Robert Louis Stevenson was the well known Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer and author of many favorite children's poems and books, including the classic, "Treasure Island". He was descended from a well-educated, well-connected and accomplished family, and was widely traveled and extremely well-read. His father, an engineer like his father and grandfather before him, did not wholly approve of his son's choice of a literary career, and consequently Robert and his father did not always see eye to eye.
In 1880, he married the American divorcee Fanny Vandegrift, 10 years his senior, and she, using her wit and charm, managed to patch up the differences between father and son.
Plagued by illness his whole life, due to weak lungs apparently inherited from his mother, Robert traveled the world in search of a climate in which he could regain his health. After his father's death in 1887, he left Britain for good and eventually settled in the Samoan Islands, where he died at the age of 44.
Robert was perhaps not adequately appreciated in his time, but has gained literary stature and is a firm favorite among young readers today.
Whet your child's appetite for poetry at an early age. Here are some suggestions for a selection of short children's poems by this much-loved poet. Enjoy reading some of these to, or with, your child.
My Shadow
A child ponders his own shadow in this delightful poem - what it does, and why it changes size.
A Child's Thought
Imagination at bedtime as a prelude to sleep and fanciful dreams.
Foreign Lands
In this charming poem, a child climbs a cherry tree and revels in all he can see from his lofty perch.
From a Railway Carriage
Children, especially those who have traveled by train, will love the meter and rhythm of this poem.
Escape at Bedtime
A child looks at the starry heavens instead of going to bed, and to sleep.
Bed in Summer
A child laments how unfair it is that he has to get up in the dark in winter, yet go to bed in the daylight in summer.
The Swing
An exhilarating poem about swinging high into the air and seeing the surrounding countryside before swooping down again.
Travel
A child's imagination takes him to distant, exotic lands.
The Sun's Travels
How the sun shines all the time, even on the other side of the world, when little children are in bed.
A Good Play
Tears before teatime; an imaginary game on the stairs end with a bump.
Happy reading with your child, or children. Many of these poems will bring pleasant childhood memories back to the adult reader.
