Picture-books in Winter
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Summer fading, winter comes--
Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs,
Window robins, winter rooks,
And the picture story-books.
Water now is turned to stone
Nurse and I can walk upon;
Still we find the flowing brooks
In the picture story-books.
All the pretty things put by,
Wait upon the children's eye,
Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,
In the picture story-books.
We may see how all things are
Seas and cities, near and far,
And the flying fairies' looks,
In the picture story-books.
How am I to sing your praise,
Happy chimney-corner days,
Sitting safe in nursery nooks,
Reading picture story-books?
~Robert Louis Stevenson
Ink drawing from the original book by Stevenson
When I was a child, my grandfather gave my sister and me A Child’s Garden of Verses for Christmas one year. It became my favorite book for a long time and it taught me to love the cadence and rhythm of poetry. Stevenson’s poetry always gave me comfort, hope and a sense of stability in what to most children would have been considered a less than secure situation. I loved the idea of being a child with a nurse to care for me and the safety of two parents, a comfortable home and lots of leisure time. Perhaps this book provided that sort of feeling for many children who read it growing up.
~Noelle Renee
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