Natalie Joan

Published in 1926, this slim volume of poetry for children presents forty selections, many of them (according to the acknowledgements page) previously published in various annuals and other periodicals, from Mrs. Strang's Annual for Children to Blackie's Children's Annual. Many of the poems concern the flora and fauna of the natural world - The Berry Tree, merry and red-clothed, in the midst of winter; The Froggie and Priscilla, in which amphibian and girl are mutually fearful - while others are devoted to the diminutive beings of folklore, from goblins to fairies. Still others address more realistic childhood joys and experiences, from the pleasure brought by The Balloon Woman, to the comfort derived from My Mummy.

The poems here read fairly well - they are described as 'catchy' in a notice in The Librarian and Book World - but are also rather forgettable. Having read through them in the park this afternoon, I doubt I could recall a single one to mind this evening, if I didn't have the volume to hand. My favorite, of the lot, was The Pastrycook's Dream, in which the eponymous baker dreams of being shoved into an oven by various confections, as there is a certain surreal grotesquerie to it that I found amusing. Picked up at a used book-sale largely because I recognized the author's name - Natalie Joan contributed stories to a number of annuals and anthologies with which I am familiar, as well as the sixth volume of the Amerliaranne series - Lilts for Little People is not a book I would recommend readers take great pains to track down, unless they are particularly interested in the author.… (más)