Bibliographic Essay: Now We Are Six

Title: Now We Are Six

Author: A. A. Milne

Illustrator: Ernest H. Shepard

Publisher: Methuen & Co. (36 Essex Street, London)

Printer: Jarrold and Sons LTD. (Norwich, England)

Published: October 13, 1927

Edition: First

Description of the book:

            Now We Are Six has a maroon cloth cover with a gilt stamp on the front and back. The front cover is also stamped with a thin gilt border. The front stamp shows Christopher Robin playing with a toy, while the back stamp shows Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet purchasing tickets from a ticket window. The book is a collection of poems, traditionally bound with seven gatherings folded into sextodecimo. Hence, the book has seven bound sections of pages with each section containing sixteen pages.

Opening the book, reveals the illustrated paste-down endpaper—the paper pasted to the backside of the front cover—and free endpaper—the portion of the endpaper not pasted to the front cover. Each endpaper contains five pen illustrations done in blue ink: one in each corner and one in the center, for a total of ten illustrations between the pages. These illustrations are repeated on the free and paste down endpapers of the back cover, however the illustrations are switched (the images on the free endpaper are now on the paste-down endpaper and vice versa). The backside of the free endpaper in the front of the book is blank.

After the endpapers, the book’s first gathering begins, presenting a half-title: a page which contains only the title of the book. This page is followed by an advertisement, advertising three works written and illustrated by the author and artist of Now We Are Six. Following the advertisement is the title page, which lists the title, author, “decorator,” and publishing company. The title page also contains a black line drawing of Christopher Robin. With the exception of the endpapers, all the illustrations in Now We Are Six are done in black ink.

Immediately following the title page is the dedication to Anne Darlington, a childhood friend of the real Christopher Robin (Otten). Next comes a blank verso, or blank page, which then leads to the book’s two-page introduction written by the same author. Then comes the book’s two-page table of contents, succeeded by another half title. Following one more blank verso, the book’s poems begin. The books pages are numbered with Roman numerals from the first half-title until the the blank verso side of the second half-title, however the numerals are only listed on the introduction and table of contents. Once the poems begin, the pages are numbered traditionally until the books final page. On average, each page contains at least one small drawing that relates to the subject of the poem on said page. The only instances of a page not containing an illustration occur when a page is immediately preceded or succeeded by a full-page illustration. There are only two pages without illustrations to not be followed or preceded by a full page image.

Biographies of the Makers:

Alan Alexander Milne, more commonly known by the name A. A. Milne, is best known for his four children’s’ books containing the character Winnie-the-Pooh (Otten). Growing up, Milne was first exposed to literature by his schoolmaster father who instilled in Milne a love of literature (Arbuthnot 127). Milne when to Cambridge where he decided to become a writer, heading off to London after graduating to begin freelance work (Arbuthnot 127). After three years in London, Milne was appointed the assistant editor of the magazine Punch giving him the financial stability to marry (Arbuthnot 127). Milne began writing plays after marriage, which enjoyed considerable success, but with the outbreak of WWI Milne’s writing decreased slightly until the writer was discharged (Arbuthnot 127; Otten).

Following the war, Milne had a son named Christopher Robin. (Arbuthnot 127). This boy demanded to be told stories and rhymes about his toys, most notably his stuffed bear Pooh (Arbuthnot 358). Upon reading one of the poems, Milne’s wife sent it off to a magazine where it was published, leading to Milne contributing more children’s verses until he was encouraged to write his own book (Arbuthnot 127). Though Milne thought it a foolish idea, he complied, leading to considerable success with the publication of When We Were Very Young (Arbuthnot 127). The success of the collection of poems lead to Milne’s foray into children’s literature, and the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh (Arbuthnot 127).

Much of the fame of Winnie-the-Pooh is attributed to Ernest H. Shepard, the illustrator of all of Milne’s works containing the character (Arbuthnot 129; Otten). Shepherd was paired up with Milne by a work colleague for When We Were Very Young (Ciancolo). The success of the publication, and Milne’s delight with his work lead to an extremely profitable relationship between the two, with Shepard illustrating all of Milne’s publications containing Pooh and his friends (Ciancolo). Though Shepard has many credits as an illustrator, and has worked with colors and various mediums, he is still mostly known for his black-and-white pen drawings in Milne’s books (Arbuthnot 61).

History of the Work:

When Now We Are Six was published it was obtainable in leather or cloth form (Methuen). The leather edition cost 10 shillings and sixpence, while the cloth edition cost 7 shillings and sixpence (Methuen). The book was advertised as a companion volume to When We Were Very Young, and likely commissioned by Methuen & Co. to capitalize on Milne and Shepard’s success (Methuen). The target audience for the collection is children, but perhaps specifically Milne’s beloved Christopher Robin.

Critical Commentary:

Now We Are Six was the third publication by Milne containing Winnie-the-Pooh, and as such was one of the most in demand children’s books at the time of its publication. With the verses of Now We Are Six, Milne is credited with increasing the teaching of poetry to children. Milne was widely praised for imbuing Now We Are Six with rhyme, rhythm, character, mood, and action that made the book’s poems instantly likable and memorable for children (Arbuthnot 129).

One of the most striking things about Now We Are Six’s longevity and popularity is how little regard both Shepard and Milne had for the work. Both men thought that their work with Pooh would be a small portion of their distinguished careers. Milne began his career with more adult works and only moved to children’s literature at the behest of others (Otten). Even while Milne was writing his stories and poems, he always thought that his work for adults would make him more successful and well-known than his children’s stories (Arbuthnot 127). Similarly, Shepard, a highly regarded artist and author in his own right never thought that drawing a “silly old bear” would overshadow the rest of his work entirely (Benson). However, Milne enjoyed the success of Pooh and Now We Are Six throughout his life, while Shepard grew to resent the overwhelming shadow of the bear (Benson).

Works Cited

Arbuthnot, May Hill. Children and Books. 3rd ed. Chicago: Scott, Foresman, 1964. Print.

Benson, Tim. “The Man Who Hated Pooh.” BBC News. BBC, 06 Mar. 2006. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

Carter, John and Nicholas Barker. ABC for Book Collectors. 8^th ed. New Castle: Oak Knoll Press, 2004. Print.

Cianciolo, Patricia J. “Ernest Howard Shepard.” British Children’s Writers, 1914-1960. Ed. Donald R. Hettinga and Gary D. Schmidt. Detroit: Gale, 1996. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 160.Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.

“Methuen’s New Books.” The Times Literary Supplement [London] 13 Oct. 1927, 1341st ed.: 713. Print.

Milne, A. A. Now We Are Six. London: Methuen, 1927. Print.

Otten, Charlotte F. “A. A. Milne.” British Children’s Writers, 1914-1960. Ed. Donald R. Hettinga and Gary D. Schmidt. Detroit: Gale, 1996. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 160. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.