I am ashamed to say that I had neglected reading poetry to my children until only recently when I was spurred on by this post at The Common Room to pull my bedraggled copies of A.A. Milne’s When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six off the shelf (my personal childhood copies I’ll have you know - thanks Mom!). I plunked down on the couch and waited for my mommy magnetism to work its mojo. Within minutes I was buried in boys and I began to read.
Strangely enough, my two middle children have never been all that keen on being read to. I don’t know if it’s the Asperger Syndrome at work or just boyhood wiggles, but they both have extremely limited attention spans, a non-existent ability to sit quietly and listen, and the overwhelming desire to turn the pages before I’ve finished reading them. They do love books, though. Andrew taught himself to read when he was four and reads every day. Anyway, I was shocked to find that when I read A.A. Milne’s poetry…they listened! Andrew especially seemed to fall head over heels in love. Unfortunately that love entails getting my precious and aged paperbacks and carrying them everywhere, including the backyard. (maybe the dearth of rain here is a good thing)
My uber-logical, not all that fanciful, first-born also liked the poems. Especially those involving knights and dragons. He has picked up Now We Are Six more than once to flip through and find the ode to The Knight Whose Armor Didn’t Squeak. Even little Joshie has been heard lisping little fragments of verse.
Motivated by such success, I didn’t hesitate when I saw volumes of Shel Silverstein on sale at Sam’s. We brought home Where the Sidewalk Ends and stayed up way past bedtime passing the book around and laughing ourselves silly. My husband (who had a not-very-childlike childhood and needs to catch up) even made the book his bedtime reading for over a week!
Now I don’t know if this will work for all Asperger kids, but I have to tell you, the biggest benefit of all the poetry has been the effect on Andrew’s echolalia. He’s started transitioning from the constant recitation of VeggieTale dialogue and Calvin and Hobbes strips, to touching renditions of his favorite poems! I didn’t even know he had memorized them! The first one was truly tear-jerking. One night, with the sweetest expressions and gestures, he treated us to Milne’s Vespers:
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.God Bless Mummy. I know that’s right.
Wasn’t it fun in the bath tonight?
The cold’s so cold, and the hot’s so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy - I quite forgot.If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny’s dressing-gown on the door.
It’s a beautiful blue, but it hasn’t a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,
And nobody knows that I’m there at all.Oh! Thank you, God, for a lovely day.
And what was the other I had to say?
I said, “Bless Daddy,” so what can it be?
Oh! Now I remember. God bless Me.Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
And he tacks on a darling “In Jesus’s name, Amen.” for good measure!
Andrew has also been heard to chant this poem which is perfect for his age (he’ll be six in June!)
The End
When I was One,
I had just begun.When I was Two,
I was nearly new.When I was Three,
I was hardly Me.When I was Four,
I was not much more.When I was Five,
I was just alive.But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever.
So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.
But I think my favorite, because it’s just so Andrew, is this little gem from Shel Silverstein which he says with a mischievous grin.
Ourchestra
So you haven’t got a drum, just beat your belly.
So I haven’t got a horn - I’ll play my nose.
So we haven’t any cymbals -
We’ll just slap our hands together,
And though there may be orchestras
That sound a little better
With their fancy shiny instruments
That cost an awful lot-
Hey, we’re making music twice as good
By playing what we’ve got!
Now I can’t say for certain
Cause my research is confined
To only the two Aspies
That I’m pleased to say are mine
But it seems to me that poems
Reach their brains a special way
And give them something different
To say and say and say
So If you’ve you got a little child
Who’s seems stuck on repeat
You might want to teach him rhyming
And give your ears a treat!
So sweet! I miss so much by not having children. I guess God has different plans for me. But I sure am enjoying yours!
Comment by Anita — March 31, 2006 @ 10:54 am
I read Milne to my kids, and Vespers was one of my favorites. It seems like the author really loved his boy, doesn’t it? What’s up with him turning out so bitter and screwed up? Look up the later, darker years online sometime and it’s disheartening.
I like Silverstein’s poems, cus he seems to like to write about all the stuff that moms warn kids about, and carry it out; like if you watch TV too much, or shove that up your nose, etc.
Another real fun poet is Ogden Nash. His stuff cracks me up. I also just like to say his name. It’s like “Oswald Chambers”.
God is good to give you something to help your boy. Thank you, Lord.
