A Gallery of Children by A.A. Milne

This really isn't a children's book in my opinion. It's a book written from the perspective of children about children for adults. Obviously, as a Milne fan, I was excited to discover this book among my local library's collection of children's fiction!

Technically, the book isn't written from the perspective of children, but the short stories in this collection really just act as snapshots of children playing or interacting with each other or talking when adults can't see or doing their chores… Really, it's an outsider's account of these brief moments in time when children did something…or didn't do something.

I can't really imagine reading these stories to a child (it's like if you stalk someone...you wouldn't show them the transcript of their conversations--that's creepy!), but I do feel that they have a lot of value. They make a very clear statement: "This is the difference between how you as an adult perceive children and what they actually say and do (sometimes when you're not around)." There's not necessarily always a discrepancy, but there's definitely a difference between our ideal and the reality. And there's something so beautiful and true in portraying these moments not as part of a greater story, but as individual, disconnected moments of childhood--of innocence, of pure emotions, of discovery--that are so identifiably childish…and would normally be disregarded by adults.

I appreciated it. I still don't think it's a good collection of children's stories to share with children; I think it's best enjoyed and appreciated by adults.

~8/10~