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Songs of Childhood
A collection of forty-seven poems about subjects and experiences familiar to children.
106 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1902
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92 people want to read
About the author
Walter de la Mare
524 books173 followersWalter John de la Mare was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fiction, including "Seaton's Aunt" and "All Hallows". In 1921, his novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and his post-war Collected Stories for Children won the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children's books.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 9, 2023
We did it! We read an entire book of poetry for AmblesideOnline! (After 7 years with AO.) This one is assigned for Year 2, Term 1, but it took us six months.
February 18, 2019
Well, I really like the poems by Walter de la Mare which I’ve read in anthologies, so I asked my husband to buy me his work for my birthday. Martin got me a new hardback reprint of The Complete Poems, and as I like to read just one or two a night before going to sleep, I reckon I’ll be a nonagenarian by the time I’m done! 😆
Ok, so this is the first book, and de la Mare’s early work. I found it fascinating, that there was clearly something in the air at the time, as indicated in AS Byatt’s book The Children’s Book, which is a fictionalised account featuring Edith Nesbit. There was so much being published about the supernatural/fairies/fantasy (eg Arthur Machen and Lord Dunsany for adults, and George McDonald for children). Recently Susanna Clarke’s weighty tome Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell has portrayed the not so nice side of the world of faerie!
As someone else said, there are some right creepy poems in this first collection! I find quite a lot of this early work florid, but found enough that I could really love.
Ok, so this is the first book, and de la Mare’s early work. I found it fascinating, that there was clearly something in the air at the time, as indicated in AS Byatt’s book The Children’s Book, which is a fictionalised account featuring Edith Nesbit. There was so much being published about the supernatural/fairies/fantasy (eg Arthur Machen and Lord Dunsany for adults, and George McDonald for children). Recently Susanna Clarke’s weighty tome Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell has portrayed the not so nice side of the world of faerie!
As someone else said, there are some right creepy poems in this first collection! I find quite a lot of this early work florid, but found enough that I could really love.
December 30, 2020
This was a scheduled read for AOY2. I haven’t found a volume of one poet in my meager poetry reading history that I laughed and delighted in, until this one. This morning when I was reading the last two poems aloud, Grayson asked me to stop reading it. “Why?”, I asked. “I don’t want it to end!” 🥰 I would say that is review enough for a young reader.
February 26, 2018
3.5 stars rounding down. A nice little book of poetry; some of the poems were whimsical, some were haunting and some were quite chilling. This collection of verses is billed as "for children" but it's more of the Shockheaded Peter "for children" than Mother Goose's Rhymes.
November 19, 2021
A few really good lines but not our favorite overall.
September 12, 2022
Read for AO yr 2 poetry. We enjoyed reading and memorizing some of these poems.
I especially loved the poem, "Horseman" and my daughter loved and memorized the poem, "The Cupboard.
Horseman
I heard a horseman
Ride over the hill;
The moon shone clear,
The night was still;
His helm was silver,
And pale was he;
And the horse he rode
Was of ivory.
The Cupboard
I know a little cupboard,
With a teeny tiny key,
And there's a jar of Lollypops
For me, me, me.
It has a little shelf, my dear,
As dark as dark can be,
And there's a dish of Banbury Cakes
For me, me, me.
I have a small fat grandmamma,
With a very slippery knee,
And she's the Keeper of the Cupboard
With the key, key, key.
And when I'm very good, my dear,
As good as good can be,
There's Banbury Cakes, and Lollypops
For me, me, me.
I especially loved the poem, "Horseman" and my daughter loved and memorized the poem, "The Cupboard.
Horseman
I heard a horseman
Ride over the hill;
The moon shone clear,
The night was still;
His helm was silver,
And pale was he;
And the horse he rode
Was of ivory.
The Cupboard
I know a little cupboard,
With a teeny tiny key,
And there's a jar of Lollypops
For me, me, me.
It has a little shelf, my dear,
As dark as dark can be,
And there's a dish of Banbury Cakes
For me, me, me.
I have a small fat grandmamma,
With a very slippery knee,
And she's the Keeper of the Cupboard
With the key, key, key.
And when I'm very good, my dear,
As good as good can be,
There's Banbury Cakes, and Lollypops
For me, me, me.
