I wanted to put a poem up—one of my favorites from my childhood—and I was searching to see if it was in the public domain. Not only is it available online, the book it was in, Silver Pennies, is all there, pictures and all.

So here is The Child Next Door, by Rose Fyleman:

The child next door has a wreath on her hat;
Her afternoon frock sticks out like that,
All soft and frilly;
She doesn’t believe in fairies at all
(She told me over the garden wall)
She thinks they’re silly.

The child next door has a watch of her own;
She has shiny hair and her name is Joan;
(Mine’s only Mary).
But doesn’t it seem very sad to you
To think that she never her whole life through
Has seen a fairy?

Go check out the book, Silver Pennies, and the site that hosts it, Arthur’s Classic Novels.