Robert Frost: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

This morning we had our first snowflakes of the season, so I thought I would share this gorgeous picture book that came out a few years ago. It's an illustrated versionof Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." The delicate pictures by Susan Jeffers are a lovely complement to Frost's hushed scene.

The thing I like best about this book is that it introduces children to great, time-tested, thoughtful poetry, not just the sing-song silly stuff that tends to be the default for kids' poems. Don't get me wrong...I love a lot of silliness too, but there are so many things we think kids won't "get," when really, in a lot of ways kids are a lot more perceptive than we are!

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

The Friends of Robert Frost: A terrific website with biography, interviews, essays, audio of Frost reading his own poetry, and even a tutorial page for students who are looking for help with their Robert Frost assignments!
Robert Frost on Wikipedia
Robert Frost on The Academy of American Poets