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    A Child's Garden of Verses
    A Child's Garden of Verses
    A Child's Garden of Verses
    Ebook80 pages40 minutes

    A Child's Garden of Verses

    By Robert Louis Stevenson

    4/5

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateJan 1, 1948
    Author

    Robert Louis Stevenson

    Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, travel writer, poet, and children’s author. Plagued by poor health his entire life, he was nevertheless an amazingly prolific writer, and created some of the most influential and entertaining fiction of the nineteenth century, including Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

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    Reviews for A Child's Garden of Verses

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    • 4/5

      Jun 6, 2025

      Stevenson's well-known and less familiar poems, with nice illustrations.
    • 4/5

      Oct 18, 2024

      My edition different cover, with an assortment of classic illustrations chosen by Cooper Edens.
      My review from the Children's Books discussion for Poetry month:

      Emphasizes the sentimental and the nostalgic. That may be appropriate, and a good way to sell the book to the ppl with the money... but I'm not sure if it helps today's children appreciate the timelessness of the verses.

      I would have loved any edition of this when my children were tiny. Reading it now, I feel as if I deprived my kids!

      Even nursing infants could appreciate the sounds, the rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration of the poems as read aloud. It won't be long before some of the lines stick in their heads... even if they don't understand them.

      And toddlers can enjoy many of the concepts... and preschoolers more... and some of the poems are worth a teen student's time. Owning whichever edition of this you prefer is like owning a big book of Mother Goose rhymes, and another big book, or collection, of famous fairy tales... it's almost a must!

      Many of the poems have been reprinted in other collections, including the Nat'l Geog. we read upthread. But many are new to me, too.
    • 5/5

      Apr 17, 2013

      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.
    • 4/5

      Feb 6, 2019

      I enjoy this book more than the rating would imply. I had an abridged copy that I read for years, and this is my first crack at a larger version with different illustrations and more poems.

      I would say how much one enjoys this book is dependent on personal taste. The poems are calm, for the most part, and the settings are largely pastoral and idyllic. Many of the poems are based on a child's observations of the world, and how it might change from different physical perspectives, or imaginary ones. This is a collection that ultimately encourages imagination. It's good reading for bedtime, or to a quiet or calm child that likes to read or think.
    • 5/5

      May 30, 2015

      Over the years, I have heard a number of authors mention the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson, and none were more impressive than the mention and admiration of the renowned poet, W.S. Merwin. In an interview a few years ago with Bill Moyers, he recounted how his mother read to him every night. He especially loved A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. I have been coveting a copy of this collection for some time, but somehow, other things always got in the way. While wandering through the offerings of Amazon, I came across a copy illustrated by none other than the marvelous children’s book illustrator, Tasha Tudor. The book arrived today, and I dropped everything to read it aloud, as Merwin suggested. Some of these poems sounded vaguely familiar, although I cannot recall my mother reading me any poetry. She liked stories, and so did I.

      This simple and endearing collection is a wonderful way to introduce children to the magic and beauty of poetry. Here is an example of one I vaguely remember from my childhood, “Bed in Summer”:

      In winter I get up at night
      And dress by yellow candle-light.
      In summer, quite the other way,
      I have to go to bed by day.

      I have to go to bed and see
      The birds still hoping on the tree,
      Or hear the grown-up people’s feet
      Still going past me in the street.

      And does it not seem hard to you,
      When all the sky is clear and blue,
      And I should like so much to play,
      To have to go to bed by day? (10).

      Another brief poem I especially liked was “Looking Forward”:

      When I am grown to man’s estate
      I shall be proud and very great,
      And tell the other girls and boys
      Not to meddle with my toys.” (18).

      Of course, I would make one minor change – the last word should now be “books.” Robert Louis Stevenson’s collection,A Child’s Garden of Verses is an enchanting source for reading to children and helping them understand the beauty and playfulness of verse. The delightful illustrations by Tasha Tudor, the renowned children’s book illustrator, only adds to the experience. 5 stars.

