Now We Are Sixty

Now We Are Sixty #1

by Christopher Matthew, David Eccles (Illustrator)

A.A. Milne's childhood rhymes are rewritten for sixty-year-olds covering such topics as middle-age-spread, pensions, inflation, traffic jams, and cell phones.

Genres: Poetry, Humor, Nonfiction

103 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of ridiculous verse in the style of and as a parody of ‘Now we are six’ by AA Milne. Built around those earlier lines of poetry the author takes a poem and faithful to that metre and rhythms produces a poem for the older man.
Full of wit and comic observations, some are seriously funny.
However it is the wonderful drawings that lift the book and make it a fitting homage to Milne’s earlier work.

[Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the best loved poems of A.A. Milne has been rewritten by the author for 60-year olds. One of these, with an illustration of an old couple sitting on chairs facing a TV which says “The End” is entitled “Autumn Afternoon” and has reminiscences of the couple’s past leisure travel ending with —


“We’ve been on safari, we’ve been to Hong Kong,
We’ve been to Bangkok, in a boat, up a klong.
We’ve been to Vienna and heard the Boys’ Choir,
And sat eating clams on Cape Cod round a fire.


Is there anywhere left, now the world is so small,
That hasn’t been ruined by touristic sprawl?
Perhaps we should sit here and watch the night fall,
And get ready to make the last journey of all.”

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 1 out of 5]

A poetic parody of A. A. Milne.
I was not amused ... only confused.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done! I enjoyed the playfulness of these poems. In fact, I laughed out loud!

[Raffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought I would laugh so much while I read. Now we are sixty is by far the wittiest piece of literature I have ever read. On the topic of turning sixty sounds boring and dull. Making me wish to never get old, this book will not change your opinion. At least it was not in my case. But, a day brightener to say the least, Reading his work made each bad day bearable, similar to a glass of milk with a side of cookies. I have little to say about the book and its content, that is why I wish to rewrite this and re read the book when I turn sixty. I think then it would be appropriate to give a proper review of this book.
For now I will enjoy my time until then.
Life

(after The End)
When I was one
The War had begun.
When I was ten
It was wartime again.
When I was twenty
I thought I knew plenty.
When I was thirty
I liked to be flirty.
When I was forty
I got rather sporty.
When I was fifty
I turned very thrifty.
But now that I’m sixty, I’ve got to confess
That more often than not, I couldn’t care less.

(page 104)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now we are...54 years older. What great fun! This was a birthday gift from my sister on the occasion of the big six-oh. Matthews' tribute to A. A. Milne is so witty and often, laugh-out-loud hilarious. He selects some of the best poems in Milne's childhood classic and rewrites them for the sexagenarian.
My favorite: Life (after THE END)
When I was One
The War had begun.

When I was Ten
It was wartime again.

When I was Twenty
I thought I knew plenty.

When I was Thirty
I liked to be flirty.

When I was Forty
I got rather sporty.

When I was Fifty
I turned very thrifty.

But now that I'm Sixty, I've got to confess
That more often than not, I couldn't care less.

[Genetic Cuckoo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book of poetry was so mean spirited and unpleasant to read. It's trying to me relatable to modern people, but if anything it comes across as very dated, with names of celebrates and current affairs. The jokes are also very dated and mean-spirited, many focus on terrible stereotypes or just make being homosexual the butt of the joke. There is such a mix of sexist, homophobic and classist jokes that I can't see this book actually appealing to any modern audience and could only be described as a product of its time.

[N.P. Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun and relatable read. The book takes the style of the old AA Milne books (particularity Now We Are Six) & lovingly pays tribute, but with poems about what it's like to enter the later stages of life. Rather than all of the potential and optimism of the original Milne books, this tells of the disappointments and challenges of adulthood, ranging between genuinely funny, insightful, and touching. I would recommend this to anyone who loved the Milne originals (whether you enjoyed them as a child or read them to your own children), but also just to anyone who enjoys a bit of silliness and fun in their poetry books.

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first “real” book that I remember reading over and over once I was old enough to read was Now We are Six, by A.A. Milne in paperback. My sister gave it to me when I turned (duh) six, and she annotated it. How cool is that!

Which goes a ways toward explaining why I couldn’t resist this book when I saw it. It’s mildly amusing, probably the way I would feel about the original if I hadn’t read the original as a child. The poems here are parodies of the original. But this is definitely more grown-up, as this excerpt from the “rewritten” version of "The Little Black Hen," entitled "Saloon Bar Romeos," shows:

Hebblethwaite and Hopwood,
Fothergill and Fenn
And Bob Stanford-Dingley
Are five grown men . . .
And all of them are ogling
Our barmaid, Jen.

This is probably only for Milne fans, and only a select few of them. I had a couple of twinges of “don’t ruin THAT one too” as I read this book. But these are generally in good spirit and amusing.

(Among the poems I love from the original, he didn’t do--as far as I can tell--the “Anne” poem, or “The Knight Whose Armour Didn’t Squeak,” two of my favorites. But he did work on “King John’s Christmas.”)

[Felicity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some amusing verses, most notably the dog-fouled 'London streets', a revised version of Milne's 'Lines and Squares', instantly recognisable by all those wearers of 'shoes that have crinkly soles, / With lots of small ridges and dozens of holes', but most of the lines have a whiff not so much of dog poo as of the pre-redundancy angst of self-proclaimed old duffers drowning their complaints in drinkies at the club. Strangely, this 1999 collection seems more dated than its source.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Birthday gift to my husband on his 60th birthday (nearly 15 years ago) by a young friend. If you read the Christopher Robin NOW WE ARE SIX books to your kids, or grandkids, you will enjoy this book, I think.

