When We Were Very Young, the first of A. A. Milne’s four world-famous books for children, was first published in 1924. With its companion volume Now We Are Six, the little books became two of the biggest bestsellers in publishing history. 

          Children all over the world have heard about the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace; the three little foxes who kept their handkerchiefs in cardboard boxes; and, of course, Christopher Robin, named for A. A. Milne’s son. Adults and older children will enjoy Milne’s poems too, as some of his humor is subtly directed at a more sophisticated audience. But younger children are the ones who love the naughty Mary Jane and the bears on the corners of London’s streets. For sheer delightfulness the children’s rhymes of A. A. Milne are in a class by themselves, with their charm, humor, and understanding — to say nothing of their irresistible rhythms.