Poetry for Kids: Robert Frost

I love the concept behind the Poetry for Kids books, beautifully illustrated selections for children ages 8 to 13, Grades 3 to 8.  Robert Frost is one of America's most beloved poets of the last century, whose poems were inspired by everyday sights and life of the country in New England.

Included are Frost's best known poems “Mending Wall,” “The Road Not Taken,” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

Each volume includes information for parents and teachers, including commentary, definitions of key words for each poem, and an introduction to Frost's life.

Robert Lee Frost won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, and was named Poet laureate of Vermont.

I have not read Frost extensively and most of the poems were new to me. I appreciated the simplicity of his images, the concrete portrayal of his world, from which he drew lessons and truths. Such as in this poem:

Snow Dust

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I rued.

Or these lines from Choose Something Like a Star: "So when at times the mob is swayed/To carry praise or blame too far,/We may choose something lie a star/To stay our minds on and be staid."

The 35 were poems chosen by Jay Parini, author of Why Poetry Matters and a biography on Frost. Illustrator Michael Paraskevas's work has appeared in most major magazines, he has written and illustrated 24 children's books, and has created animated series for television.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Poetry for Kids: Robert Frost 
by Robert Frost, edited by Jay Parini, illustrated by Michael Paraskevas
Moondance Press
ISBN: 9781633222205, 1633222209
Hardcover $14.95