When We Were Young: A Compendium Of Childhood

by John Burningham

In John Burningham’s enchanting compendium of childhood, the well-known and the unknown contribute funny, moving, magical, and sometimes dark childhood memories. Among them are Michael Palin’s account of his first family seaside holiday, Donna Tartt’s affecting encounter with a hummingbird, and Seamus Heaney’s recollection of a crashed Cadbury’s chocolate truck. Whether the childhoods are from the war years or later, from the town or the country, ordinary or unbelievable, the book is full of rare insights into the “other country” of the past. Woven into the mix is a rich selection of quotations and more than 50 of John Burningham’s witty and distinctive illustrations.

Genres: Biography

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bur...

Married to Helen Oxenbury They have one son and two daughters.

John Burningham was born in 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, and attended the alternative school, Summerhill. In 1954 he spent two years travelling through Italy, Yugoslavia and Israel, working at a variety of jobs.

From 1956-1959, he studied at the Central School of Art, after which he designed posters for London Transport and the British Transport Commission. He also spent a year on an animated puppet film in the Middle East. He then became a writer and illustrator of children's books, his first book, Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers (1963) winning the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1963, an achievement he repeated with Mr Gumpy's Outing (1970).

Since then, he has written and illustrated many children's books. He is also a freelance designer of murals, exhibitions models, magazine illustrations and advertisements.

Reviews

[Liz Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting snippets from lots of writers, this is an excellent book to dip into.

[Raymond Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than expected. Famous writers (mostly) share childhood memories. Funny, strange, sad, and joyful as childhoood can be.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent personal accounts and stories!

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a diverting, there’ll always be an England collection of memories, mostly from the 20th century and mostly non-fictional but some stray excerpts from novels, short stories and poems. Not all contributors are British but many are with a few plucky Americans and various other foreigners from the Empire and elsewhere tossed in for variety’s sake. Contributors include: John Major, Agatha Christie, Rudyard Kipling, Dirk Bogarde, Penelope Lively, Alan Bennett, Lewis Carroll, Beatrix Potter, Virginia Woolf, Nick Hornby, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, Margaret Thatcher, Zadie Smith, A.E. Housman, and Dennis Potter. William Shakespeare and Mark Twain even make an appearance or two.

Despite the fact that the anthology is a charity fundraiser (for UNICEF) it is a not always balanced mix of the bitter and the sweet. There’s war, bullying, abusive school masters, and various mean souls—sort of the Monty Python “you think you had it hard” genre of childhood stories. (England is after all a country where its bookstores include a bannered section among its non-fiction for biography, memoir, and autobiography one titled “Tragic Life Stories.”) But there are also funny and nostalgic stories as well. All in all, tidy little snippets of growing up in the 20th century (plus or minus) compiled for a good cause. Since I got it as a gift I sent a check in the name of the Iron Lady to UNICEF.

[Smiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

These delightful memoirs of the past good old days written with unique nostalgic experience of 32 people from different walks of life. I'm touched by most of the memoirs, however, the one by Tim Pigott-Smith reminds me of my being 'sicker and sicker' when I was very young some 60 years ago. We lived in the country with no electricity, no running water, no roads then, we went to the market/the hospital some 9-10 kilometers away by boat or motor-boat (two trips daily) or on foot. My grandmother walked at night for kilometers to fetch a doctor whose expertise on herbal medicine miraculously saved my life. Since then, my parents had always told me to remember his kindness with gratitude and one day some 40 years ago, my father and I went to visit him (only once in my life) to pay respect and thus I still remember meeting that kind doctor who talked to us good-humoredly. I think fate might dictate him as my life savior whom I must always remember for ever.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a wonderful collection of excerpts from british writers' memoirs of their childhoods. They are all over the map: funny, shocking (why in the world did the british come up with the whole "public school" concept for 8-year-olds? Sheesh!), and edifying by turns.
i don't think this is readily available in the US, so if anyone wants to borrow it, let me know!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm slowly reading this delightful book of childhood memories of a variety of writers, and others compiled by children's author and illustrator John Burningham. Topics include first memories, school, food, friends, playing, wartime, grown-ups, etc.

[Danielle Lentz]

Loved it-some very interesting excerpts from various authors. I want to read the other compendium.

[Maggieg]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13710406