A Child's Garden of Verses: Selected Poems
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Included here are selections from A Child's Garden of Verses, a collection of poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson originally published in 1900.
Source: Stevenson, R.L. (1913). A Child’s Garden of Verses. Simon & Schuster Children’s.
- At the Sea-Side
- A child digs holes at the edge of the sea.
- Auntie’s Skirts
- The poet focuses on his Aunt’s skirts.
- Autumn Fires
- The poet muses on fires.
- Bed in Summer
- This poem expresses the problem many people have with getting up when it is dark in the morning and going to bed in the evening when it is still light outside.
- Block City
- A child plays with furniture and imagination.
- The Cow
- A cow lives happily in a field.
- Escape at Bedtime
- A poem about enjoying looking at stars at night instead of going to bed. Caretakers finally catch the poet and put him to bed, but he can still remember the sights of the stars.
- Farewell to the Farm
- A child leaves his favorite place.
- The Flowers
- A child see flowers as fairy homes.
- Foreign Lands
- A child climbs into a tree and imagines seeing other places.
- The Gardener
- A child contemplates the gardener.
- A Good Boy
- A child behaves all day and has good dreams.
- A Good Play
- Children build a boat out of furniture and imagine sailing on the sea.
- The Hayloft
- A child plays in a hay-loft.
- The Land of Counterpane
- A child plays with toys in bed.
- The Land of Nod
- The poet ruminates on dreaming, where he can be on his own and explore all the strange things he sees, even though he forgets it all come morning.
- The Land of Story-Books
- A child plays hunter before bed time.
- The Little Land
- A child uses his imagination to travel and play.
- The Moon
- The poet talks about things that like to be out in moonlight and those that don’t.
- My Bed is a Boat
- A child goes to sleep and sails away on dreams.
- My Kingdom
- A child creates a world from imagination.
- My Shadow
- A child notices the movements of his shadow.
- My Ship and I
- A child dreams of sailing.
- Nest Eggs
- A child thinks about the eggs he sees.
- Night and Day
- Children and nature sleep at night; in day, they awaken and play.
- North-West Passage
- A child trudges up to bed.
- Picture-Books in Winter
- The world stays lush in books.
- Pirate Story
- Three children imagine themselves pirates.
- Singing
- The poet muses upon different sounds and people singing.
- Summer Sun
- A child contemplates the sun.
- The Swing
- A child enjoys playing on a swing.
- To Any Reader
- The ghosts of past playing children linger in the neighborhood.
- The Unseen Playmate
- An invisible friend plays with toys.
- Where Go the Boats?
- A poem which describes the river, sand, foam, and path of a river carrying a child’s boats down stream.
- The Whole Duty of Children
- Children should behave.
- The Wind
- The poet wonders about the wind.
- Windy Nights
- A man gallops around.
- Winter-Time
- A child talks about his life in winter.
- Young Night-Thought
- A child sees things at night.