Now We Are Six

The final book of the original Winnie-The-Pooh collection follows much in the footsteps of [book: When We Were Very Young]. It's a series of fanciful poetry, much inspired and/or aided by Christopher Robin himself. Where previously the poems were more nature oriented, delighting in the finding of rabbits and the habits of the dormouse, now they veer more towards adventures. In these pages there are knights who have found the secret to no-squeak armor, dragons and lions, sailors and kings. Much as the final story in [book: The House At Pooh Corner] it is evident that things have changed.

Even though things have changed, the poems still have within them a delightful nostalgia and innocence. There are moments with Pooh, though more in the show more form of Shepherd's beautiful illustrations than actual allusions in the rhymes themselves. There is much to do with Anne, and Christopher's more rambunctious mind. It's a wonderful little collection, and as fine an ending as one might wish to have... full of the desire to be six forever and not have a care in the world. show less

Like When We Were Very Young, this is also a terrific compilation. I love it when an adult can see through a child's eyes without losing his "adult-ness". Milne's poetry is simple and beautiful, and his humour can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh need no introduction. Quite a few of the poems in this book are about the duo. Milne accomplishes the extraordinary feat of seeing from the realistic and make-believe viewpoint at the same time (something which comes as second-nature to children, but we lose it as we grow up): therefore, Pooh is a live character to Christopher, even when he knows that he is nothing but a toy (the poem Us Two and The Friend).

There are a lot of nonsense poems about show more silly grownups, quite a few of them kings and emperors, but behaving like spoilt children-a child's view of himself, maybe! (Or a rather uncomfortable thought - is it so childish? Don't dictators behave like spoilt kids on a rampage - with much deadlier results than Milne's characters produce, of course.) There are poignant poems of a child's world which so incomprehensible to adults so that they shoo him away (Come Out With Me). Also, there is the delight only a child can experience, such as a race between two raindrops (Waiting At The Window). There are even profound philosophical questions which plague a young mind (Explained).

But for me, the poem which captures the quintessence of childhood in this collection is Buttercup Days, about Anne and her man(!), especially these four lines:

What has she got in that little brown head?
Wonderful thoughts which can never be said.
What has she got in that firm little fist of hers?
Somebody's thumb, and it feels like Christopher's.

Anne and Christopher, among the buttercups. Pure childhood bliss!

Five stars, all the way. show less

Not a fan of this poetry collection. Perhaps it has too many kings and knights and less insight about the nature of children? Some extraneous Shepard illustrations of Pooh characters are shoehorned in to make it more palatable to Pooh fans, but the verse is not as lively or engaging as Milne's prose in the Pooh books.

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... show more ) show less

What a darling collection of poems! I don’t think I enjoyed them quite as much as When We Were Very Young, but these are well worth reading, anyway. These poems are full of fun and whimsy, of imagination and story, and the mementos of a childhood lived well. Some of my particular favorites are “The Old Sailor” (oh, I could relate to him!) and “Waiting at the Window” (because I remember doing the same thing as a child). I loved being able to read this book to my siblings, and they loved them, too. Milne’s writings will always have a dear place in my heart. If you haven’t read this book yet, but love poetry…well, you ought to.

This and the previous volume When We Were Very Young has reconfirmed my faith both in enduring literature (enjoyed by adults and children alike) and in poetry: it has rhythm, rhymes and tells a story and isn't just a string of words apparently meaninglessly stringed together. Perhaps the reason I enjoy these two books is because they were written to be enjoyed (also) by children. But it also fairly well describes my knowledge of and severely limited/restricted appreciation for poetry.

Of course, I read this more than 50 years ago when I was a child (although older than 6, naturally). I loved all of A.A. Milne’s children’s books (although I didn’t know Once Upon A Time or The Red House Mystery, the latter of which I’ve bought but have yet to read).

Did I like it as much when I reread it at 65? No, but I think that’s because I always loved When We Were Very Young more, which has my very favorite Milne poems, “Disobedience,” “Buckingham Palace” (turned into a song), “The King’s Breakfast” and “Vespers”; however, in that book, every poem is a winner.

Still, I am very glad that I re-read Now We Are Six. I had confused which poems were where, so I was left missing my favorites; that said, this show more sequel of sorts has plenty of exceptional poems, too. These were my particular favorites: “Sneezles,” “Buttercup Days,” “The Engineer,” “Journey’s End,” “Come Out with Me,” “The Good Little Girl,” “Explained,” “In the Dark” — and my favorite from this volume, “Forgiven,” about a wayward pet beetle. Really a joy to read after all these decades!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Dover Publications in exchange for an honest review. show less

Milne is the first poetry I remember hearing (beyond nursery rhymes) and I suspect that is part of why I grew up enjoying poetry.
"I think I am a Muffin Man. I haven't got a bell,
I haven't got the muffin things that muffin people sell.

Perhaps I am a Postman. No, I think I am a Tram.
I'm feeling rather funny and I don't know what I am--

BUT
Round about
And round about
And round about I go. . ."