When We Were Very Young

Bibliographic Information: Milne, A.A. (2009) When We Were Very Young. Illus. Ernest Shepard. New York, NY: Dutton Children’s Books

Brief Annotation: This fast read is filled with short poems. The poems are all told from the little girl’s point of view. They are written so elegantly that the words seem to slip off the tongue and belong just where they lie on the page. The poems are positive and teach behaviors such as politeness and curiosity of the surrounding world. They are pure and childish, with no negativity or evil, just as the world of a child should be.

Genre: Fiction, Poetry book

Grade Level: k-3

Readers who will like this: Children who find joy in simplicity; Children who enjoy poems; Children who need to be calmed down; Children who enjoy fictional stories.

Response/Rating: 2; this book had amazing art, through both the pictures and words on each page. I was not only impressed by the style of writing that was used, but I was also blown away by the combination of the artwork and writing on each page. The illustrations were in a plain, simple form, taking not away from the words, but rather adding to them. The only reason as to why I would rate this book a 2 and not a 4 is simply because it is not a book that is easily read straight through. I would recommend reading this book a couple poems at a time.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What kinds of poems can you think of? Are there different styles or kinds?