August 14, 2025
I found an edition of this from 1922 in a second-hand bookshop and thought I would give it a try. To be honest, I don't usually read a lot of poetry, but these were cute, short and whimsical, which makes sense as they were originally meant for children. Nature is a strong theme in the poems, which I enjoyed. I will say some of these poems are a bit macabre considering the target audience, but 1902 was a different time. The edition I bought has the beautiful frontispiece of "Under the Dock Leaves" by Richard Doyle, which I'm very happy to have.
Read
December 7, 2022Read 11 poems for a reading challenge.
December 20, 2024
Nice collection
Of poems to read with/to a child. We enjoyed them and intend to read more of de la Mare's work
Of poems to read with/to a child. We enjoyed them and intend to read more of de la Mare's work
Want to read
April 6, 2025Save for 2nd grade
October 30, 2020
I had two grievances against Walter de la Mare's poetry in the beginning.
1) The poems from Songs of Childhood were relentlessly depressing. I think maybe two or three had happy endings? There was even one about three monkeys living on a funny little island that seemed promising, and the girls started to brighten up a bit--but of course, THAT TOO ended in terrible tragedy for all the monkeys. For this reason, my girls cheerfully hated these poems ("UGHHH, THIS BOOK AGAIN") every time we sat down to read. "Who dies in this one?" they'd ask with resignation at the beginning of each poem. But, as a student of literature for most of my life, I feel there is some value to a good robust hatred of a particular author or style. C. S. Lewis had his Eliot; I have my Dickens. There's a strange love inside that hatred--though I only speak for myself here, not for Lewis, ha. At the very least, it's better than apathy.
2) The fairies in this volume were precisely the type of whimsical, pretty, tiny fairies that Tolkien has taught me to avoid. There are one or two poems that seem to imply the mysterious and capricious dangers of the realm of Faerie, but none that properly show the noble beauty of the tradition. These fairies are all more "Cobweb and Peaseblossom" than "Titania," if you get my meaning.
HOWEVER, what salvaged this was the selections from Peacock Pie at the end of the book. THOSE poems were fun and clever and reminded me strongly of A. A. Milne. Best of all, without any prompting, my 5yo took the initiative to actually memorize one of them--"Alas, Alack"--asking me to read it over and over again until she had it by heart (she now performs it with motions). Best of ALL of all, the 3yo has memorized it by listening to the 5yo. (This particular poem made me stop to laugh only two lines in.) If I were to recommend a volume of de la Mare to younger families (my kids are 6, 5, and 3), I would definitely recommend Peacock Pie alone, uninhibited by the wussy fairies and morbidity of Songs.
1) The poems from Songs of Childhood were relentlessly depressing. I think maybe two or three had happy endings? There was even one about three monkeys living on a funny little island that seemed promising, and the girls started to brighten up a bit--but of course, THAT TOO ended in terrible tragedy for all the monkeys. For this reason, my girls cheerfully hated these poems ("UGHHH, THIS BOOK AGAIN") every time we sat down to read. "Who dies in this one?" they'd ask with resignation at the beginning of each poem. But, as a student of literature for most of my life, I feel there is some value to a good robust hatred of a particular author or style. C. S. Lewis had his Eliot; I have my Dickens. There's a strange love inside that hatred--though I only speak for myself here, not for Lewis, ha. At the very least, it's better than apathy.
2) The fairies in this volume were precisely the type of whimsical, pretty, tiny fairies that Tolkien has taught me to avoid. There are one or two poems that seem to imply the mysterious and capricious dangers of the realm of Faerie, but none that properly show the noble beauty of the tradition. These fairies are all more "Cobweb and Peaseblossom" than "Titania," if you get my meaning.
HOWEVER, what salvaged this was the selections from Peacock Pie at the end of the book. THOSE poems were fun and clever and reminded me strongly of A. A. Milne. Best of all, without any prompting, my 5yo took the initiative to actually memorize one of them--"Alas, Alack"--asking me to read it over and over again until she had it by heart (she now performs it with motions). Best of ALL of all, the 3yo has memorized it by listening to the 5yo. (This particular poem made me stop to laugh only two lines in.) If I were to recommend a volume of de la Mare to younger families (my kids are 6, 5, and 3), I would definitely recommend Peacock Pie alone, uninhibited by the wussy fairies and morbidity of Songs.
June 4, 2013
This collection of poems is absolutely wonderful. The language and imagery de la Mare uses and creates are so beautiful and magical; everything is immersed in fairies, woodland and starry skies. It really is like reading a fairytale collection in verse.
