SOURCE: "Winsome Period Pieces: The Poetry of Howard Pyle," in Children's Literature Association Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer, 1983, pp. 28-32.

In the following essay, Helbig examines Pyle's significant body of children's poetry.

Howard Pyle stands among the most influential illustrators in the history of literature for the young in America, and he is remembered also for his retellings from oral tradition, literary fairy tales, novels, and numerous essays. Few people recall, however, that Pyle also wrote poems intended for children. Yet he produced some four dozen poems for the young and it was through a poem for children that he first broke into print.

After Pyle's school years were over and he had entered the family leather business, he spent many happy hours writing and sketching for his own enjoyment. One of these products of his leisure time was a short, amusing, story poem called "The Magic Pill," which...