When We Were Very Young / Now We Are Six

by A.A. Milne

Blackstone Audio presents, from the unabridged collection "A.A. Milne's Pooh Classics," the forty-four poems from When We Were Very Young and the thirty-five poems of Now We Are Six, performed by Peter Dennis. This is the only reading of these delightful verses authorized by A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin.

The first of A.A. Milne's four world-famous books for children, When We Were Very Young introduced Christopher Robin to innumerable friends and has probably been read more widely than any other book of verse for children published in our time. Now We Are Six followed, becoming a modern classic in its own right.

For sheer delightfulness, the children's rhymes of A.A. Milne are in a class by themselves with their charm, humor, understanding, and irresistible rhythms.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Literature, Animals

2 pages, Audiobook

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

Alan Alexander Milne (pronounced /ˈmɪln/) was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems.

A. A. Milne was born in Kilburn, London, to parents Vince Milne and Sarah Marie Milne (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, a small public school run by his father. One of his teachers was H. G. Wells who taught there in 1889–90. Milne attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied on a mathematics scholarship. While there, he edited and wrote for Granta, a student magazine. He collaborated with his brother Kenneth and their articles appeared over the initials AKM. Milne's work came to the attention of the leading British humour magazine Punch, where Milne was to become a contributor and later an assistant editor.

Milne joined the British Army in World War I and served as an officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and later, after a debilitating illness, the Royal Corps of Signals. He was discharged on February 14, 1919.

After the war, he wrote a denunciation of war titled Peace with Honour (1934), which he retracted somewhat with 1940's War with Honour. During World War II, Milne was one of the most prominent critics of English writer P. G. Wodehouse, who was captured at his country home in France by the Nazis and imprisoned for a year. Wodehouse made radio broadcasts about his internment, which were broadcast from Berlin. Although the light-hearted broadcasts made fun of the Germans, Milne accused Wodehouse of committing an act of near treason by cooperating with his country's enemy. Wodehouse got some revenge on his former friend by creating fatuous parodies of the Christopher Robin poems in some of his later stories, and claiming that Milne "was probably jealous of all other writers.... But I loved his stuff."

He married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt in 1913, and their only son, Christopher Robin Milne, was born in 1920. In 1925, A. A. Milne bought a country home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. During World War II, A. A. Milne was Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row, insisting on being plain 'Mr. Milne' to the members of his platoon. He retired to the farm after a stroke and brain surgery in 1952 left him an invalid and by August 1953 "he seemed very old and disenchanted".

He was 74 years old when he passed away in 1956.

Reviews

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful book of poems for children… but also… for adults. These poems were all so sweet and well written and a little funny too. Some also had surprising depth. A lot of repetition, rhyming and structured poems that just sound so nice to read out loud.

As a bonus, we got our copy of this at a secondhand bookstore and there was an inscription at the front from the previous owners’ parents which was really cute (they had also written in rhyme)

[Kellen O'Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of these poems, I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my all time favourites and is one that I've adored since I was a young child. I found this a few weeks back when my brother was boxing some of my old belongings up from my parents house and I just knew I had to read it again. It gave me all the feels and was such a nostalgic read that it made me feel like I was wrapped in a warm hug as well as transporting me back to having it read to me by my mum and dad as a child 🥺 A.A.Milne will always be classic, and rightfully so. I'm not really into poetry but this book has always and always will hold such a special place in my heart. If you have any childhood favourites I definitely recommend reading them again as an adult because it's such a cute experience.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have this edition according to the ISBN (and cover art), however mine is a hardcover. A handwritten note inside indicates it was given to me in 1987 when I was 8.

This is probably the first book on philosophy I owned. I routinely brought this with me to my college US politics course; I believed it to be superior to the course textbook, and still do.

What have I learned from this book? That not only children are right to be curious, and trusting, and afraid, and imaginative, and disobediant. And that the world adults have made for themselves is awful and boring.

Suck it American Polity Reader.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been since I was a child that I read this collection of poems. I loved Winnie-the-Pooh and wanted to read this when the librarian told me that a few of the poems were about Christopher Robin and there was a fun one about a teddy bear. I took her advice and even as a young child of eight learned to adore more of A.A. Milne's talent.

As an adult, I think I appreciate these nostalgic and whimsical pieces even more that take one back to the innocence of childhood. When a child has learned to be polite and is, but grows weary in the chore, when a child gives impressions of a visit to the zoo, or is regaled with tales from a favored aunt, or loses his pet mouse in a relations' house, or imagines an adventure of the imagination.

