When We Were Very Young • Now We Are Six

One of my top favorite audiobook discoveries in recent years is Winnie the Pooh from the perspective of the excellent narration of Peter Dennis. My siblings and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Winnie the Pooh and all the other characters through his work, and I don’t think it would be wrong to say that the Pooh series is our favorite audiobook right now. Somewhere along the line, I picked up one of A. A. Milne’s collections of poetry, and that became a personal favorite. But when I saw that Peter Dennis had also read those aloud, I knew I wanted to try it—and oh, what a treat awaited me! I spent a delightful several hours recently listening to him reading the poems aloud, and I’m sure I’ll pick them up again show more sometime. He has a way of adding life to the poetry beyond what’s already there—a certain love and tenderness that I don’t always pick up on just by reading the text.

This isn’t supposed to be the review of a narrator, though, so I’ll move on to the poetry itself. These two books are beautiful pieces of work. Playful, inspirational, heart-felt, and insightful, there’s something here that would appeal to just about every age and stage. Hearing them all together, I got a little peek into A. A. Milne’s heart and love for his son. As the books go on, Christopher Robin is obviously growing and learning more about his world, and I had to wonder—as I went through the different poems—if this wasn’t Milne’s way to preserve a little piece of his son while he was still young. I could easily imagine Christopher Robin arranging his chairs in a row and pretending they were different continents, or watching the raindrops race down a window, pretending it was a real race, or kneeling by his bed praying the words that ended up in the poem. It felt realistic, delightful, and fun. This is a lovely set of poems, ones I hope to share with children I know in the future. If you enjoy children and poetry, you’ll probably enjoy these books. show less

I liked the wordplay, but not the subject, even though I do enjoy Winnie-the-Pooh stories a lot. I think these poems frequently don't have characters in them, and that makes them kind of flat.

Judging by the reviews, I think a lot of the reviewers think this book is the collected stories, "Winnie-the-Pooh" and "The House at Pooh Corner". But this book is actually the collected poems: "When We Were Very Young" and "Now We Are Six". Not the same thing at all. There's been an unfortunate classification screw-up which someone more skillful than me will need to untangle.

The world of Christopher Robin is a world of childhood-gay, rollicking, imaginative-a world of reality and enchanting make-believe.
It is a world in which Christopher Robin and Alice watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and where James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree takes great care of his Mother, though he is only three. In this timeless wonderland, the Little Black Hen is much too busy to lay eggs for anyone (except Christopher Robin), and the three little foxes play in the forest, keeping their handkerchiefs in cardboard boxes. The King plaintively asks for butter for the Royal slice of bread. And at the end of an active day, a little boy kneels at the foot of his bed: Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares! show more Christopher Robin is saying his prayers. show less

The book consists of 45 beautifully written poems. The use of nursery rhymes in the poems is very soothing and a great introduction to poetry for young children. The illustrations are pretty and delicate in the book.
The illustrations go well with the poem. The full-color illustrations add color to the rhymes, and help interpret the literal meanings of the poems.
Highly recommended for children age 2-7.

This is one of my favorite collections of poetry because it reflects a different time and place than my own; and the book itself is beautiful.

The book consists of 45 beautifully, great, and silly poems. The use of nursery rhymes in the poems is very soothing and a great introduction to poetry for young children. The illustrations are pretty and delicate in the book.

Contains When we were very young, and Now we are six, with illustrations in colour. In my 1940s edition, the illustrations are in black and white and I coloured them myself.