorful with clean lines, multicultural children, and appropriate pictures expressing the mood and tone of each poem, and infusing the language with light and love. The images seemed to be inspired by the 1950’s and upon further research I discovered they were originally done in 1957.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great collection of poetry for young children.The artwork is also very delightful.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a book of poems that is suitable for children in the early childhood level. Kids will love the catchy poems and colorful pictures in this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    There is a reason Robert Louis Stevenson is so well-remembered. He had a knack for finding the right word in the right place, and his poems about childhood always hit the right spot.The illustrations in this book complement the rhymes perfectly.Please note that this edition is oversized, and it may be difficult to put on your bookshelf.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love this edition - a Dover hardback with beautiful dark green cover, vellum-like dust jacket and red satin bookmark ribbon. Looking forward to enjoying these poems - naive and playful, though tinged with some ominous subtle melancholy.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Pretty boring and lacking in any evidence of technical ability. But occasionally cute, I guess.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The poems mostly have to do with going off to imaginary lands, utilizing common things in a playful fashion, and enjoying the wonderous time of childhood while it lasts. It's all touched very heavily by nostalgia - I don't know anything about Robert Louis Stevenson's life, but it seems he really wanted his adult life to be simpler and less soul-destroying, ha ha. I think it's kind of funny how adults wax nostalgic about the simpleness of childhood; quite clearly children don't feel it's simple or wonderous very much of the time. ;)The illustrations by Gyo Fujikawa are also sweetly nostalgic, full of cherubic boys and girls, lush grasses, delicately pretty flowers, butterflies, and birds, etc. I think the artwork was originally published in the 1950's and you can tell - very emblematic of that time. Quite a lovely gift book; some classics could serve as read alouds during a storytime.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Who wrote, "The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings"? Did you guess Robert Louis Stevenson? Poetry is not my favorite form of literature. However, Stevenson is one of my best-loved authors, and I have always liked his poetry because, unlike some other poetry that I have read, it makes sense to me. One of my favorites is “The Swing”:How do you like to go up in a swing,Up in the air so blue?Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thingEver a child can do! Of course, one would buy this edition of A Child’s Garden of Verses not only for Stevenson’s poetry (this is not a complete version but a newly revised selection) but also for Brian Wildsmith’s gorgeous, whimsical illustrations. Wildsmith, born in 1931 at the mining village of Penistone in Yorkshire, England, has been called one of the greatest living children’s book illustrators. Stevenson’s poems perfectly capture the make-believe imagination of childhood. What child has not pretended at one time or another that his bed is a ship sailing the wide seas? And Wildsmith’s stunning, colorful paintings perfectly capture the joyful childhood innocence of Stevenson’s poetry. While the language may be upper class Victorian England, the appeal is universal. This would make a wonderful book for a parent to read aloud while the child gazes at the pictures.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The poems in this edition are selected for the modern child from Stevenson's popular collection. I had these poems memorized as a child, and loved reading them to my own children. Now, here's a shorter version that my grandkids can enjoy. The poems are beautifully illustrated with paintings that evoke those same feelings of childhood as the poetry does. What a wonderful introduction to both poetry and painting!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Belonged to Gramma Spray. She inscribed it and gave it to my daughter in 1991.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love Child's Garden of Verses and have several copies with different illustrations. This one is one of my favorites with illustrations by George Trimmer. My favorites are The Cow, The Swing, The Land of Counterpane, and My Shadow.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Outstanding poetry for kids and their parents, this edition is the most delightfully illustrated (by Gyo Fujikawa).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a very lovely little book - the poems are very pretty rhymes that delight the ear. I loved these poems as a child, and continue to adore them as an adult. Ever so often I get a 'craving' to read them over again, and again. They are full of the magic and whimsy of childhood.The world is so full of a number of things,I'm sure we should allbe as happy as kings.Rating: 5/5 Recommended: these are beautiful poems to read aloud to your children - a word of warning, though, they were written in 1885 and two or three are inappropriate in today's more enlightened society. 'Foreign Children' in particular, is quite offensive, but it's easy enough to skip one or two pages and enjoy the rest of the book.  