I enjoyed my re-read in audiobook format and appreciated the talented Peter Dennis whimsically tripping through the poetic lines, giving child-like mischief, curiosity, and imagination to the tone of each poem.

I will definitely be returning to these slim volumes of poetry when I need to see a simpler, brighter, dreamier world. Recommend for young and the young at heart alike.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So delightful. I listened as an audiobook but want to buy & read aloud to my babies as they grow.

[Brianna Bratrud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this a few times before, but read nearly all of it in one sitting a few weeks ago with Mary (she was feeling sick and tired, so she sat through like 30 min straight…)

This is my favorite book of children’s poems of all time. “Disobedience” is our absolute favorite—try saying “James James, Morrison Morrison, Weatherby George Duprey, took great care of his mother, though he was only three!” without having fun.
From silly to playful to contemplative, the short, the long, the story-driven, they are all truly excellent, imaginative, and lovely poems that delight in the young child’s world.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fun to go through this, again.

[Harj D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read 'The Complete Winnie-the-Pooh', the boxset the book came in was accompanied by both poetry collections 'When We Were Very Young' and 'Now We Are Six'. Both poetry collections are targeted for children in rhyming schemes, themes, and storytelling. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the pieces and felt myself being transported back to my childhood with each piece. Timeless, classic, and nostalgic, it's a must read for children, and for those adults who feel drawn to this collection by their innocent, childlike heart.

[J Grimsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these simple poems for over 60 years. What a birthday Present

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 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.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of poems from two different books written by A.A. Milne. When We Were Still Young is a collection of forty-four different poems, and the second book, And Now We are Six, is comprised of thirty-five poems. Both collections were read by Peter Dennis who was the only authorized narrator for A. A. Milne's poems by his son, Christopher Robin. The narrator did a superb job and really brought out the charisma and childhood charm in these poems.

[Annah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The poems are not innately bad, but this seemed like poor marketing as almost none of the poems were about Pooh, and even the ones about Christopher Robin were a stretch. I think this collection would be better if you were into it for the Milne family perhaps? But even then, I’m confused by this collection. 😂

[Natalia H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting, and i liked majority of the poems. Some of the poems confused me though because it seemed like they left out words of the poem but they didn't. Anyways it was a pretty good book

[Frederick Colbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a masterpiece. The epitome of English literary talent. This book will go down in history as one of the greatest ever written. .

My favourite poem was the One about the bear who was sad because he was fat. But he stopped being sad when he learnt that the king of France is also fat.

[Gina]

My daughter and I both loved the poems in this book. She begged me to read a few to her every morning.

[Heydi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the cleverest and sweetest poetry I’ll ever read.

[Selina · Rating 5 out of 5]

We really enjoyed this as a family. Sweet and whimsical. Funny and cheerful. The oldest who is six loved the last poem in the book. :)

[Nathan Meier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to not be interested in these since they wern’t as storyful as the other Pooh books, but now that I know about poetry I think it’s a pretty good collection of fun poems of small times.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. In case I'm not the only one who didn't realize this, these books are not Winnie-the-Pooh sequels in the way that The House at Pooh Corner was a sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh, even though they're listed as #3 and #4. These are poems that were written and published before the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, so there are a number of references to Christopher Robin and a very few to "Edward Bear," and the rest are unrelated poems, generally from a child's perspective.

I was surprised that my 3-year-old, upon learning that these were poems and not more Winnie-the-Pooh stories, adjusted his expectations quickly and was content to listen to "the poems" each night at bedtime. They reminded me a bit of Shel Silverstein, in that some of the poems are very short — only a few lines — and some tell more complete stories. I found the rhythm of the poems to be a bit lacking; given that we were listening to the authorized version of the audiobook and the narrator still couldn't quite get the beats to work tells me that it is indeed a flaw in the writing. So personally, I found them to be weak in form and mostly forgettable in content, but my son enjoyed them so much that I was able to set aside my critical hat enough to enjoy them more or less. I doubt that I will want to read them again in the future, though.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

The World of Christopher Robin contains both When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six--two works of poetry for the young which I read in separate editions when I was a small person. When I became a grownup with my own small person, I got this delightfully illustrated ("with new illustrations in full color") to share with my son. He wasn't quite as interested in the poems as he was in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. I couldn't really blame him. I seem to remember being a bit disappointed that there wasn't more Christopher Robin and Pooh in these books myself--at first. But then I fell in love with the poems, so it came out all right anyway.

