A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers

Inspired by William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, this delightful collection of poetry for children brings to life Blake’s imaginary inn and its unusual guests.

At this inn, dragons brew the tea, angels make the beds, and a rabbit shows you to your room.

• Whimsical Rhyming Poems: Follow the delightful verses that tell the tales of the Man in the Marmalade Hat, two opinionated sunflowers, and a tiger who needs a bedtime story.
• Classic Literature for Children: A gentle and imaginative introduction to the world of William Blake, inspired by his famous Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
• Magical Creatures: Meet the King of Cats who orders a nine-mouse stew, two mighty dragons who brew and bake, and a wise cow who sleeps on a cloud.
• Perfect for Bedtime Reading: With lyrical language and soothing illustrations, these poems are designed to soothe wakeful guests and send little travelers off to sleep with dreams of stars.

Nancy Willard has loved William Blake’s poetry from the day she first heard it. While writing the poems in this book, she built a six-foot model of the inn, decorating it with moons, suns, stars, and prints of Blake’s paintings. The model with its residents—the characters that appear in this volume—stands in her living room.

Nancy Willard published her first book when a high school senior—an inset in the Horn Book, which was called A Child’s Star. Formerly a lecturer in the English department at Vassar College, she is the author of a number of well-received children’s books, including Sailing to Cythera: And Other Anatole Stories and The Island of the Grass King: The Further Adventures of Anatole, both winners of a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. 

Alice and Martin Provensen have been honored by the Art Books for Children Citation of the Brooklyn Museum, by the Gold Medal for illustration of the Society of Illustrators, by exhibitions at the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and by being included on the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year list on nine occasions.