Now that’s what I call a house,
with lots of space for everyone.
Lots of stairs to run up and down,
and a room on the roof just for fun.
I could play my music really loud —
Mum and Dad wouldn’t hear it at all.
My siblings would be out of my way,
at the other end of a long, long hall.
But when it’s time for dinner,
there’s a problem I can see:
by the time I went down all that way
there’d be nothing left for me!
English stately home. Photo by Ginette Pestana
Picture a pretty villa
built with Tuscan stone,
sitting in an olive grove
with lemons nearby grown.
The skies are puffed with cloud,
the wooded hills are steep,
and in the afternoon
the people love to sleep.
The province paints your dreams
with ancient hilltop towns,
whose battlements stood guard
for many noble crowns.
From far away resounding,
a church bell chimes the hour,
its drowsy notes a-floating
from a lonely tower.
Teacher’s note: This villa is located in the village of Montanare, close by the enchanting hilltop city of Cortona. Florence (in Italian, Firenze) is the capital of Tuscany, whose other famous cities include Siena and Pisa.
Imagine living here
with all those stairs to climb,
and every room you enter
takes you back in time.
Everywhere you wander,
every corner you explore,
could there be a ghost or two
behind a secret door?
Teacher’s note: Martindale Hall, Mintaro, South Australia, famously appeared in the movie Picnic at Hanging Rock. Completed in 1880 with 32 rooms, and once the home of the Mortlock family, this Georgian mansion is now open to the public six days a week.
A waterwheel that slowly turns,
A river there that swiftly churns,
A secret garden in the sunWhere lazy dreams are gently spun.
Where is this drowsy mill house found, Where insects buzz in sleepy sound?
In France! For there, midst ancient walls,
Legends live and history calls.
I have a hidden house
in a garden full of flowers,
and I love to sit in silence
and gaze at it for hours.
The little house was built
in the Gold Rush so I’m told,
but for me it is a treasure
worth more than any gold.
Australian Children’s Poetry 