[Mathilde Gann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright. Sometimes I couldn't understand, that might be because I'm only 13 :)

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most English readers are familiar with A. A. Milne, the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh. His poetry collections for children, When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six were extremely popular with the children of yore, and they continue to be popular.

Christopher Matthew, the author of this book, grew up with these poems - but unfortunately, the process of growing up threw him out of the magical world of the child. But he didn't despair. He set out to create his own world for senior citizens: a geriatric nursery for those growing into their second childhood. The result is this book.

The author has written a number of poems based on the themes presented by Milne in the above two collections - matching them meter to meter. The only thing is that the rose-tinted glasses of childhood have been replaced by the cynical grey-tinted ones of late middle-age and an awareness about the approaching oblivion.

Thus, Spring Morning becomes Autumn Afternoon.

The boy says:

Where am I going? I don't quite know.
What does it matter where people go?
Down to the wood where the blue-bells grow-
Anywhere, anywhere. I don't know.

The man says:

Is there anywhere left, now the world is so small,
That hasn't been ruined by touristic sprawl?
Perhaps we should sit here and watch the night fall,
And get ready to make the last journey of all.

But don't get the impression that the book is all gloom and doom. This sombre piece is an anomaly. Most of the poems are quirky and funny.

Milne ends Now We Are Six with the following poem:

The End

When I was One,
I had just begun.

When I was Two,
I was nearly new.

When I was Three,
I was hardly me.

When I was Four,
I was not much more.

When I was Five,
I was just alive.

But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever

So I think I'll be six now
Forever and ever.

Christopher Matthew's rejoinder to this is:

Life

When I was One
The War had begun.

When I was Ten
It was wartime again.

When I was Twenty
I thought I knew plenty.

When I was Thirty
I liked to be flirty.

When I was Forty
I got rather sporty.

When I was Fifty
I got rather thrifty.

But now that I am Sixty, I've got to confess
That more often than not, I couldn't care less.

An apt book for all sexagenarians - like yours truly!

[Tina Ambury]

I bought this book at least 20 years ago and thought I'd re-read it now I am 60.
If I hadn't been reading it in a hospital waiting room, I'd have thrown it away.
Not only can I not relate to it at all, but it's dated badly and is offensive, objectionable, and downright unfunny.
If I wasn't against books going in landfill, I'd bin it. It will go in the charity bag instead.

[Sarah Meldrum · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wasn't the worst, and the rhyme scheme and illustrations were nice I guess, but that's about it. A bit mean spirited, like a political cartoon, and the poetry generally fell flat to me. I picked this off a community bookshelf one day for procrastination purposes... I finished it because it was a short book that would count towards my reading challenge, ngl.

[Brian Wessels · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is the most clever part, really. (And even there, “When We Were Very Young” seems to get more representation, actually.) Some of the poems are topical to the year published, and several are only clear to the British.

I would search for the original poem, and then read the updated tribute. Two or three at a go. In this manner it took me half a year to care to finish. Meh.

[BookWithAView · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not 60- I picked this book up in the community library because I thought I’d enjoy a bit of whimsy.
It was ok. Nothing stood out hugely. Couple of grin moments, several cringe moments. Probably the thoughts of some over 60’s in verse.
Nothing to write home about.

[Cel Jel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently read Now we are Six to a child, I found this book on my bookshelf that I had not read. I think I may have picked it up or been given it at the time of a birthday. The poems are based on Now We Are Six in rhythm and shape, and are great fun to read out loud. I did enjoy it.

[Elisa Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of funny poems for adults.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought that this collection of verse may have held some appeal as I am fully within the age range. How wrong can I be? One star for David Eccles' art work.

[Tom Houlton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, with a few sweet, lovely poems. A great adult response to an old classic.

[Sophie Bowns · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lighthearted, fun read. 3.5*

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utter drivel!

[Coenraad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew responds in hilarious and witty way to the famous A.A. Milne children's poems.

[Andy Gore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very silly book for sure!!

[Sally Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some bits made me smile and I could relate to( the one about the fitness fanatic I read to the husband) others less so

[Sketching Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually read poetry books, but my Mum had taken this book out of the library, so I picked it up. I'm so glad I did, I was hooked! I found the poems subjects down to earth and totally relateable to. I think just about everyone will have experienced similar situations and real life events just like these, and it certainly put a smile on my face. There was the odd poem I didn't quite get (perhaps it's because I am not quite sixty yet?), but the majority I absolutely loved! A humourous look at everyday events in life, and sometimes with a touch of sadness, but always leaves you feeling good. I really enjoyed this book, and will happily read more poetry books. Excellent work by Christopher Matthew, and excellent accompanying drawings by David Eccles too! :)

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was bought this book several years ago by my ex-husband. Neither of us were, or are now even, sixty. It is a funny little book and did make me laugh. Not quite as humourous or well written as Pam Ayres but seems to follow along in her style. I've given the book three stars because it is still on my bookshelf and does get looked at, albeit rather infrequently these days. I'm not sure if I would actually buy the book for myself though.

[Di Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child, later a parent and more recently as a grandmother I have always loved the poems of A A Milne in When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six so this book by Christopher Matthew is a delight. His poems are written after those of A A Milne but he has taken he best loved and re-written them for sixty year olds.
The result is a mix of comedy and observation I am pleased to have on my bookshelf.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still have my copy of "The World of Christopher Robin" which contains "When We Were Very Young" and "Now We Are Six". This book is a delightfully irreverent answer to the original, very much in keeping with the spirit of AA Milne, but from the perspective of a more mature audience.