cbr12bingo White WhaleWhen I was looking for a book for the Roaring 20’s, I found Now We Are Six in the process. I realized afterwards, I could have picked any book for my White Whale (I have so many) but while looking at it, I realized I have never read A.A. Milne. Or if I have (or had him read to me) I do not remember. And for $3 (minus my discount) what did I have to lose?
What did I have to lose? About a days’ worth of reading. (That is reading a few minutes here and there because if too many poems were read at once, they blended together and unfortunately, the musty smell (it was a very pre-loved book) was a bit overpowering to my sensitive sinuses).
I am going to assume if you have read any Milne, you have read them all. The style is very old school. The language is dated, some subjects, too. These are the classic poems that probably are more for those with fond memories of Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh or any of the other books. It is not necessarily for the modern child reader. It was an experience read, however. I just felt the book. I could think of the why they were popular (probably not a lot written at the time was aimed at the child, but also, they seemed to fit what I know of the era. It covers things people knew and did). I felt, “Okay. I’ve read this. I know what I have (or haven’t) been missing.”) Are there morals to the poems? Maybe some of them or at least one of them tells you there is a moral within the story it is telling the reader. But overall, just enjoy them. While I am not jumping up and down yelling the praises of Milne, I am saying it might be a fun read for the adult.
However, the version I read was a mass market size, so terribly small. This distorted the art of Ernest H. Shepard. I could not see details in most of them. And if one could see what was going on, there was little “fleshed out” in them. This is one book I would not have minded if someone colorized the illustrations. I think had I read a larger format; I could have enjoyed this experience much more.