Comment by Michele — March 31, 2006 @ 11:12 am
My 7th child got a book for his birthday last year that our children literally wore out. It is called ‘My Truck is Stuck’ or something like that. Without fail if I had to read it once I had to read it 25 times! Read it again! Read it again! Read it again! Read it again! you get the picture. It is really simple and the illustrations are fantastic.
Has anyone else heard of it?
Comment by Stephen Morse — March 31, 2006 @ 11:31 am
My gosh, I thought my Steven was the only one who was addicted to Milne. He has Vespers and Teddy Bear memorized. I have video of him reciting Teddy Bear in the bathtub. We have an audio cassette of those poems being read aloud & he would listen to it over & over & over & over& over& over. To the point where we’d wake to hear, “I am Sir Brian…as bold as a lion….does anyone care for a wash??” screaming from Steven’s little tape player. My husband would respond, “Tell Sir Brian to SHUT. UP.”
Comment by Christy — March 31, 2006 @ 11:31 am
I have the autobiography of Christopher Robin Milne, and it’s a sad and bitter sort of story - he resented much of his father’s work for which he is so famous.
I particularly remember his feelings on a line about his nanny, in which she is made to sound a little inattentive and condescending.
It’s a very sad book, in that he takes his father’s poems which seem so tender and loving, and picks them apart to show how out-of-touch he really was as a father.
Comment by Kim C — March 31, 2006 @ 12:11 pm
I have decided that no matter how messed up an author (or his son) may be, I won’t let that spoil my enjoyment of his writing. Not that it isn’t interesting to read about authors. However, some of my favorites, men and women in whose writing I see glimpses and even full views of God’s truth, were really confused or unable or unwilling to live out that truth in their own lives.
Comment by Sherry — March 31, 2006 @ 12:57 pm
I just read a cute book to my kids called “There’s a Zoo in Room 22.” Each page has a poem about an animal - going from A to Z.
Comment by Carrie K. — March 31, 2006 @ 1:21 pm
I heard about the midlife biography he wrote, but I’ve also heard (secondhand) that while Christopher did grow up and write a rather bitter book, he continued to grow up and he later apologized for the bitter book. He said that after all, it wasn’t being his father’s son he resented so much as it was the fame and attention, the bug under the microscope feeling. Preacher’s kids (and I am one) can relate to this.
His bitter book could be seen more as a swipe at all those fans invading his privacy and feeling like they owned his childhood.
I’m glad you’re reading the poems, and even gladder that they work with your boys. Have you looked at Ogden Nash? I like him more than Silverstein. We are especially fond of Custard the Dragon.
Comment by deputyheadmistress — March 31, 2006 @ 1:43 pm
Awww…I love those books. I can’t wait until Justice is old enough to appreciate books and reading. I read to him some now, but he really is just enjoying the pictures-he is 8 mos. old. I am glad your boys like the books and poems!
Comment by EmilyRoseJewel — March 31, 2006 @ 2:20 pm
My dad likes Ogden Nash, and also Burma Shave. Somewhere he got a book of them. We all (my family) recite rhymes and poems, and spoonerisms, on any and every occasion. I’m slowly converting/confusing my husband, who has never memorized any poems, no Shel S., no Dr. Suess, no Longfellow…he mentioned to our pastor on Sunday that our son had a “resper uppertory” infection… Great post. I also loved your post about your experience at Bible study, forgiveness is great, however I related all too well, since my brother is deaf, we heard some of the meanest comments from people.
EmilyRoseJewel, my little 7 1/2 month old Knox loves being read to…he’s fond of Dr. Suess, and loves Jungle Jam. He just likes hearing my voice though I think, cause sometimes I read recipes/magazines to him.
Comment by Kathryn — March 31, 2006 @ 3:47 pm
Hope I didn’t come across wrong - I love Milne’s books. They feel like Beatrix Potter’s works to me: they have an ageless sort of appeal. A story that can captivate toddlers, and a style and vocabulary rich enough to satisfy the most literate adult. Peter Pan is another: Disney did the book a disservice by limiting its appeal to only young children, but the book itself merits a far wider audience.
I only thought it was interesting to learn that there was a real Christopher Robin, and the peek into his head was…eye opening? The happy little carefree boy didn’t grow up so happy and carefree as his father imagined him, and perhaps wasn’t so even as a little boy.
