Rhymes and verses

A beloved classic of children’s poetry “Only the rarest kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young,” wrote Walter de la Mare, and this handsome reissue of Rhymes and Verses, an anthology of all his poems for children, does indeed offer the “rarest kind of best” to a new generation of young people. De la Mare’s verse recaptures the direct appeal of the nursery rhyme in poems of amazing variety, poems marked by charm and freshness and an irresistible rhythmic force and immediacy. They should be part of every child’s reading experience.