Out and About: A First Book of Poems [Oct 01, 2016] Hughes, Shirley

I discovered this book 32 years ago, when my daughter and son were the same ages as the family in the book. I loved it and I never forgot it. I bought this copy to give to my little granddaughter for her birthday. I love Shirley Hughes' charming evocative illustrations.

I have been reading this book to children since it was first released in the 80s. I ended up with sections of it memorized from having it requested so many times over the years. In the last few years I have had the joy of giving it to my three granddaughters. I was just delighted to hear my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter quoting portions by memory too. The illustrations are warm and charming. The rhythm of the poetry is delightful. Gotta love someone who includes lines like "I like mud", "high in the sky I saw the moon pale as a ghost in the afternoon" or "fire is a dragon". I like the wide eyed wonder of appreciating the grand outdoors in this book.

I read this to my 10 month old daughter every day. She loves it. Shirley Hughs captures the beauty of nature with simple verses. Will consider buying more of her works.

This is a very charming collection of poems and drawings. I adore Shirley Hughes and discovered her work when my children were young. I like to give her books to new parents as I did with this collection.

Our whole family love Shirley Hughes books, they are just fantastic. I grew up with "Alfie Gets in First" but never knew there were others until I had kids of my own. Now we are working on collecting them all. Both my 3 year old and 1 year old sons love these books. They are simple stories of real life as a child with beautiful illustrations.These poems rank right up there with A. A. Milne!

Um, this book is pure poetry. It takes me back to my own feelings of childhood when the country was a part of my life and the seasons were filled with this feeling of excitement and fun. Now I live in a city and I yearn for the country. Anyway. The book is just indescribably pure, perfect and beautiful. It instantly became one of my favorite books. It is childhood beauty of life in a nutshell. I will cherish it forever.

The lovely pictures are especially evocative of family life anywhere. A special bonus for some readers may be that the locations, weather, architecture, even the lay of the land are all recognisably evocative of Great Britain. Hence, the book itself can be a lively conversation piece about what one sees and does when 'Out and 'About' -- and also share subtle cultural nuances about what is like there within families or may have lived there, or who have loved ones who live there or who remember living there. I had not expected such beauty so quietly conveyed in highly detailed paintings on every page. I had hoped that this book would be our read-aloud, and read-aloud, and read-aloud again book for sharing the beauty of images and the sounds of language. Sadly, (and I am *really* sorry to say this) I find it difficult to re-read aloud its disappointingly sing-songy poems.

These poems and the illustrations capture the feel of my childhood memories!!!

Absolutely the best children’s poetry book.

I’ve always loved Shirley Hughes books.. since my own childhood, I have nannied for a couple of decades and read then to all my children, now I have my own baby and want him to have every single book xx

This is another excellent book by Shirley Hughes. The pictures are amazing quality, very realistic and beautiful. They keep my 2 (nearly 3) year old focused and engaged, which is no small feat! We love reading the poems from this book at bedtime. She picks her own bedtime story books and regularly selects this one. We usually pick a few poems to read at a time but she would happily read all of them in one sitting. Her absolute favourite is The Grass House, which surprised me as I wasn't sure she'd understand it.I adore the pictures, and both me and my husband enjoy reading it myself again and again, unlike some of the other bedtime stories that can grow boring reading on repeat. The book is split into 4sections (summer, winter, autumn, spring). The words illustrate the beautiful pictures perfectly. I have added some photos of th chapter on summer. It really is very captivating, and so tangible for little ones who see this world around them and who spend their Seasons in exactly this way.Perfect for supporting children to learn about seasons, and could easily be used in conjunction with nature walks, etc.The paper is a nice thick quality and has withstood my 2 year old "reading" it. I envisage it being read for years to come, as well as used for copying/tracing/inspiring her drawings in future etc.Overall, an excellent first book of poems and highly recommended for age 2+, as a present for another child or as gift to your own child.

Aww what a beautiful book, it takes you back to your childhood.I had this book for my daughter who is now 30 and she loved it so much.It’s a book to share, read together, it teaches expression and love for the world around us.My daughter recently had a child and I bought it for her to enjoy.She’s only 5 months but her wee face lit up when I read it, it was so emotional.The previous book was re gifted but it was a joy to be able to get it again.My daughter and I reminisced about the poems and how we enjoyed the characters and illustrations.

Great as first intro to poetry