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Winnie-the-Pooh #4

Now We Are Six

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Now We Are Six is the second collection of children’s poetry written by A. A. Milne, best known for creating the beloved children’s character Winnie the Pooh (who appears in several poems). Milne’s poetry isn’t as famous as his Pooh stories, but it is just as magical for readers young and old.

101 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 1927

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About the author

A.A. Milne

1,779 books3,656 followers
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.

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5 stars
12,357 (52%)
4 stars
6,468 (27%)
3 stars
3,567 (15%)
2 stars
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1 star
270 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 816 reviews
Profile Image for Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs.
1,270 reviews18.3k followers
January 31, 2025
This has stuck in my mind like a sing-song mnemonic, all my life since BEFORE I was six!

"They're changing the guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guards!
('A soldier's life is TERRIBLY hard,'
said Alice...)“

And who could ever gainsay this wonderful book’s after-effects? - it is a highly recommended, salubrious anodyne to the deleterious daily stress and strain of our current lives in a Post-COVID 19 World!

Read again, and once more be HAPPY.

😊❗️
Profile Image for Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while).
2,605 reviews2,465 followers
January 18, 2024
EXCERPT: 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 for ever and ever. - A.A. Milne

ABOUT 'NOW WE ARE SIX': A treasured children’s classic of 35 delightful poems, this lovely hardcover edition of Now We Are Six is British author A. A. Milne’s second book of poetry, published in 1927. Charming verses capture the inner voice of a child’s imaginings upon turning six years old. Memorably illustrated in eleven of the poems is cuddly Pooh Bear (Winnie-the-Pooh), inspired by illustrator E. H. Shepard’s son’s teddy bear, Growler. The verses include “The Charcoal-Burner,” “The End,” “The Engineer,” “Forgotten,” “The Friend,” “Furry Bear,” “In the Dark,” “Knight-in-Armour,” “The Morning Walk,” “Us Two,” and “Waiting at the Window.”

MY THOUGHTS: When I was six, my parent presented me with a hard cover set of The World of Pooh and The World of Christopher Robin, which contains Now we Are Six. That was 1961 and I have been reading them ever since. They are looking a little battered and tattered have travelled with me wherever I have been and are the most loved and treasured books I possess.

I have enjoyed introducing my grandson to the works of A.A. Milne and we often have a poem or two at bedtime, the favorites from this collection being Us Two, Forgiven (we once had to go on a beetle hunt with an appropriately labelled matchbox), The Friend, Waiting at the Window (yes, we have had raindrop races on wet days), and In the Dark.

Along with the rest of the set, Now We Are Six is an enduring classic, never to be forgotten by me and to one day be inherited by Luke. A beautiful volume for introducing young children to the world of poetry. They will love the rhyming and repetition.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#NowWeAreSix #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: 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.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Dover Publications via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Profile Image for Suhailah.
405 reviews20 followers
July 14, 2023
3 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This was average like the last volume of poetry. There was more mention of Christopher Robin and Pooh though which I loved! Upside down 🙃🍯

❤️ My favorite poems:
🍯 Solitude
🍯Sneezles
🍯Binker

Solitude: A lovely word. I enjoy my solitude very much. I crave my solitude. Most of all being at home where what I say, always goes.

Sneezles: Reminds me of sick day adventures as a child. Staying home from school sick, in pjs all day. Watching cartoons all day. Special foods and attention. On the flip side, yucky meds and make up school work!

Binker: This one is about imaginary friends! I had multiple imaginary friends as a child, and I still remember them to this day!

Even though I didn’t read this book or series as a child, it brought back a flood of childhood memories!
Profile Image for Calista.
5,429 reviews31.3k followers
May 12, 2022
The classic poems of A. A. Milne with Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh. These poems are for probably 6 and below and anyone who loves Pooh.

I read these at lunch and maybe I was in the wrong headspace for this, but I wasn't so impressed by them. I felt they were either too silly or the verse wasn't all that good and then some were good poems, usually with Pooh or Christopher. Maybe, I will need to re-read it later, or to some kids and see their reactions.