      --Chiron, 5/25/15
    • 5/5

      Apr 2, 2015

      I'm glad I waited to review this one. I picked it up to read to my son, and his attention wandered, and he was just not up for it, and I was like "no wonder, Robert Louis Stevenson, your whole book is obviously aimed at Victorian grown-ups and their nostalgia for things like climbing trees and visiting the farm that baby Emmett hasn't even experienced yet." But my mum kept telling me how much I loved this book when I was small, and we kept reading, and over nights Stevenson worked his weirding way on both of us: Emmett (as I fancy it--let's face it, he can't even talk yet) feeling himself into the poems through the big, splashy, soft-focus fairy-pictures with their blues and greens and weird perspectives and distant horizons (and the fact is, if he doesn't know yet from farms or trees or penny-cannons, there are a lot of things here that are already part of his everyday: blocks, the rain, the moon, his little shadow, bedtime. And if the prescriptive intent behind all the "nursie" and fairyland and "ships at sea" stuff can get a little cloying--English childhood is an English garden, practice for when English children will leave to conquer and catalogue and administrate the earth!--it is certainly not that Stevenson was an overt imperialist, merely a man of his times. And the ships speak to me too, and remind me to be vigilant to the ways in which children open the door for their parents to embrace conservatism via halcyon-days sentimentality. And in fact, the overt prescriptiveness can be charming: in 2015 we are already more than primed for a statement of creed like "kids love blocks," it has moved from cliché to archetype and needs the merest oblique mention to activate our frames around it. In 1885? The sentimentalization of children as a whole was a relatively new thing; and Stevenson's way of talking about blocks as though no one has ever talked about blocks before in the history of childhood has a courtly formality: "What are you able to build with your blocks?" his opening gambit in the elaboration of the highly moral thesis "blocks are a tool of the imagination." Like, every time I get to the poem about the enigmatic rider I have to remind myself that he's not a headless horseman (although this does, of course, postdate Ichabod Crane); today he would have to be to get the kids to put down the ipad and listen, and the HH has become in fact a stock character, familiar/lovable/entirely unremarkable/not even scary. The fact that a mere headful horseguy riding by night can conjure up a world of mystery feels so fresh and sincere and simple, like drinking cold water, and if I didn't manage to avoid the curmudgeonly ipad grumbling entirely in this review, I will just say that horseman–ipad–starry night sky, it's all equally as new to my boy.

      And the ultimate point here is that now the soft trundling doggerel of it is the only book he has that actually puts him to sleep and doesn't stir up the blood like Go Dog Go! and suchlike, and when you read to him from A Child's Garden he cuddles up and looks at the pictures and drifts away and he is happy.
    • 5/5

      Nov 5, 2014

      Summary:

      A Child’s Garden of Verses is a book comprised of many different short children’s poems about childhood. In this book there are sixty-six different poems that children all around the world can relate to. Many of the poems are about nature, the world and fantasy play. All written by Robert Louis Stevenson, he retells the stories of his childhood in poem form. There are poems about seasons, imaginary characters, traveling, boats, planes, bedtime, animals, nature, family, etc.

      Comments (opinions/arguments):

      I find this book to be very wonderful and useful because it’s simple and beautifully illustrated. Although it’s simple, the poems have a lot of depth, meaning and relation to childhood. I really like that the author wrote a wide variety of poems, ones that could be realistic and ones that are imaginary. I think this book could be really fun for children who are learning about poems because it offers poems that are very short and simple, as well as ones that are longer and more complicated. I think this book could serve as a good guide for children learning to write their own poems. I also like that all the poems are about different aspects of childhood and that they’re grouped together in different chapters. The wide variety of poems about nature, family, travel, imagination and childhood are great for children to learn about the world around them. I think this books central message is to help children become more familiar with poem styles of writing and to encourage children to use their creativity and imagination.
    • 5/5

      Sep 23, 2014

      While trying to get some semblance of order for my books, I found this rare gem. Copyrighted in 1900, the paper is older and semi glossy; the illustrations are simple and lovely. My copy is in poor condition, but none of the pages are missing.

      It was incredibly delightful to spend time savoring each delightful poem. While simply written, each sentence paints a lush portrait of serenity and reminds the reader of a childhood of dreams and time spent exploring through the imagination. Many of the missives contain images of night and sleeping.

      Here is one of my favorites:

      North-West Passage

      When the bright lamp is carried in,
      The sunless ours again begin;
      O'er all without, in field and lane,
      The haunted night returns again.

      Now we behold the embers flee
      About the firelit hearth; and see
      Our faces painted as we pass,
      Like pictures, on the window-glass.

      Must we go to bed indeed? Well then,
      Let us arise and go like men,
      And face with an undaunted tread
      The long black passage up to bed.

      Farewell, O brother, sister, sire!
      O pleasant party round the fire!
      The songs you sing, the tales you tell,
      Till far to-morrow, fare ye well!
    • 3/5

      Dec 5, 2012

      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.
    • 5/5

      May 30, 2012

      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 thing
      Ever 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.
    • 4/5

      Nov 22, 2011

      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.
    • 4/5

      Aug 29, 2011

      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.
    • 4/5

      Dec 7, 2010

      A great collection of poetry for young children.

      The artwork is also very delightful.
    • 3/5

      Jul 13, 2010

      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.
    • 4/5

      May 31, 2010

      4P

      Age range: 4-8 years.

      Radical Change: I don't think radical change applies to this book.

      Selected poem:

      "Foreign Lands" (p. 22)
    • 5/5

      May 10, 2010

      Delightful, a classic
    • 5/5

      Apr 19, 2010

      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.  
    • 5/5

      Mar 15, 2010

      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!
    • 4/5

      Feb 24, 2010

      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.
    • 5/5

      Dec 25, 2009

      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.
    • 4/5

      Dec 17, 2009

      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..."
    • 4/5

      Dec 6, 2009

      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.
    • 4/5

      Jun 25, 2009

      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.
    • 5/5

      Feb 7, 2009

      Two of my favorite poems are in this book. The swing poem and my shadow.
    • 3/5

      Jan 20, 2009

      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".
    • 5/5

      Nov 2, 2008

      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.
    • 4/5

      Jul 9, 2008

      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.
    • 5/5

      Jun 16, 2008

      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!
    • 4/5

      Jun 8, 2008

      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.
    • 5/5

      Apr 13, 2008

      Great poems about childhood. They remind me of how I felt as a child. With wonder at every corner.

    Book preview

    A Child's Garden of Verses - Robert Louis Stevenson

    Project Gutenberg's A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

    Title: A Child's Garden of Verses

    Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

    Release Date: May 17, 2008 [EBook #136]

    Language: English

    *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES ***

    A Child's Garden of Verses

    by

    Robert Louis Stevenson

    To Alison Cunningham

    From Her Boy

      For the long nights you lay awake

      And watched for my unworthy sake:

      For your most comfortable hand

      That led me through the uneven land:

      For all the story-books you read:

      For all the pains you comforted:

      For all you pitied, all you bore,

      In sad and happy days of yore:—

      My second Mother, my first Wife,

      The angel of my infant life—

      From the sick child, now well and old,

      Take, nurse, the little book you hold!

      And grant it, Heaven, that all who read

      May find as dear a nurse at need,

      And every child who lists my rhyme,

      In the bright, fireside, nursery clime,

      May hear it in as kind a voice

      As made my childish days rejoice!

    R. L. S.

    Contents

    To Alison Cunningham

             I Bed in Summer

            II A Thought

           III At the Sea-Side

            IV Young Night-Thought

             V Whole Duty of Children

            VI Rain

           VII Pirate Story

          VIII Foreign Lands

            IX Windy Nights

             X Travel

            XI Singing

           XII Looking Forward

          XIII A Good Play

           XIV Where Go the Boats?

            XV Auntie's Skirts

           XVI The Land of Counterpane

          XVII The Land of Nod

         XVIII My Shadow

           XIX System

            XX A Good Boy

           XXI Escape at Bedtime

          XXII Marching Song

         XXIII The Cow

          XXIV The Happy Thought

           XXV The Wind

          XXVI Keepsake Mill

         XXVII Good and Bad Children

        XXVIII Foreign Children

          XXIX The Sun Travels

           XXX The Lamplighter

          XXXI My Bed is a Boat

         XXXII The Moon

        XXXIII The Swing

         XXXIV Time to Rise

          XXXV Looking-Glass River

         XXXVI Fairy Bread

        XXXVII From a Railway Carriage

       XXXVIII Winter-Time

         XXXIX The Hayloft

            XL Farewell to the Farm

           XLI North-West Passage

                    1. Good-Night

                    2. Shadow March

                    3. In Port

    The Child Alone

          I The Unseen Playmate

         II My Ship and I

        III My Kingdom

         IV Picture-Books in Winter

          V My Treasures

         VI Block City

        VII The Land of Story-Books

       VIII Armies in the Fire

         IX The Little Land

    Garden Days

          I Night and Day

         II Nest Eggs

        III The Flowers

         IV Summer Sun

          V The Dumb Soldier

         VI Autumn Fires

        VII The Gardener

       VIII Historical Associations

    Envoys

          I To Willie and Henrietta

         II To My Mother

        III To Auntie

         IV To Minnie

          V To My Name-Child

         VI To Any Reader

    A Child's Garden of Verses

                                                 I

                                           Bed in Summer

      In winter I get up at night

      And dress by yellow candle-light.

      In summer quite the other way,

      I have to go to bed by day.

      I have to go to bed and see

      The birds still hopping on the tree,

      Or hear the grown-up people's feet

      Still going past me in the street.

      And does it not seem hard to you,

      When all the sky is clear and blue,

      And I should like so

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