A Child's Garden Of Verses

By: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrated by: Judith Anderson

Length: 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is a delightful look at childhood, written by master poet and storyteller Robert Louis Stevenson. In this collection of 66 poems, Stevenson recalls the joys of his childhood, from sailing boats down a river, to waiting for the lamplighter, to sailing off to foreign lands in his imagination.

Tasha Tudor's watercolor paintings evoke a simpler time in the past, and celebrate two of the things she loves most -- children and nature. Her talents are the perfect match for these inspiring poems, making this a handsome gift edition that will be cherished by families for generations.

©2008 Saland Publishing (P)2008 Saland Publishing

Disappointing

The publisher's summary is for the print version, illustrated by Tasha Tudor. Obviously, the audio version isn't illustrated by anyone, but I own the version referred to in the summary, and I bought the audiobook to go along with it.

Unfortunately, the poems are not in the same order in this version as they are in my print version. The reader does not read the title of each verse, making it difficult to figure out where she is.

These poems are known for being particularly "child friendly". They were inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's own childhood. They create vivid pictures of fairy worlds and imaginary ships and pleasant villages. The narrator sounds as if she's standing alone in the middle of a cold, empty room, and her dreary recitations would be better suited to Poe's macabre The Raven than to Stevenson's whimsical The Land of Nod or My Bed Is a Boat.

I don't know if there are better versions of A Child's Garden of Verses out there, but this one is decidedly disappointing.