The first story is so odd about King John's Christmas. Poor Bad King John never getting any Christmas gifts. So sad. The ending was fun. I enjoyed CHERRY STones. That was fun. THE KNIGHT WHOSE ARMOR DIDN'T SQUEAK was a fun little story. THE CHARCOAL BURNER was a good bit of poetry. US TOO was a great little Pooh and Christopher story.

I mean these were cute, but maybe my inner child is out to lunch or something. I wasn't feeling this. It had moments and then the rest were simply okay. It must be me.
Profile Image for Nandakishore Mridula.
1,339 reviews2,687 followers
September 14, 2015
Like When We Were Very Young, this is also a terrific compilation. I love it when an adult can see through a child's eyes without losing his "adult-ness". Milne's poetry is simple and beautiful, and his humour can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh need no introduction. Quite a few of the poems in this book are about the duo. Milne accomplishes the extraordinary feat of seeing from the realistic and make-believe viewpoint at the same time (something which comes as second-nature to children, but we lose it as we grow up): therefore, Pooh is a live character to Christopher, even when he knows that he is nothing but a toy (the poem Us Two and The Friend).

There are a lot of nonsense poems about silly grownups, quite a few of them kings and emperors, but behaving like spoilt children-a child's view of himself, maybe! (Or a rather uncomfortable thought - is it so childish? Don't dictators behave like spoilt kids on a rampage - with much deadlier results than Milne's characters produce, of course.) There are poignant poems of a child's world which so incomprehensible to adults so that they shoo him away (Come Out With Me). Also, there is the delight only a child can experience, such as a race between two raindrops (Waiting At The Window). There are even profound philosophical questions which plague a young mind (Explained).

But for me, the poem which captures the quintessence of childhood in this collection is Buttercup Days, about Anne and her man(!), especially these four lines:

What has she got in that little brown head?
Wonderful thoughts which can never be said.
What has she got in that firm little fist of hers?
Somebody's thumb, and it feels like Christopher's.


Anne and Christopher, among the buttercups. Pure childhood bliss!

Five stars, all the way.

Profile Image for Rebecca.
278 reviews395 followers
August 15, 2009
When I was very young, I eyed this book cautiously.
Six seemed immeasurably ancient. I feared being infected with age.

Photobucket
Profile Image for John Hatley.
1,383 reviews231 followers
October 12, 2021
This and the previous volume When We Were Very Young has reconfirmed my faith both in enduring literature (enjoyed by adults and children alike) and in poetry: it has rhythm, rhymes and tells a story and isn't just a string of words apparently meaninglessly stringed together. Perhaps the reason I enjoy these two books is because they were written to be enjoyed (also) by children. But it also fairly well describes my knowledge of and severely limited/restricted appreciation for poetry.
Profile Image for Jena.
965 reviews230 followers
July 18, 2023
My thoughts on this are about the same as with the previous book in the series. I want more Winnie the Pooh adventures, but not if they aren't written by Milne, so as much as I love the first 2 books, I will probably stop this series after this book.
Profile Image for Gary Sundell.
368 reviews60 followers
April 9, 2021
Had this for a while in my audio book TBR. A very enjoyable listen. Pooh shows up in a couple of the poems.
213 reviews35 followers
March 27, 2024
Read aloud to Timothy as part of 2023-2024 edu year. 10 times… so very good! now I just need a grand baby to read to!

I read it aloud to Josiah as a part of our 2021-2022 educational year. it’s the ninth time I’ve read this book aloud with a 6-year old & it never gets old!
Profile Image for Laura Verret.
244 reviews83 followers
July 5, 2019
Now We Are Six is a collection of poetry by A. A. Milne and contains poems not only of Pooh Bear (who claims he was looking for Piglet and wandered through this book by mistake), but also of the Knight Whose Armor Didn’t Squeak, the Two little Bears, Alexander the Beetle, and bad King John.

Here is one of my favorite poems from this book.

