Now We Are Six

Now We Are Six. A.A. Milne. 1927. 102 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: When you are reciting poetry, which is a thing we never do, you find sometimes, just as you are beginning, that Uncle John is still telling Aunt Rose that if he can't find his spectacles he won't be able to hear properly, and does she know where they are; and by the time everybody has stopped looking for them, you are at the last verse, and in another minute they will be saying, "Thank you, thank you," without really knowing what it was all about.

Premise/plot: This is A.A. Milne's second volume of poetry written for children. His first was When We Were Very Young.

My thoughts: While I don't absolutely love, love, love Milne's two poetry collections as much as I love his two Pooh novels, I do appreciate them. My favorite poems from Now We Are Six include:

• Busy
• Binker
• Us Two
• The Engineer
• The End

From Busy

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--
All around the table,
The table in the nursery--
Round about
And round about
And round about I go;
I think I am a Traveller escaping from a Bear;
I think I am an Elephant,
Behind another Elephant
Behind another Elephant who isn't really there...

 From Binker

Binker--what I call him--is a secret of my own,
And Binker is the reason why I never feel alone.
Playing in the nursery, sitting on the stair,
Whatever I am busy at, Binker will be there.
Oh, Daddy is clever, he's a clever sort of man,
And Mummy is the best since the world began,
And Nanny is Nanny, and I call her Nan--
But they can't
See
Binker.

From Us Two

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
"Where are you going today?" says Pooh:
"Well, that's very odd, 'cos I was too.
Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.
"Let's go together," says Pooh.

Original audience born circa 1920 to 1924.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Now We Are Six

Milne, A.A. 1927. Now We Are Six. Illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard.

There's something pleasant and charming and wonderfully subdued and just right about A.A. Milne's poetry. True, he's probably best known for his two Pooh books--Winnie the Pooh and House at Pooh Corner, but his two poetry books for children are well worth the read. Personally, it's hard to compare his books. Really, Now We Are Six has the best, best poem in the whole world "Us Two"; yet When We Were Very Young contains a greater number of poems that I love and remember. Of course, you don't have to choose between them. There is plenty of love to go around.

Highlights from Now We Are Six include "Us Two," "The Good Little Girl," and "The End."

Here's how "Us Two" starts off...

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
"Where are you going today?" says Pooh:
"Well, that's very odd 'cos I was too.
Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.
"Let's go together," says Pooh.

Both books are good books. Partly, this goodness is the result of Milne. But part of me thinks that the 'classic-ness' of the books--the timelessness of it is the result of the incredibly magical oh-so-perfect and somewhat inspirational artwork of Ernest H. Shepard. I mean classic pooh is classic pooh. Granted, I guess some folks may not love classic pooh. But still. I would think classic pooh is the epitome of cuteness and rightness in the world.

Have you read Now We Are Six? Do you have a favorite poem?

© Becky Laney of Young Readers