Winter Poems

Rating:
Summary: A universe of sky and snow in poetry
Review: Teachers who love to put up seasonal bulletin boards or displays will find this collection of "Winter Poems" to be a valuable resource. Selected by Barbara Rogasky and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, "Winter Poems" includes verse by such celebrated poets as William Shakespeare, John Greenleaf Whittier, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson and Carl Sandburg. But you will also find an anonymous Japanese poem and Ogden Nash's comic ode on "The Germ." But most younger students are going to be most impressed by the actual poems than the names of the poets, which is why they will probably like Oliver Herford's "I Heard a Bird Sing," Melville Cane's "Snow Toward Evening" or Elinor Wylie's "Velvet Shoes." However, I do find it interesting that several of these poems deal more with the prospect of spring than the celebration of winter.

Final Note: Parents or teachers should make a point of explaining that Richard Wright, author of "Laughing Boy," is a noted African-American writer. This will be important in understanding the meaning of this short poem about a boy standing in the falling snow who "holds out his palms until they are white."

Rating:
Summary: A universe of sky and snow in poetry
Review: Teachers who love to put up seasonal bulletin boards or displays will find this collection of "Winter Poems" to be a valuable resource. Selected by Barbara Rogasky and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, "Winter Poems" includes verse by such celebrated poets as William Shakespeare, John Greenleaf Whittier, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson and Carl Sandburg. But you will also find an anonymous Japanese poem and Ogden Nash's comic ode on "The Germ." But most younger students are going to be most impressed by the actual poems than the names of the poets, which is why they will probably like Oliver Herford's "I Heard a Bird Sing," Melville Cane's "Snow Toward Evening" or Elinor Wylie's "Velvet Shoes." However, I do find it interesting that several of these poems deal more with the prospect of spring than the celebration of winter.

Final Note: Parents or teachers should make a point of explaining that Richard Wright, author of "Laughing Boy," is a noted African-American writer. This will be important in understanding the meaning of this short poem about a boy standing in the falling snow who "holds out his palms until they are white."