The Children's Hour, H W Longfellow

Here is the poem that inspired the title for this blog.
I was first introduced to it through the writings of Doug Phillips at Vision Forum, specifically the book Poems for Patriarchs which I warmly recommend.


Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O'er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, o blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Innaugural post

Since it seems that fellow parents and I are often looking for personal recomendations for books for our children, I decided to create this forum for passing along the opinions and experiences of my family in this regard. We seek to be intentional in reading regularly to our kids good books on bible and history. So I will simply pass on our impressions of the books we read in hope that this will be of help to others as it seems to have been in various conversations. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on books I comment on, your recommendations or books you would like to see discussed.