Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

By Robert Frost

Book Overview

Ever since it was published in 1978, the picture-book presentation of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" has been an enduring favorite. For this special edition with a new design, trim size, and three new spreads, Susan Jeffers has added more detail and subtle color to her sweeping backgrounds of frosty New England scenes. There are more animals to find among the trees, and the kindly figure with his "promises to keep" exudes warmth as he stops to appreciate the quiet delights of winter. The handsome new vellum jacket will attract new and old fans as it evokes a frost-covered windowpane. This celebration of a season makes an ideal holiday gift for a child, a teacher, or a host.

Robert Frost (1874-1963) is one of America's most celebrated poets and a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

Susan Jeffers is the illustrator of such distinguished picture books as Three Jovial Huntsmen, a Caldecott Honor Book; Rachel Field's Hitty; and the ABBY Award-winning Brother Eagle, Sister Sky, which was also a New York Times best-seller.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525467343
• ISBN13: 9780525467342
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.2" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A beautiful illustration of an enchanting poem

A lovely visual for Robert Frost. I disagree with a review that said there were pictures of ghosts. There is one picture with a snow angel, but that’s the closest image. Nothing weird in the book. I bought a dozen of the “good condition” copies of this books as a gift to my students. Two didn’t have the lovely dust jacket, but that’s to be expected with secondhand.

Beautiful poem with lovely pictures even my toddler loves this!

This is a great book to introduce littles to poetry. My toddler is 30 months and loves her "Robert Frost" book. The pictures are great discussion pieces for little ones to pick out details, the poem is short and they connect easily with it to read along. We read this as part of our bedtime books at least 3x a week. Wonderful addition and book/hardcover was in excellent shape!

Simply beautiful...

This particular poem is my favorite Robert Frost poem, and is one of my top five favorite poems. I was hoping that this book would portray the simple beauty and nuances of this poem, to read to my granddaughter. It more than met my expectations. Even my husband, who is a photographer and who doesn't read as much as I do, found the artwork in this book to convey beautifully the words of Frost's poem. This poem was not intended for children, and has many facets to it. But good poetry must be taught and appreciated early, and this book will help parents and teachers to show appreciation for poetry. If it doesn't start with the parents and teachers, then the children are never exposed to it. Whenever I read this poem, and now this book, it conveys a sense of peace, a sense of being quiet, of learning to look for the beauty in the world around you. This should be a classic. Karen Sadler

Just as I pictured it

When illustrators provide their visual representation of a well-loved story or poem, I'm often disappointed. That's not how I pictured it, I complain.Well, not in this case. I love this poem dearly, with both "promises to keep" and "miles to go before I sleep" being recurring themes in how I think about what I need to get done each week. And behind the philosopy is the image of a bearded man driving his carriage through the snow on the way home to his waiting family. My father, I think, is the guy in my mental images of this.The artwork in this book is absolutely delightful, and serves to make more vivid the images that were already in my mind. I love the poem, I love the art, and I love sharing these things with my daughter, who also loves this book.

A Gift of Poetry & Beauty

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening is Susan Jeffers' illustrated book of the Robert Frost poem. It is a beautifully illustrated book which can be enjoyed by the parent as a child sits snugly on their lap.I think it is a book that shows a great deal of respect. It respects the intelligence of the child by introducing beautiful "adult" poetry to the young. Simultaneously it is respectful of the adult reader allowing them to read something which is jointly appealing. This is ideally how an illustrated book should be. It should have appeal to both the reader and the listener and this book is a perfect example of that.Susan Jeffers illustrations are exquisite. She captures the quiet beauty of the woods on a snowy evening. Animals peak from behind trees and bushes watching the man and his sleigh. There is plenty to be observed by child and parent while reading this book . It will be a thrill to find and name the animals while reading the book. Every page is a work of art. The illustrations also work to tell a story within a story providing possible explanations for why the man is in the woods on that particular evening. Children will have some fun seeing the kinds of this this old gentleman does when no one is watching.Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is a wonderful wintertime book, but will make an excellent read in any season. What a wonderful gift for an adult to make for a child, a gift of poetry and beauty.

Gorgeous, captivating

This gorgeously illustrated book with the classic Frost poem is a beautiful way to share poetry with children. When kids get older they can be introduced to deeper ideas behind the poem -- this book is a wonderful introduction to the poem, and Frost's work in general. Poetry-snobs will probably look down on this book, which is all the more reason to like it, buy it, and share it with every kid around.

A Fine Way to Treat Your Children to Robert Frost

Please read the poem to your children out loud if they're old enough to follow it. Allow them the intense pleasure of visualizing the scene on their own before sharing another person's visualization with them. By all means, share this book, a beautiful, atmospheric slice of winter with them. Susan Jeffers has done such a splendid job on the illustrations. They are a hushed, crunchy-cold excursion into the dark solstice night in the deep woods. The only bits of color come from the living beings, the colorful man and his grandchildren and the shy forest animals he comes to feed. The stark, snow covered tree branches are illuminated to perfection and the big feathery snowflakes float down about you as you read. My favorite picture is the second to last one but I won't spoil it by telling you about it, except to say, see if it doesn't perfectly capture the reality you remember. This is a lovely book in and of itself, regardless of others that may have come before. Enjoy!