Knight-in-Armour

Whenever I’m a shining Knight,
I buckle on my armour tight;
And then I look about for things,
Like Rushings-Out, and Rescuings,
And Savings from the Dragon’s Lair,
And fighting all the Dragons there.
And sometimes when our fights begin,
I think I’ll let the Dragons win. . . .
And then I think perhaps I won’t,
Because they’re Dragons, and I don’t.
[pg. 55]

Conclusion. Littles will eat this stuff up.
Profile Image for Ardyth.
665 reviews63 followers
April 28, 2020
The thing about reading Milne as an adult, while an elementary aged kiddo listens, is how positively CONVICTING it is. I was left, more than once, feeling ashamed of myself and my casually dismissive adult ways. "Run along, there's a darling."

Milne captures the seriousness of childhood, and the sheer bafflement at grown ups, right alongside that age's magnificent creativity in a way I've not found elsewhere.

You really shouldn't miss this experience... ideally with a six year old in the same room.
Profile Image for Victoria.
326 reviews
March 6, 2025
Lunchtime read with the 2 year old. It really surprised me that he would already enjoy something that wasn't a picture book! I liked all of the poems and loved many of them. "King John's Christmas" will always be a favorite because I will ALWAYS hear it in Elisabeth Elliot's voice.

--------
Read again for AO Year 1. Love love love love.
Profile Image for Jody.
803 reviews40 followers
June 16, 2017
Sweet enough, but ultimately forgettable. Seems to be a fairly tenuous link to the Winnie-the-Pooh series, as I think he was mentioned in only two of the poems.

I'm certainly glad to have finished off the series, but this doesn't hold a candle to the first book.
Profile Image for Emma.catherine.
842 reviews120 followers
February 23, 2024
This is a very special book. We found it when clearing out my grandma’s home after she died. It was published (and bought) in 1927!!! It’s amazing 🤩 I remember her saying the last poem to me every night I slept over at her house. I shall share it with you:

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 for ever and ever.
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,280 reviews277 followers
December 11, 2022
Not a fan of this poetry collection. Perhaps it has too many kings and knights and less insight about the nature of children? Some extraneous Shepard illustrations of Pooh characters are shoehorned in to make it more palatable to Pooh fans, but the verse is not as lively or engaging as Milne's prose in the Pooh books.

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... )
Profile Image for Wreade1872.
807 reviews225 followers
April 23, 2018
As 1920's poetry collections for children go, this is fairly decent... i kind of thought it was a winnie-the-pooh book but.. whatever.
Technically Pooh is in this but its barely a cameo. I'm not a fan of poetry either, or i guess because this is for kids we may have to call it nursery rhyme? Anyway its.... fine.
Profile Image for  Cookie M..
1,430 reviews161 followers
October 17, 2020
I never liked this one. What an opinionated little tyke I was. Something about it always seemed disingenuous to me.
When I reached high school age and read Ogden Nash's poems about his daughters, they seemed much more honest.
Profile Image for Joana.
887 reviews22 followers
April 24, 2024
I don't have much to say here, that I didn't say about the other poetry book, but overall just pick it up!!! Winnie-the-Pooh will just warm your heart!!! A lot of the poems are not about Pooh, but they are very child like in wonder always, and we all need that :) So make yourself happy, ignore something is labeled for children and pick it up!!!

(Read for the Orilium Spring Equinox - magical readathon - and the prompt for "Spells and Incantations" - book with 11 letters on the title :) )
Profile Image for Summer.
1,603 reviews14 followers
May 17, 2021
We started reading this at the breakfast table a couple of days after Grayson turned six. The boys loved it. Begging most meals for us to read it, we wouldn’t have gotten past Sneezles if I hadn’t insisted we push on. The giggles were grand and there was a lot of fun. We will have to revisit this every sixth birthday, and maybe more.

May 17th 2021.
Finished with Everett and he enjoyed it as much as Grayson did. We all laughed and I enjoyed these even more than last time. So much fun!
Profile Image for Luisa Knight.
3,214 reviews1,194 followers
July 29, 2023
A sweet collection of poems for you and your child to read together! I perhaps enjoyed the poems in the previous book more, but these are still fun and worth the read!

When I was very young, I always particularly enjoyed the nights my dad read poems and rhymes to me over the short stories. I’m not sure why; perhaps their musical cadence. But I thought it perfect for just before bed.

And of course the illustrations by Shepard are delightful!

Ages: 3+

Cleanliness: a couple poems of children with not the best attitude.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 816 reviews

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