September 18, 2020
The printing was great, no complaints about the publisher. Just wasn't thrilled with some of the poems. Some were boring and some we just didn't get, but some we did like so it was pretty hit or miss. We did enjoy the illustrations.
April 27, 2020
AO2 (20for2020 Volume of Poetry by a single author)
Read
February 23, 2021Read for AOY2.
May 21, 2018
For a book of verse meant for kids, Songs of Childhood reads more like a collection of mini horror stories!
I was reading a 600 page novel about a KKK member on death row in rural Mississippi whose last hope is a rookie lawyer trying to bring him back from the clutches of the looming Grim Reaper(The Chamber), when i decided to take a break with what i thought would be a kids rhyme book and boy did De La Mare rickroll me! This was supposed to be a light-hearted respite, but some of the horror in these poems would put Poe to shame. Turned out this book was more gruesome than the death row tale.
Look at this excerpt for example:
or this one where a girl buys a trinket from a pedlar in exchange for a lock of her hair and mysteriously dies later:
Complete with ominous witches, sinister pirates, eerie ghosts of dead mothers in lonely mansions, and kids that go out to play and never come back home or simply die in their sleep - this book was a haunted roller coaster ride to say the least.
Most poems are about how kids disobeyed their parents and wound up kidnapaped and/or dead.
This was probably used by parents in early 1900s to scare their children into submission without actually having to give explanations. (If its in your rhyme book, it surely must be true?)
I only hope this was not read at bedtime to any child. Some of these were straight scary! (and the fact that i was reading at night in my bed with the lights off , in silence, with the dull, amber glow of my e-reader app probably did not help.)
As for the actual imagery and poetry, although not bad , i must admit i have read better.
And finally this one:
Like why? This started sweetly enough and could have been about a joy ride in a boat.
But no.. it had to sink and drown 2 polite, innocent kids.
Jenny did not deserve to DIE, WALTER!!!
1 star. (Because if nothing now I know that if I want to live, no one gets mygolden ebony locks).
I was reading a 600 page novel about a KKK member on death row in rural Mississippi whose last hope is a rookie lawyer trying to bring him back from the clutches of the looming Grim Reaper(The Chamber), when i decided to take a break with what i thought would be a kids rhyme book and boy did De La Mare rickroll me! This was supposed to be a light-hearted respite, but some of the horror in these poems would put Poe to shame. Turned out this book was more gruesome than the death row tale.
Look at this excerpt for example:
I ran, O, I ran, but the grey wolf ran faster,
O, Mother, I cry in the air at thy door,
Cry Shoo! now, cry Shoo! but his fangs were so cruel,
Thy son (save his hatchet) thou'lt never see more.'
or this one where a girl buys a trinket from a pedlar in exchange for a lock of her hair and mysteriously dies later:
Remember a face lovely in a wood?
O people! hasten, hasten, do not buy
His woful wares; the bird of grief doth brood
There where his heart should be; and far away
Dew lies on grave-flowers this selfsame day!
Complete with ominous witches, sinister pirates, eerie ghosts of dead mothers in lonely mansions, and kids that go out to play and never come back home or simply die in their sleep - this book was a haunted roller coaster ride to say the least.
Most poems are about how kids disobeyed their parents and wound up kidnapaped and/or dead.
This was probably used by parents in early 1900s to scare their children into submission without actually having to give explanations. (If its in your rhyme book, it surely must be true?)
I only hope this was not read at bedtime to any child. Some of these were straight scary! (and the fact that i was reading at night in my bed with the lights off , in silence, with the dull, amber glow of my e-reader app probably did not help.)
As for the actual imagery and poetry, although not bad , i must admit i have read better.
And finally this one:
The Silver Penny
'Sailorman, I'll give to you
My bright silver penny,
If out to sea you'll sail me
And my dear sister Jenny.'
'Get in, young sir, I'll sail ye
And your dear sister Jenny,
But pay she shall her golden locks
Instead of your penny.'
They sail away, they sail away,
O fierce the winds blew!
The foam flew in clouds,
And dark the night grew!
And all the wild sea-water
Climbed steep into the boat;
Back to the shore again
Sail they will not.
Drowned is the sailorman,
Drowned is sweet Jenny,
And drowned in the deep sea
A bright silver penny.
Like why? This started sweetly enough and could have been about a joy ride in a boat.
But no.. it had to sink and drown 2 polite, innocent kids.
Jenny did not deserve to DIE, WALTER!!!
1 star. (Because if nothing now I know that if I want to live, no one gets my
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews