This inspiring book of poetry contains hundreds of poems and limericks. 

The big names are here William Blake, William Wordsworth ,Lord Tennyson, and Robert Louis Stevenson , however it was aimed at young readers and the poems were mostly brief and humorous.

I remember receiving this book for Christmas 1966 when I was 5 years old - and I know even at that time it got me thinking about how to use words and create stories and new places in your imagination.

Together with the beautiful illustrations , there was a clarity in the poems that pulled you in.

It seemed like a book of good advice and how to avoid the pitfalls in life.

There were poems about animals, imaginary far away lands , colorful characters and always a lot of humor.

On the radio at that time I remember hearing “Puff The Magic Dragon” by Peter Paul and Mary - plus the Beatles’ new single "Yellow Submarine”.

It seemed to me there were no limits to your imagination as the world and music was turning from black and white to technicolor!

I always remember the classic “The Fox and The Grapes” by Joseph Lauren.

Basically a hungry fox was trying to jump up and eat a bunch of grapes hanging from the vine - however he couldn’t reach it and in frustration declared :

And lunch is bound to come within the hour…

Besides , he said , I’m sure those grapes are sour.

The moral is : We seem to want the peach

That always dangles just beyond our reach.

Yet, like the fox , we must not be upset

When sometimes things are just too hard to get

The moral of the story being, its easy to despise what you cannot get - ie. sour grapes!

 Check out “Winter-Time” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Late lies the wintry sun abed

A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;

Blinks but an hour or two; and then,

A blood red orange, sets again

Four short lines sum up short cold winter days when it feels like perpetual dim light and darkness.

The imagery and magic of poems and the economy of words-especially in this collection- are always an amazing spur to any lyricist or songwriter - and they certainly inspired me!

More info here:

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1552478