This is one of the most beautifully illustrated copies of a poem that you will ever find. There’s something about it that evokes the feeling of being in a snowglobe, a tiny perfect world caught amid swirling snowflakes, somehow captured between the pages of a book. Robert Frost’s poem is simple, but Jeffers’s illustrations make the poem lovely and easily accessible to children. Her hero bears a slight resemblance to Santa, giving the book an even more seasonal feel.
I loved using this book in the classroom to interest children in poetry, but especially to show them how they could understand poems. First, I would read the book aloud, without showing the book and have them draw a picture of the poem. You would notice that nearly all students would pick up on the snow, many of them would include the horse and others would include small details like the harness bells that the horse shakes. They also would love discussing what part of the poem led them to draw what they did. Then I would share Jeffers’s version with them.
Great for: Introducing children to poetry, seasonal but non-religious reading.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Characters are drawn sharing a hug.
Profanity – None.
Death, Violence and Gore – None.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – None.