Comment by Kim C — March 31, 2006 @ 5:59 pm
No worries Kim! This is a very interesting conversation!
Thanks for the other suggestions everyone! I’ll have to look for Mr. Nash when next I visit the library… and that My Truck is Stuck book sounds good too! Funny, when I wrote this I wasn’t even thinking of rhyming books - more just books of poems. But of course many of our favorite books like The Jazz Fly or Zin, Zin, Zin a Violin would technically be poetry as well…
Comment by blestwithsons — March 31, 2006 @ 6:11 pm
Ughhhh!!!! Mindreader!! Did you know I have a half written Shel Silverstien poetry post written and saved. Hopefully to finish and publish tomorrow???
Comment by Bethany — March 31, 2006 @ 11:37 pm
Ohhh…and you should get Runny Babbit. It’s Shel’s latest I believe….it’s great!
Comment by Bethany — March 31, 2006 @ 11:39 pm
Vespers was my oldest dd’s favorite poem. She memorized it and would repeat it often. A few years ago she recited it for a homeschool talent night. It is such a sweet poem. Thanks for the memories!
Comment by Pam in Colorado — April 1, 2006 @ 2:45 pm
You have inspired me! We haven’t done much poetry either…I’m going in search of my poetry books to read to them tomorrow!
)
Comment by Leigh — April 2, 2006 @ 7:21 am
[…] April 10: April is also Autism Awareness Month. The always-insightful blogger who is Blest With Sons talks about her family’s recent forays into poetry, from which she suggests that poems are best for the Asperger kids with which you’ve been blessed. It’s called Rhyme Time and features Mr. Milne—again. […]
Pingback by Semicolon — April 2, 2006 @ 9:21 pm
[…] But I like Semicolon. And I like Children’s Literature. And I like poetry. So when it came time for the 3rd Carnival of Children’s Literature (You can find the 1st here and the 2nd here) hosted by Semicolon on the subject of Children’s Literature with a focus on poetry… Well I decided to buy a ticket and hop on the Ferris Wheel! (My Rhyme Time post, obviously, was my entry.) […]
Pingback by Blest with sons » Oh Wow… — April 3, 2006 @ 11:39 am
What a great post. I’d say to look from some Douglas Florian, too, particularly his various animal/nature poetry books (Omnibeasts is a collection of many, In the Swim is fish, Insectlopedia is bugs, etc.). He does the art, as well, and it’s often incredibly fun to look at and explore. Plus, 20+ poems on the same topic can be a big plus… if it’s a popular topic with the kids! Along those lines, the various Lee Bennett Hopkins collections are great. He even has one on mathematics (though for math problems mixed with verse, the stuff Greg Tang does is hard to beat).
Comment by Gregory K. — April 3, 2006 @ 3:12 pm
[…] April is Autism Awareness Month. The always-insightful blogger who is Blest With Sons talks about her family’s recent forays into poetry, from which she suggests that poems are best for the Asperger kids with which you’ve been blessed. It’s called Rhyme Time and features Mr. Milne—again. […]
Pingback by Semicolon — April 9, 2006 @ 2:53 pm
Hi, Your blog is bookmarked and I try to stop by when I have a few quiet moments. Lately, (for like the last year) that has not been as often as I would have liked. Between moving and having a toddler and beginning homeschooling my 9 year old AS son, our lives have been anything but in my control. But, I was reading your post about poetry and I wanted to jump in and share something. When my son was in 2nd grade (small Catholic school that was unbelievably cooperative/supportive/creative when it came to working with his Asperger’s Syndrome etc)he had the assignment to say a poem of his choice in front of the classroom. His teacher called me and said if it was too much for my son they would make compensations. He quickly memorized with much enthusiasm a poem by Robt Louis Stevenson, The Land of the Counterpane. It surprised us all how much he enjoyed it and he still remembers it to this day. Your post has inspired me to get out the Shel Silverstein, AA Milne and others we have for this summer’s reading.
thank you for your blog
Suzie
Comment by suzie — June 18, 2006 @ 5:59 pm
Fascinating! That is so neat. I can tell from your posts how much you love your boys! You must be an awesome mommy.
I think i need to get some A.A. Milne
Peace,
Mrs. Meg Logan
Comment by Mrs. Meg Logan — July 13, 2006 @ 3:47 am