Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was an American poet and educator whose work, although influenced by European literary traditions, often presented stories of mythology and legend rooted in American culture. This book brings to life one of America's most famed poets.

If you were attending school in the late-nineteenth century, it's very likely that your teacher would have taught you to memorize lines from "The Village Blacksmith" by renowned poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. And on the classroom wall you'd probably see his portrait looking down benignly on you and your classmates. Longfellow was so famous and beloved by youth in this era that he was known as "the children's poet." Students not only memorized his poetry but sent him hundreds of letters.In this charming biography, storyteller and author Sydelle Pearlrecounts the life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by drawing upon the letters he received from his young admirers. In their letters, children from yesteryear reveal details about their lives that reach across the years to young people today. The letters also highlight the unique, close relationship that children shared with Longfellow. A girl from West Virginia writes, "Thank you so much for writing for children.... It makes us feel that we are not forgotten." Others ask him about what he did as a boy or a young man. In one extraordinary gesture of friendship, the schoolchildren of Cambridge celebrated his birthday by presenting him with a chair created from the wood of the "spreading chestnut tree" made famous in his poem "The Village Blacksmith." Longfellow dedicated his poem "From My Arm-Chair" to these thoughtful children.Complete with selected poems and photographs of the poet and his family, Dear Mr. Longfellow brings to life a famous figure of American literature and a distant, simpler age in the history of our country.

"Meticulously researched, Dear Mr. Longfellow uses letters written by actual children to their beloved poet to re-create, in rich and often-moving detail, the life of a writer who took his readers seriously, and none more so than the youngest of them. Living up to Longfellow's model, Sydelle Pearl has written a book that I imagine will appeal to readers of all ages."
- Christoph Irmscher, Author of Longfellow Redux


"This unique homage to Longfellow will be a welcome addition to any library. Pearl's collecting of letters and connection of them to Longfellow's life is fascinating. A wonderful, heartfelt read."
- Lee Bennett Hopkins, Author of Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life


"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poetry has long had a special appeal to children. This delightful book documents the special bond between the poet and his young readers during his lifetime and how that enthusiasm for his work continues to this day."
- Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., Maine state historian


"A fresh and delightful way to learn about what Longfellow's poems meant to his young readers."
- Mayor Henrietta Davis, Cambridge, Massachusetts