''When We Were Very Young'' is a best-selling book of poetry by
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
. It was first published in 1924, and it was illustrated by
E. H. Shepard
Ernest Howard Shepard OBE MC (10 December 1879 – 24 March 1976) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is known especially for illustrations of the anthropomorphic animal and soft toy characters in ''The Wind in the Willows'' and ''W ...
. Several of the verses were set to music by
Harold Fraser-Simson
Harold Fraser-Simson (15 August 1872 – 19 January 1944) was an English composer of light music, including songs and the scores to Edwardian musical comedies, musical comedies. His most famous musical was the World War I hit ''The Maid of the M ...
. The book begins with an introduction entitled "Just Before We Begin", which, in part, tells readers to imagine for themselves who the narrator is, and that it might be
Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney a ...
. The 38th poem in the book, "Teddy Bear", that originally appeared in ''
Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
'' magazine in February 1924, was the first appearance of the famous character
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard.
The first collection of stories about the character w ...
, first named "Mr. Edward Bear" by
Christopher Robin Milne
Christopher Robin Milne (21 August 1920 – 20 April 1996) was an English author and bookseller and the only child of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories a ...
.
[Milne, A. A. "When We Were Very Young". Methuen & Co.; London, 1924] In one of the illustrations of "Teddy Bear", Winnie-the-Pooh is shown wearing a shirt which was later coloured red when reproduced on a recording produced by
Stephen Slesinger
Stephen Slesinger (December 25, 1901 – December 17, 1953) was an American radio, television and film producer, creator of comic strip characters and the father of the licensing industry. From 1923 to 1953, he created, produced, published, develo ...
. This has become his standard appearance in the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
adaptations. On 1 January 2020, ''When We Were Very Young'' entered the public domain in the United States,
but remains protected in other countries, including the UK.
Contents
# "Corner of the Street"
# "Buckingham Palace"
# "Happiness"
# "The Christening"
# "Puppy and I"
# "Twinkle Toes"
# "The Four Friends"
# "Lines and Squares"
# "Brownie"
# "Independence"
# "Nursery Chairs"
# "Market Square"
# "Daffodowndilly"
# "Water Lilies"
# "Disobedience"
# "Spring Morning"
# "The Island"
# "The Three Foxes"
# "Politeness"
# "Jonathan Jo"
# "At the Zoo"
# "Rice Pudding"
# "The Wrong House"
# "Missing"
# "The King's Breakfast"
# "Hoppity"
# "At Home"
# "Summer Afternoon"
# "The Dormouse and the Doctor"
# "Shoes and Stockings"
# "Sand Between the Toes"
# "Knights and Ladies"
# "Little Bo Peep and Little Boy Blue"
# "The Mirror"
# "
Halfway Down"
# "The Invaders"
# "Before Tea"
# "
Teddy Bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
"
# "Bad Sir Brian Botany"
# "In the Fashion"
# "The Alchemist"
# "Growing Up"
# "If I Were King"
# "
Vespers
Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...
"
See also
* ''
Now We Are Six
''Now We Are Six'' is a book of thirty-five children's verses by A. A. Milne, with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. It was first published in 1927 including poems such as "King John's Christmas", "Binker" and "Pinkle Purr". Eleven of the poem ...
'', another book of poetry by A. A. Milne
References
External links
*
1924 children's books
1924 poetry books
Books illustrated by E. H. Shepard
British children's books
Children's poetry books
English poetry collections
Methuen Publishing books
Poetry by A. A. Milne
Winnie-the-Pooh books
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