My Books (Poem): Class 5 English Literature

My Books (Poem) by Dr. Seuss. This is a poem in the syllabus of Class 5 English literature. Find study notes and question and answers.

The Poem

“My Books” Poem as it appears in the class 5 book.

I love my books.
They are the homes
Of queens and fairies,
Knights and gnomes.

Each time I read I make a call
on some quaint person large or small.
Who welcomes me with a hearty hand
and leads me through his wonderland.

Each book is like
A city street
Along whose winding
Way I meet
New friend’s and old who laugh and sing
And take me off adventuring.

Summary of the Poem

In the poem, the poet says that his books can be compared to the homes of queens, fairies knights and gnomes. Books take him to places where he meets all kinds of people who lead him through their wonderland. The poet says that his books can be compared to a street that takes him to a new adventure every time he reads them.

The poem is an effort by the poet to generate interest in reading among children.

Question and Answers

1. Name two things that books are compared to in the poem.
Answer: The two things that books are compared to in the poem are – i) the homes of queens and fairies, knights and gnomes, and ii) a city street.

2. In the poem, find
a) the opposite of the word ‘ordinary’
Answer: ‘adventuring’.

b) a synonym of the word ‘twisting’
Answer: ‘winding’

c) two pairs of rhyming words.
Answer: homes-gnomes, call-small

3. “I love my books.
They are the homes
Of queens and fairies,
Knights and gnomes.”

a) How does the narrator feel about books?
Answer: The narrator loves books.

b) List the characters that the poet has read about.
Answer: the poet has read about – queens, fairies, knights and gnomes.

c) What kind of books do you think that the poet is describing in these lines? Name one such book that you have read.

Answer: The poet is describing about fairy tales. The name of one such book is ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (or Cindrella).

4. Who ‘welcomes’ the poet? What do you think the expression ‘hearty hands’ means?

Answer: Some large or small quint person ‘welcomes’ the poet.
The expression ‘hearty hand’ means with warm-hearted and friendly manner.

5. How is reading a book like having an adventure?

Answer: According to the poet, the book he reads is like a city street. It has lots of bends and turns. The poet meets new and old friends who laugh and sing. This feels like having an adventure to the poet.

6. What book do you enjoy reading? If you meet someone who did not read books, what would you say to encourage the person to read?

Answer: I love to read books of all kinds. I like poetry books, fairy tales, adventure books and my school text books the most.

If I meet someone who did not read books, I would suggest him that books are our best friends. Books not only increase our knowledge but also turn us into good human beings.

As Dr. Seuss says, “The more you read, the more things you will know, and the more you learn, the more places you’ll go”.

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