Rereading these poems was much more of an exercise in nostalgia than reading the Pooh books. I can remember why I liked them (and I still smile over quite a lot of them)--but they don't hold the charm for me quite the way Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner do. It was a nice stroll down memory lane--and I'll keep the four star rating for that--but I don't somehow think I'll be reading them again unless my son presents me with a grandchild in the future.

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister and I got talking about Winnie the Pooh characters, and she said her husband is an Eeyore and that all of us are at least one of them. That started a fun conversation and she told me to check out any Pooh Books I could find. So the librarian and I had fun looking around the library for any we could find. I have some video's to watch too. This is a lot about Christopher Robin, and the country he lives near. And it probably might be one of the best to start with. Fun Fun Fun!!!

[Rebecca Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

For our together studies this year, we’ve been choosing from the books in Ambleside Online’s Year One. We haven’t been strictly following the schedule, but we’ve been modifying it to suit our family and our needs. We are loosely Charlotte Mason, but we are also very relaxed and interest-led, so we sometimes have a very different approach to our schooling, but each family is different, isn’t it? It’s been a very successful year, but somehow, it took us quite some time to get around to this year’s poetry selections.

However, I did want to expose the children to some of the different poets, so I dutifully bought The World of Christopher Robin to try with the children. For those unfamiliar with this collection of poems, this book combines two of A.A. Milne’s books of poetry, When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, to paint an imaginative picture of the world for children that are very young on up to all of us adults who enjoy poetry.

The poems are wide-ranging, which makes this volume hard to describe. One minute you’re reading a poem such as, “Politeness,” where the narrator is wishing that everyone he encounters is not quite so eager to make polite conversation (it’s the classic introvert response to small talk). The next minute you’re reading a long story poem about a knight whose armor doesn’t squeak having his pride lowered by finding another knight whose armor does not squeak. Sir Tom is reduced to plotting to give the other knight rusty armor so that, once again, Tom is the only knight whose armor does not squeak.

To begin with, here are the kids’ opinions:

Ellie (age 6): Five stars. I loved it. I liked all the poems in Now We Are Six. My favorite poem is “The End.”

Connor (age 7): Two stars. I didn’t like this book that much. In one of the poems, he says he is the king of everything, but God is the king of everything. Also, he doesn’t know where wind comes from, and it’s stupid to even think of following a kite. You might end up in Africa. He acts like he doesn’t know anything.

Emalee (age 11): One star. I didn’t like it because I thought he acted like a spoiled, little brat in the poems. And, it felt like he had four different girlfriends throughout the poems.

Bennet (age 12): Five Stars. I really liked the little poems because I feel like they are unique. I haven’t read any other poems like them. I like the way they are organized.

My children have vastly different personalities, and as such, their opinions do differ widely. I personally found the poems to be delightful and felt that the children were more engaged in these poems than they have been with many of the poets that we have read together.

[Sarah Mazzei · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to utilize for younger children, especially because it contains poems for children at all kinds of reading levels. There are very bright and colorful illustrations as well that will be engaging for readers. I may use one of the poems in this book as an introduction to poetry as the poems include figurative language and lots of imaginations that will be interesting for the students. I would then keep it on the shelves of my classroom library for students to look at on their own. Specifically, I read the poem "Knight-in-Armour" which describes a little boy using his imagination to become a dragon-slaying knight. It follows a fun rhyme scheme and will catch younger children's attention. It is also a shorter poem, so it does not require extensive attention spans. I also read the poem "The Friend" which is a cute yet also comical poem within this book. It illustrates how there are so many questions asked about the world, and if you do not know the answer then people look at you differently. However, you can sometimes hide behind the answers of your friend, because if they're right then it doesn't look bad but if they're wrong it does not fall back on you. I think this poem is cute and shows the humor of younger children. You can really hear the narrator as a younger child in this poem, and I think younger students would really enjoy this poem. I don't know if I would use this poem in front of the entire class in my classroom.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I miss my sweet little hardcovers from childhood, stained from my very own grimy little girl hands; I loved having a separate "grown up book" each for "When We Were Very Young" and also "Now We Are Six."

Although I loved having special books just for me on my very own bookshelf, these books left me kind of lukewarm. (Despite, as you might guess from how I review books now, my NOT being a lukewarm, beigey kind of child.)

At the time I vividly felt the intent of the author. To me, Milne was kindly and very ancient. He was trying to write books especially for children.

Nice try. He always seemed to me like an earnest person "who liked children" and thought we were kinda stupid.

OF COURSE I'M GIVING HIM 5 STARS FOR TRYING

Nonetheless, here's a randomish poem, from my Page 173 of a big floppy paperback. Read it and then, fellow Goodreaders, please feel free to comment below.

* What on earth was the author thinking?
* And how very simple did he think we short young people, with the sweet-smelling skin, really were?

Christopher, Christopher, why are you going, Christopher Robin?
There's nothing to see, so when
You've got to the top, what then?
"Just down to the bottom again,"
Said Christopher Robin.

[Anwar Casas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this book when I was making a research for a paper about the Russian Cartoon version of Winnie the Pooh. If you are familiar with the history of the family, you know that later in his life Christopher Robin tried to live far from the shadow of his portrait in the books of his father. Nevertheless, this book truly express joyful times and contains two volumes: "When we were very young" that contains the world of Christopher Robin when he was three, and "Now we are six" which has more adventures of his childhood, when he passed from 4 to 6 years old. All the poems reflect the love of a caring father and how the little adventures of his boy inspired him to create very wonderful poems. A new movie is coming that relates a little about their relationship, and if someone is interested in the point of view of Christopher Robin there is a book titled "The enchanted places". It is truly fascinating to explore the life of the author and his son and of course approach to these wonderful books that will take you back to the delightful age of childhood.

[Ally Rey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading these poems with a 3 year old and a 6 year old. They enjoyed them and looked forward to reading them together. The 6 year old asked me to reread a poem, a few days after the first reading, and then recited parts of it, around the house. The illustrations are also quite lovely.

That being said, I would like this book much better if 3 poems were omitted. The first of which was racist and was not read to the children:

*In the poems "Nursery Chairs," There is a dull color drawing of "Indians" being portrayed as monkeys and is egregious. The poem also has a stanza stating that the "Indians" come out to play when they are beckoned by the child. And when the child does not want to play with them he "simply waves gus hanf and then they turn and go away - They always understand."

*There is also an unflattering drawing of a black King with a turban on his head in the poem "Forgotten."

*"Little Bo-Peep and Little Boy Blue" casts romance on children whose illustrations make then seem to be three. I'm not a fan of this, though it may not be a big deal to some.

[Helen Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade Levels = Pre-K, 1-2, 3-5

Summary:
Poems of Christopher Robin and Alice watching the changing of guards at Buckingham Palace. Other poems of calling his friend different names because his friend doesn't mind. Each poem is more silly than the next, but always a fun read.

Review:
These poems are cheerful and loving. Children will love the silliness and the creative use of words to make the poem flow well. There are also drawings on the side of each poem that helps to bring the poem to life.

Possible Lesson Plans:
Students can write poems about their favorite stuffed animal and make up silly stories about them. Students can also pick a poem from the book and find parts they don’t understand and do a little searching online for its deeper meaning. Teachers can help students develop their writing further by demonstrating the different ways that poetry can take place so students can write to their heart's content.

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, I don’t consider these collections of poems from A.A. Milne to be part of the “Winnie the Pooh” canon, as Goodreads seems to. Yes, Mr. Edward Bear (AKA Winnie-the-Pooh AKA Pooh) makes his first appearance, and several of the poems feature Christopher Robin (as Milne’s real-life son, he inspired all of his father’s children’s stories). And yes, the wonderful art of E.H. Shepard is ever-present, like in the two Pooh novels. But these silly rhyming poems don’t have anything to do with the fictional world of the Hundred-Acre Wood. Still, they’re just fine, probably best read aloud to young kids. Some of them are quite clever. But on the whole these are more expendable, at least to me, than Milne’s classic Pooh stories are. (But those two novels are my go-to favorite “make me feel better no matter what” books, so I’m biased.)

[Mikhaila Ackerbauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awards the book has received (if any)

Appropriate grade level(s): First grade through Second grade

Original 3-line summary: Out of the poem book, I read Buckingham Palace. A little girl and her brother go to the look at the palace every day. When they go, the guards shift their positions and it sparks a new statement in the young boy, and his sister responds to each of his thoughts.

Original 3-line review: I absolutely adore A.A. Milne's writing style. His pieces are wonderful and enjoyable for all ages. This poem, in particular, is excellent for beginning readers, given that the pattern is very simple and accessible.

2-3 possible in-class uses: This poem can be used for lessons on rhyming words, and even creating a small poem following the pattern.