Poetry Friday: The Naughtiest Children I Know
The other day I caught myself chastising my daughter for not being grateful when receiving a gift. I said something to the effect of, “You need to learn about gratitude.” As soon as the words slipped out of my mouth, I felt like a Victorian school marm. Indeed, as Anne Harvey, editor of the poetry collection The Naughtiest Children I Know (illustrated by Harry Horse, published by Red Fox, 2000) points out in her introduction, Victorians “were rather keen on doling out warnings and reminders and strong punishments.” Don’t touch! Don’t Look! Don’t Move! Have you washed your hands? etc. etc. Old litanies, but still — dare I say it? – in common use.
The poems in “The Naughtiest Children I know” are an amalgam of poems about children and vice. They are meant, as Harvey says, to delight rather than to ‘sternly warn.’ Many of the poems are cautionary tales that will make you laugh or nod in agreement; some kids do get their comeuppance (Alonzo Never-shut-the-door is burglarized by a burglar who ironically shuts the door as ‘good burglars always do.’) while others just carry on. The poems are arranged alphabetically with titles that often refer to the naughty child by name such as “Alice who had a bad habit of throwing things” or “Humphrey Hughes of Highbury” (whose mischievous vice is taking books out of the library and letting them go overdue so that his mother can pay the fine!) or “Zachary’s Progress.” At the back of the book is a delightful “Alphabet of Horrible Habits” which features children with names beginning with each letter of the alphabet and their vices.
It’s all too easy to take a “high-and-mighty” tone as a parent, I find, so reading these poems was liberating. Bad habits and vices — don’t we all have a few? This book pokes fun at those vices in a way that children can relate to as well as parents.
This week’s Poetry Friday host is Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect.
January 8th, 2010 at 4:57 am
Sally, who are some of the poets? I have always found Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales funny but Heinrich Hoffman was always too disturbing for me, not least because of the illustrations!
January 8th, 2010 at 7:51 am
Ohhh! I haven’t seen this one at all. I will check it out, and I must admit that the title caught my attention right away! Thanks for the review!
January 8th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Harvey mentions both Belloc and Hoffman in her intro, but the only Hoffman she includes is “The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb” which ends with a little surgery-of-removal on the said thumbs. Perhaps this might be disturbing to some, but as a parent of a former thumbsucker, this verse-of-desperation rings true to me! Harvey trolled various sources for her poems and ended up with poems ranging from 1830-2000 in their publication dates.
January 8th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
I am so happy I stopped by today as this is a book of poetry I am motivated to find….sounds like great fun to share with my great nieces and nephews! Thank you!
January 8th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
My students loved Hoffman’s Struwwelpeter! I thought of Suckathumb and his cohorts immediately. Another (perhaps dark, but very entertaining) poem I love is Edgar Marriott’s The Lion and Albert, wherein a deadpan mother complains “..it’s a shame and a sin For a lion to go and eat Albert, And after we’ve paid to come in.” (quoted from The Puffin Book of Twentieth Century Verse, ed Brian Patten.) My Year Six boys in particular would beg for these time and again.
January 10th, 2010 at 6:03 am
Oh, I LOVE all the Albert poems – and if you ever get to hear Stanley Holloway’s recordings of them… and my kids love them too. Maybe my own hangups about Hoffman are causing me to deprive them…
January 10th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
All the Albert poems? Marjorie, I am off to look for more immediately. I would love to find the Stanley Holloway versions too.
Have you ever listened to any of Joyce Grenfell’s monologues? Not necessarily poetry, but wonderful. I used to read them to my captive audiences too. “Flowers” was a particular favourite. Aha, I’ve just found them online. Here’s Flowers : http://monologues.co.uk/First_Ladies/Flowers.htm Oh, and look, here is an Albert! http://monologues.co.uk/Alberts_Reunion.htm
Written, not spoken, but I just found individual tracks available at Amazon. Thanks!
January 10th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Oh, I’m going to have to look up the Albert poems, too!
January 11th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
I think, after Albert abd the Lion, I love the visit to the Tower of London, when they meet the ghost of Lady Jane Grey while eating toast and dripping – http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/14020-Marriott-Edgar-Albert-And-The–Eadsman
And yes, I love Joyce Grenfell too. Oh, Flowers is wonderful! And I’ve had many “George, don’t do that!” moments
January 11th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Oh yes, it’s a good ‘un too. Thanks, Marjorie. I love that style of poetry because its so accessible to everyone, both in reading and in having a try to write yourself. The monologues site has many examples of “in the style of” that people have sent in. Some of them are a little difficult to read because the meter isn’t spot on, but how wonderful that these people gave it a shot.
January 11th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Yes – more than I can do – I’ll head back and have another look!
January 13th, 2010 at 7:35 am
Albert poems are great