Riley child-rhymes. By: James Whitcomb Riley and With hoosier pictures by: Will Vawter

By James Whitcomb Riley

Book Overview

James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 - July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. His poems tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately one thousand poems that Riley authored, the majority are in dialect. His famous works include "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man". Riley began his career writing verses as a sign maker and submitting poetry to newspapers. Thanks in part to an endorsement from poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, he eventually earned successive jobs at Indiana newspaper publishers during the latter 1870s. Riley gradually rose in prominence during the 1880s through his poetry reading tours. He traveled a touring circuit first in the Midwest, and then nationally, holding shows and making joint appearances on stage with other famous talents. Regularly struggling with his alcohol addiction, Riley never married or had children, and created a scandal in 1888 when he became too drunk to perform. He became more popular in spite of the bad press he received, and as a result extricated himself from poorly negotiated contracts that limited his earnings; he quickly became very wealthy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1974636631
• ISBN13: 9781974636631
• Release Date: August 2017
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Charming and true to the times in which it was written

I grew up having a few favorite poems read to me from this book. There are some poems that certainly require you to conform to the country lingo in which they're written. Given the fact that this book was originally published in the late 1800's, it provides a wonderful look into history, poetry as entertainment, and a way of speaking that is not heard much anymore. My very favorite poem is "The Bear Story". It is "written" by a boy named Alex and has so many charming twists, turns and changes of mind mid-stream that it's both engaging and funny. Of course this book contains "Little Orphant Annie", and my other favorite, "The Raggedy Man." If you're a lover of old poetry or fun poetry, this is certainly a book that deserves a spot on your shelf. Enjoy!