The poems that make up this collection were first published in 1913 but it was not until 1946 that it was published, as it is in this new edition, with Edward Ardizzone’s illustrations. Though de la Mare’s poems describe a variety of subjects, there’s a unity to the collection that makes it read almost like a song-cycle. Ardizzone’s drawings enhance that, making Peacock Pie, in the view of children’s literature expert Brian Alderson, ‘one of the most satisfying children’s books of the twentieth century’. Certainly the poems deserve to be lived with whole, and the drawings – in choice of subject and viewpoint, response to character and setting – are simply perfect. There should be a place for this on every child’s bookshelf. ~Andrea Reece
Peacock Pie contains the finest of Walter de la Mare's poems for children, accompanied by exquisite original illustrations from Edward Ardizzone. This beautiful new edition of a classic anthology is an essential part of any child's bookshelf.
The perfect gift for children aged 8+, this stunning classic collection of poetry will delight a new generation of readers of the Faber Children's Classics list.
Surely one of the great children’s books of the century.’ The Times
‘He sees things – as a poet should – for the first time.’ W.H. Auden
Author
About Walter de la Mare
Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) was born in Charlton, Kent. In 1890, aged sixteen, he began work in the statistics department of the London office of Anglo-American Oil. In 1907 he published his first collection of poems under the pseudonym Walter Ramal, but he soon established a wide popular reputation in his own name as a leading poet of the Georgian period with volumes like The Listeners (1912), Motley (1918) and The Veil (1921). He also wrote poetry and short stories for younger readers; Peacock Pie (1913), a collection of poems for children, is now considered a twentieth-century classic.
