Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages

"If readers are to come to Shakespeare and to Chekhov, to Henry James and to Jane Austen, then they are best prepared if they have read Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, Robert Louis Stevenson and Rudyard Kipling," writes Harold Bloom in his introduction to this enchanting and much-needed anthology of exceptional stories and poems selected to inspire a lifelong love of reading. As television, video games, and the Internet threaten to distract young people from the solitary pleasures of reading, Bloom presents a volume that will amuse, challenge, and beguile readers with its myriad voices and subjects.

Here are old favorites by beloved writers of children's literature, as well as exciting rediscoveries and wonderful works penned by writers better known for their adult classics, such as Herman Melville, Leo Tolstoy, Edith Wharton, and Walt Whitman. Encompassing the natural world and the supernatural; childhood, romance, and death; pets, wild animals, and goblins; mystery, adventure, and humor; the selections reflect the passion and erudition of our most revered literary critic. Arranged by season, Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages is a must-have anthology, sure to delight readers young and old for years to come.

The "New York Times Magazine" called Bloom "a colossus among critics . . . his enthusiasm for literature is a joyous intoxicant." In this enchanting anthology, Bloom brings his love of literature to the younger generation as he presents favorite poems and stories by well-known children's writers, and introduces works by authors better known for their adult classics.

Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University and Berg Professor of English at New York University. He has written more than twenty books, including The Western Canon, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, and How to Read and Why. He is a MacArthur Prize fellow, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the recipient of many awards, including the Academy's Gold Medal for Criticism. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut, and New York City.

Contents

Introduction

Book I....Spring

The Human Seasons John Keats

The Song of the Four Winds Thomas Love Peacock

The Wind and The Rain William Shakespeare

The Ass Eating Thistles Aesop

A Crazy Tale Gilbert Keith Chesterton

How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin Rudyard Kipling

The Message of the March Wind William Morris

A Musical Instrument Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Little Birds of the Night Stephen Crane

There Was A Child Went Forth Walt Whitman

Reflections Lafcadio Hearn

The Owl and The Pussy-Cat Edward Lear

Old May Song Anonymous

"Home No More Home To Me" Robert Louis Stevenson

The Fairies William Allingham

Green Grass Anonymous

"Beautiful Soup, So Rich and Green" Lewis Carroll

"Gay Go Up, and Gay Go Down" Anonymous

"Here We Come A Piping" Anonymous

"Hey Nonny No!" Anonymous

"I Had A Little Nut-Tree" Anonymous

The Lincolnshire Poacher Anonymous

Complements Emile Zola

Book II....Summer

The King of the Golden River John Ruskin

The Jumblies Edward Lear

A Runnable Stag John Davidson

A Pig-Tale Lewis Carroll

The Elephant's Child Rudyard Kipling

The Bottle Imp Robert Louis Stevenson

"I Saw A Peacock With A Fiery Tail" Anonymous

"In Winter, When The Fields Are White" Lewis Carroll

"Echo's Lament For Narcissus" Ben Jonson

The Way Through The Woods Rudyard Kipling

The Remarkable Rocket Oscar Wilde

Journalism In Tennessee Mark Twain

Roaring Mad Tom Anonymous

The Mad Gardener's Song Lewis Carroll

The War-Song of Dinas Vawr thomas Love Peacock

"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Rudyard Kipling

Uncle David's Nonsensical Story About Giants and Fairies

Catherine Sinclair

The Fox and The Hedgehog Aesop

The Goose-Girl Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm

The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde Mary De Morgan

August algernon Charles Swinburne

The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-BÒ Edward Lear

The Crow and The Pitcher Aesop

The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky Stephen Crane

Humpty Dumpty Lewis Carroll

Book III....Autumn

The Stag Looking Into The Water Aesop

The Mock Turtle's Story Lewis Carroll

The Floating Old Man Edward Lear

The Wood So Wild Anonymous

The Problem of Thor Bridge Arthur Conan Doyle

Wakefield Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Spring Lover and The Autumn Lover Lafcadio Hearn

Goblin Market Christina Rossetti

The Three Strangers Thomas Hardy

How Much Land Does a Man Need? Leo Tolstoy

Ali The Persian's Story of the Kurd Sharper

The Arabian Nights

A Leave-Taking Algernon Charles Swinburne

The Unquiet Grave Anonymous

Autumn John Clare

"This is The Key of the Kingdom" Anonymous

The Dong With A Luminous Nose Edward Lear

"Weep You No More, Sad Fountains" Anonymous

"Will You Walk A Little Faster?" Lewis Carroll

The Two Pots Aesop

Feathertop Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Recessional Saki

"I Loved A Lass" George Wither

"The Splendour Falls On Castle Walls"

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

"So, We'll Go No More A-Roving"

George Gordon, Lord Byron

The Dalliance of the Eagles Walt Whitman

November Robert Bridges

Drinking Song John Still

Love Will Find Out The Way Anonymous

My Cat Jeoffrey Christopher Smart

The White island Robert Herrick

Death and Cupid Aesop

"Who Has Seen The Wind?" Christina Rossetti

Book IV....Winter

The Red Shoes Hans Christian Andersen

The Signal-Man Charles Dickens

A Merry Note William Shakespeare

"Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind" William Shakespeare

The Lion of Winter William Shakespeare

Dirge in Woods Feorge Meredith

A Wintry Sonnet Christina Rossetti

Song Christina Rossetti

The Silver Swan Orlando Gibbons

Nightmare William Schwenk Gilbert

Witches' Loaves O. Henry

The Horla Guy De Maupassant

Sir Patrick Spence Anonymous

A Helen of Kirconnell Anonymous

"I Know a Little Garden-Close" William Morris

Night William Blake

Snow-Flakes Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Snowstorm John Clare

The Snowstorm Ralph Waldo Emerson

London Snow Robert Bridges

Bits of Straw John Clare

The Bell-Tower Herman Melville

In The Dark E. Nesbit

The Hag Robert Herrick

A Spell John Dryden

The Old Ghost Thomas Lovell Beddoes

Sorrow Aubrey De Vere

Luke Havergal Edwin Arlington Robinson

Dirge Thomas Lovell Beddoes

The Two Spirits Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Phantom-Wooer Thomas Lovell Beddoes

The Portent Herman Melville

William Wilson Edgar Allan Poe

The Queen of Spades Alexander Pushkin

All Souls' Edith Wharton

The Carrion Crow Thomas Lovell Beddoes

Badger John Clare

The Eagle Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Mariana Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Kraken Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes H. G. Wells

The Nose Nikolai Gogol

The Song of Triumphant Love Ivan Turgenev

The Walrus and The Carpenter Lewis Carroll

A Noiseless Patient Spider Walt Whitman

Up-Hill Christina Rossetti

Author Index

Title Index

Copyright &#; By Harold Bloom, LLC