I feel like Christopher at the beach today,
in A.A.Milne’s ‘Sand-between-the-toes’…
with the shouting sea…
and the galloping sea…
with sand in the hair…
and sand between the toes…
and nobody else is out!
It is a super dooper poem to read with children
and with thanks to All Poetry, here it is:
Sand-between-the-toes
I went down to the shouting sea,
Taking Christopher down with me,
For Nurse had given us sixpence each-
And down we went to the beach.We had sand in the eyes and the ears and the nose,
And sand in the hair, and sand-between-the-toes.
Whenever a good nor’wester blows,
Christopher is certain of
Sand-between-the-toes.The sea was galloping grey and white;
Christopher clutched his sixpence tight;
We clambered over the humping sand-
And Christopher held my hand.We had sand in the eyes and the ears and the nose,
And sand in the hair, and sand-between-the-toes.
Whenever a good nor’wester blows,
Christopher is certain of
Sand-between-the-toes.There was a roaring in the sky;
The sea-gulls cried as they blew by;
We tried to talk, but had to shout-
Nobody else was out.When we got home, we had sand in the hair,
In the eyes and the ears and everywhere;
Whenever a good nor’wester blows,
Christopher is found with
Sand-between-the-toes.© A.A. Milne. All rights reserved
More than Reading Blog 
Comments on: "The sea is galloping…" (12)
I enjoyed reading that rollicking poem by A. A. Milne–and your photo of the galloping sea was good too. Thanks for sharing.
What age group is this poem appropriate for? Could I read it to my one year old grand daughter?
If not, is there anything else by A. A. Milne you could suggest that would be appropriate for me to read to her?
I am so glad you enjoyed ‘Sand Between the Toes’, Billy. Your one year old granddaughter may not understand all the words but she may enjoy the rhythmical and rollicking language anyway… rhymes and songs are so good for babies and young children to hear as they are developing language. You could try a short poem like, ‘Happiness’.
I use some Milne poems with Year Ones for the rhyme and lyrical language but also because the topics are everyday topics of interest to children – despite the old English overtones e.g. ‘nanny’ ‘rice pudding’.
Thanks Coral. Do you have one favorite A. A. Milne poem you would recommend for me to read to my one year old granddaughter–just to get me started?
Hi Billy,
In reading to you baby granddaughter, you could start with a short poem like ‘Halfway Down’ – about a child sitting halfway down the stairs.
It rhymes and has lovely, lyrical language that is a joy to say aloud. You can find this poem in A.A.Milne’s book, ‘When We Were Very Young’
Happy reading Billy!
I enjoyed the poem.
So glad you enjoyed the poem Rick. Are you familiar with A.A.Milne’s poems – or stories like ‘Winnie the Pooh’? and ‘The House at Pooh Corner’?
Of course. I’m an elementary teacher and a father, so Pooh is my friend.
Aaahhh! Do your classes enjoy Milne’s works?
They always have fond memories of the stories, but most know about Pooh from cartoons.
Yes, I understand that…
One year my Year 1/2/3 class knew of ‘Charlotte’s Web’ through the movie so it was fun to read the book to them as a read-aloud – and to view the movie after that and have the children talk about the differences.
I don’t like shouting, including shouting seas, but…I do like the wonderful feeling, beach sand between my toes – as long as it’s warm sand!”
Thanks for your comments, Trevicio. Warm, soft sand… and warm water at this time of the year too.
Apart from sand-between-the-toes, were there other lines in the poem that hit a chord with you? sand in the eyes? ears? nose? hair? On days when the sea is galloping, I usually feel the blowing sand stinging my legs…