Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Author: Robert Frost

Illustrator: Susan Jeffers

Genre: Poetry

Awards: None

Grade(s): 2-4

Summary: As many of you know, writing a summary for Robert Frost's poems can be quite difficult. This book is one of Frost's well-known treasures. It features a man who has "a promise to keep," but ends up stopping to enjoy the woods around him. The man's horse seems uneasy about stopping in the woods, but the man insists that it is peaceful in the woods. Towards the end of the book, the man makes realization that he cannot stay in the woods because of the promises that he has made. The book ends with the single line, "And miles to go before I sleep."

My Thoughts: As described on one of the flap covers of this book, "... this book is perfect for introducing children to great American literature," and I couldn't agree more. Robert Frost's poetry is a great tool to teach children, not only about great American literature, but also that poems can be written using profound thoughts that only make sense to the author. It is clear that Frost does that because when asked what the meaning was behind some of his poetry, he said, "If I wanted you to know I'd had told you in the poem." I would definitely use Robert Frost's poetry in my class to teach students a different view of poetry and that poetry doesn't always have to make sense to the world, as long as it makes sense to the author.