A Child's Garden of Verses :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Beautiful Book

2007-03-24
I love this poetry book, A Child's Garden of Verses. I use it as part of the daily curriculum in my daycare. The children and I love the beautiful illustrations and the wonderfully written poems.

Poems authored in 1883 offer both classical and out-dated ideas

2007-03-12
This book contains 64 poems whose subjects range from nature adventures (The "Dumb Soldier" explores the idea of a toy soldier who has been buried by a little boy but cannot report what goes on underground, due to his sealed mouth) to family relationships to far-away lands.

Many of the poems contain four stanzas or more, and for that reason, would probably be appropriate for children who are at least 5 years old.

Parents who live in our generation may be offended by some of the antiquated racial terms used to describe people of African descent. The "Travel" poem, for example, contains lines that reveal the old un-informed view of Africa from early Americans who did not have the benefit of travel to the beautiful African continent:
-Full of apes and cocoa-nuts
-And the negro hunters' huts

I'm not sure I want my five year old using the word "negro" at all outside of the context of a discussion of old racial terms which are no longer (or never were) appropriate, so I skipped sharing this poem with him all together. Indian (NOT Native-American) and Chinese families may find similar intrusions on their dignity in some of these poems.

The strength of this collection of poetry is its usability as a means to expose American children to old English speaking patterns for the first time. Consider these lines from "Winter-Time":
-Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,
-A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
-Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
-A blood-red orange sets again.

When is the last time your kindergartner or first grader heard speech like that? :)

"A Child's Garden of Verses" is a staple of the Catholic homeschool curriculum entitled "Mother of Divine Grace." Accordingly, a few of the poems address the topic of prayer (at bedtime and mealtime) in a respectful and childlike way.

Enjoy this historical book, but use caution when you choose which pieces to share with your child.

A Gift for a Life-time of Pleasure

2007-01-16
I ordered Robert Louis Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses" for 3 of our grandchildren, ages 2 - 5, remembering my pleasure reading it as a beginning reader some seven decades ago. Now their parents are sharing those joys with Matt,Julie and Abby - new memories in the making. The book came through in perfect condition and in a very timely manner. Thank you for a service that we expect to use again soon!

Love the old world poetry

2006-11-10
This book takes you and your children to a time almost forgotten. It should be a part of every home, especially a homeschool library.

A Child's Garden of Verses

2006-10-27
I was looking for the book Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne and ran across this one. It surprised me as I often mention it and think about reading it when I was a young girl in the 1950's. I still have my original copy given to me when I was six at Christmas by my parents.

I loved it then and will read it to my grandchildren now. Great book! I am so glad it is still available for today's children (and their parents and grandparents) to enjoy.

A Child's Garden of Verses

2008-06-07
I received this book from a friend at Christmas when I was a child. I always loved it. I sent a copy to my great granddaughters 8th birthday last year with a couple of other story books and she said she loved all of them.

Better then expected!

2008-04-21
A Child's Garden of VersesI had this book of poems as a child and loved it dearly. I recently purchased this newer (artwork) version of my favorite book, and WOW was I surprised. The artwork was beautiful and added greatly to the beautiful verses. I am sure that not only the baby that I gifted this to, but his parents will love the book (and artwork) as much as I still love mine. Thank You.

classic!

2007-12-29
This book brought back memories of my childhood which I can now pass down to my grandchildren.

Step Back in Time

2007-12-21
To wander through your childhood, as I recently did, I highly recommend Robert Louis Stevenson's, "A Child's Garden of Verses". The illustrations combined with the poetry reminded me of my first introduction to poetry. That early experience instilled a life long love of poetry in myself which I passed along to my children. My son has become "the family poet" so I purchased this volume for him for Christmas. Poetry conveys in a few eloquent words the emotions that no other form of writing can. We would be much poorer humans without this medium.

Rare classics?

2007-12-17
I was amazed at the difficulty of finding this literary classic anywhere . I checked in local stores , large franchises and even used book shops . I know I sound like my grandfather , but what is the world coming to ?! You not only had it , but shipped it immediately . My grandchildren will treasure this book as I did . Thanks !!