The World is Round

The World is Round, Gertrude Stein's picture book for kids, was in my library pile the other day. Unfortunately it's not the edition with illustrations by Clement Hurd, which is a shame. I tend to agree with the twelve-year-old from Long Island's assessment. I'm not sure many kids would like this book. It's a sort of childlike language dream that makes very little sense. Some of it's quite famous:

Rose was her name and would she have been Rose if her name had not been Rose. She used to think and then she used to think again.

And this bit:

  So Rose did not sing but she had to do something.
  And what did she do well she began to smile she was climbing all the while climbing not like on a stair but climbing a little higher everywhere and then she saw a lovely tree and she thought yes it is round but all around I am going to cut Rose is a Rose is a Rose and so it is there and not anywhere can I hear anything which will give me a scare.
  And then she thought she would cut it higher, she would stand on her blue chair and as high as she could reach she would cut it there.
  So she took out her pen-knife, she did not have a glass pen she did not have a feather from a hen she did not have any ink she had nothing pink, she would just stand on her chair and around and around even if there was a very little sound she would carve on the tree Rose is a Rose is a Rose is a Rose is a Rose until it went all the way round. Suppose she said it would not go around but she knew it would go around. So she began.

And this:

I am Rose my eyes are blue
I am Rose and who are you
I am Rose and when I sing
I am Rose like anything.

And here's Willy, Rose's cousin who miraculously turns out not to be Rose's cousin on the very last page so they can marry:

My name is Willy I am not like Rose
I would be Willy whatever arose
I would be Willy if Henry was my name
I would be Willy always Willy all the same.