Poems from When we were very young

Wells says in an opening note that she chose her favorite twelve poems from Milne's beloved classic to present in "picture-book format." She gives each its own introductory page on which she shows that poem's characters (usually a cat, mouse, rabbit, or other critter) as well as other important elements. For instance, for the first entry, "Happiness," the introductory page shows the character John as a cat, along with three small, square pictures with labels for each: mackintosh, boots, hat. This sets the stage for very young children so they can make more sense of what's to come. Wells also puts her own interpretation on some of the poems. In "Disobedience," which begins "James James / Morrison Morrison / Weatherby George Dupree / Took great / Care of his Mother, / Though he was only three," she adds extra text, placed in speech bubbles, in which James's mother is safely returned home -- a reassuring if narratively radical touch. Through her brightly colored paintings (which incorporate iconic British markers such as Underground signs, red phone booths, and double-decker buses) and expressive characters, Wells will bring a new generation of readers to these almost-one-hundred-year-old poems. A glossary is appended of some of Milne's "old-fashioned" words, such as shilling and porringer. Susan Dove Lempke January/February 2022 p.128(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Having put her own spin on traditional nursery rhymes in My Very First Mother Goose (1986) and Here Comes Mother Goose (1999), both edited by Iona Opie, Wells now interprets some of Milne's children's verse. Where the original title had 44 poems, some confined to a page and others extending to a handful, with Ernest Shepard's illustrations acting mostly as decoration, Wells here presents 13, many sprawling over several pages and accompanied by bright, busy illustrations that turn each one into a narrative. When James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree's mother goes "down to the edge of the town" without him in "Disobedience," she hops into a black London cab driven by a rabbit, stops to make a call from a red phone box, and comes home in a different cab (driven by a cat) with a white terrier puppy for her son. Meanwhile, wee James telephones some nine people, including the royal family, with Wells' interpolated dialogue presented in speech balloons. There's so much side business the propulsive silliness of the original rhyme gets lost. Shorter poems, such as "Independence" and "Happiness" (both of which involve independent-thinking cat children), fare better, and sequential illustrations for "The King's Breakfast" work well to convey the many back-and-forths endured by the Dairymaid. Most humans present White, though there are characters of color (including, a bit oddly, Christopher Robin). A bright grab bag. (glossary) (Poetry. 3-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.