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Whether your child has difficulty falling asleep, or wants to escape into fairyland, this book will satisfy all those desires. Short poems to amuse, long ones to lull and quiet; poems about singing, swinging, and travelling - everything a child does in his young life are detailed in these poems. The illustrations are simple, but give the poem just enough visual detail to entrance the listening child, or reading child. Colours are expressive, and reflect the mood of the poem. Sneaking robbers hush howling dogs and swings soar into the wild blue to join the birds.Though this set of poems might be a bit old fashioned nowadays, they still have merit in lives. There are still swings, windy nights, forests and jungles (real and imaginary) and there is always bedtime.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have mixed opinions of this collection of poems. I read this aloud to my older son several years ago and he loved the poems, he even memorized several of them. He especially had fun memorizing My Shadow. I've just now finished reading it to my 8yo and have to say he was not impressed. We read a two-page spread every school day as part of our homeschool. Though the poems are written for children, they are written for Victorian children and the 8yo didn't understand half of the words used so we spent a lot of time discussing what each poem was really about and how it applied to things he would recognize in his life today. Sometime he'd think the poem was OK and he didn't dread me reading it but mostly he just thought they were boring. Myself, there are several of the popular poems that I think are wonderful: Bed in Summer, My Shadow, and Picture Books in Winter especially. Some others I'd rather do without.This edition is particularly nice as it is profusely illustrated with sometimes several pictures per poem by contemporary children's book artists of the time such as Jessie Wilcox Smith and C.M. Burd along with a host of others. I just love the illustrations and could pull this book off the shelf and just browse through it for pure enjoyment. The 8yo though did not appreciate the old-fashioned pictures especially when he couldn't tell the boys from the girls. However, this is poetry I think every child should be exposed to, some will enjoy, others will not. For one, my son will forever remember the name "Robert Louis Stevenson".
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a very charming book of poetry for children. The words are highly imaginative and the pictures are pretty. It's a classic!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a personal favorite book of poetry from my childhood. I treasure this book, share it with my grandchildren and will leave it to Damon when I pass. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a book of poetry by the author of the classic novel ‘Treasure Island’, Robert Louis Stevenson. In this collection, Stevenson recalls his childhood using easy language that manages to take readers to another time. Illustrations by Tasha Tudor also give the book that ‘Precious Moments’ look, adding to the book’s appeal and classic appearance. I think fans of Robert Louis Stevenson will enjoy this book but the poetry is written well enough to appeal to a wider audience.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4PAge range: 4-8 years.Radical Change: I don't think radical change applies to this book.Selected poem: "Foreign Lands" (p. 22)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a must have book for every library. I recently purchased one for my own. I had this book read to me over and over again as a child and was told not too long ago that it was one of my mother's favorites. If an adult can read something to a child "over and over" and still keep it as a favorite, it must be great- right? My favorite poem is still "how I love to go up so high on my swing..."
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A beautiful collection of Children's poems; the author accurately captures children's games, thoughts and feelings perfectly. They will definitely relate to many of the poem’s themes and will enjoy the fun carefree mood used throughout the verses.I like the simple illustrations throughout the book and the way each page border is covered with vines and flowers. The author gives us a better view or glance into children’s imagination and thought patterns.Can be used to explore a child’s imagination and their views on the stories presented in the poem.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Summary:A great book of classic poetry that describes what children do during the day, listening to their elders and being thankful for what they have. This is a classic book with wonderful drawings by Eloise Wilkin to go along with the very 1950's style poetry. For example: "A child should always say what's true, and speak when he is spoken to, and behave mannerly at table: at least as far as he is able." Review:I loved this book as a child but did not read it to my kids. It is really outdated but I love the pictures and find that I am drawn to anything Eloise Wilkin put her hands on. I also have the version of Hilda Boswell's illustrations that are similar but have a different quality. These books will always be around because they are classics but every verse may not be read to children because the parents may have different views of a child's role in the world being much more active than passive.