Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

I purchased this book for my daughter's first birthday. I have always loved this poem and was so excited when I found it in a picture book. Susan Jeffers does a great job illustrating. The pictures are beautiful. I plan to give my daughter a special book each year and I am so glad I was able to start with this one.

This book is absolutely gorgeous! I love the artwork, and the poem is simple and delightful. There aren't a lot of words per page and there are lots of animals in it so my 18-month-old loves to sit and listen to me read it. It's a treasure.

I purchased this book for my daughter's first birthday. I have always loved this poem and was so excited when I found it in a picture book. Susan Jeffers does a great job illustrating. The pictures are beautiful. I plan to give my daughter a special book each year and I am so glad I was able to start with this one.

Very disappointed in it. Used to order the larger version regularly for friends with young children. Will not order this again. The addition of more color and fuzzy printing has cheapened the illustrations and destroyed the windswept wintry illusion.

This book is absolutely gorgeous! I love the artwork, and the poem is simple and delightful. There aren't a lot of words per page and there are lots of animals in it so my 18-month-old loves to sit and listen to me read it. It's a treasure.

The beautiful illustrations in this book fit the words of the poem perfectly. It brought back the memories of my childhood walks in snowy woods. Every time I read the book it brings tears to my eyes. It is truly a work of art to be cherished.

Love the book, but was anticipating a cover illustration as depicted on the store website. The copy I received had no cover illustration. While that was disappointing, it did not detract from the beauty of the poem and the drawings in the book!!

When my children were young, I bought books illustrated by Susan Jeffers to help start their individual libraries. Her pictures are stunning! I continued this tradition by purchasing 'Stopping by the Woods...' for my newest grandchild. Once again, Susan Jeffers did not disappoint. There is so much to see in each picture and they enhance Robert Frost's timeless poem.

I am familiar with this book but was disappointed in the size (not the same as the original publication) with illustrations done by Susan Jeffers. It is not as bright and there was a problem with the pages being square; two pages were larger that the rest of the book and were not cut properly.

Stopping By Woods on A Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost and Susan Jeffers
Paperback: 25 pages
Published 1969
by Scholastic
ISBN-10: 0590098454
ISBN-13: 978-0590098458
Book Source: Bought
5 Stars

Book Description from the store: 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.

Mary's Review: The story of this book is written in poetry form using one of Robert Frost's poems which tells of a man while journeying to keep a promise takes the time to enjoy the beauty of the woods, snow and animals on his way.
I love poetry and the poetry of Robert Frost has been set in this lovely book with the beautiful black and white illustrations of Susan Jeffers.
I recommend this book for ages 4 and above.

About The Author: Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 - January 29, 1963) was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. One of the most popular and critically respected American poets of his generation, Frost was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.

Illustrator Bio -Susan Jeffers: "I realize now that I have always done the same things. When I was little, my best moments were spent drawing pictures, reading stories with my parents, playing with friends and sitting by the Ramapo River dreaming of horses. This has not changed. Being a childrens book illustrator has combined all of these things.
Literature has been a great support in my life. The story of Black
Beauty kept me company growing up. I longed to be gentle and steadfast as he was. I was inspired by Velvet's courage and wanted to win the Grand National on my beloved piebald horse like she did. I remember sitting in the choir loft deciding on how I would illustrate the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen that my parents had read to me. Retelling that story to myself got me through many tedious moments. I wished I were as brave as Gerta but I was pretty sure that I was the wayward Kai and my older sister, Judy, was going to have to come rescue me from the frosty Queen. I loved these stories, they always asked me to be the best I could be.
The first part of my work is to find a story that inspires pictures in me. It is like being a dancer and having to wait for the music to move your feet. Everything comes from this.
I enjoy researching books like Hiawatha so much that I have trouble extricating myself from old photos and first person diaries of being captured by Indians, which are of course more stories.
For the most part I work in pen and ink and guache, an opaque watercolor. I make thousands of little lines with a fine pen to describe the forms. Tnis looks hard, but it is actually the easiest part and is very relaxing. The most difficultpart for me is telling the story with the right relationship of composition and characters to convey the emotion of the story. This requires making many little drawings, called thumbnail sketches, until the drawing says what you want it to say, hopefully. Sometimes this does not happen.
My favorite things to do these days are riding and studying dressage with a beautiful horse named Hans, (Hans is much the better student) and painting landscapes and portraits. Happily this is a lot like my work."

" see full review at Little Red Reads" [...]

When I was in high school, my English teacher made my class memorize random poems. I don't remember why we had to do this, but I do remember analyzing and memorizing "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," which soon became one of my favorite poems of all time. It stayed with me long after high school, and in my graduate program for education, I made an iMovie of the poem depicting the scenery while also depicting the chain rhyme on screen. I still have that iMovie and I occasionally show it in classes when I go to teach poetry, so imagine my surprise when I came across this hardcover, illustrated book of my favorite poem! I stood in the bookstore and read it; absolutely amazed with the illustrations and the interpretation of the poem, which is a bit different from my own interpretation, but alas, I decided not to buy the book, not then anyway. Of course, I thought about it often and kept thinking of going back to get it, but never did. Then Christmas came, and my wonderful friend bought it for me! I was, and am, extremely excited because it's such a beautiful book! And, I plan to use it in the classroom as well, making poetry more fun for my students as I read it to them and show them the pictures... and then the real analysis will begin. I think this is one of the best picture books I've ever seen, and I highly recommend it, for both the young and the old. It's a fabulous book to add to your library. Five stars.

I taught elementary and middle school for years and read this book, many times, to my students. It's mesmerizing. Let's extend the appropriate age range to include young adolescents. It's a beautiful wonderful book. And with the gorgeous illustrations, and a bit of adult explanation (about the old-fashioned language,) you can introduce Frost to young kids.

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.

Snow drifted down overnight and throughout the day, leaving our woods a veritable wonderland. I rushed to put my hands on this book, "STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING." I knew Robert Frost's words would be especially appropriate this snowy day to introduce children to the lyrical beauty of this poem.

Susan Jeffers has used pen and ink, with some colored pencils in an overlay, to convey her childlike appreciation of the HUSH that settles like snow in the deep woods, and her love for all its creatures. The bearded Santa-type figure who drives the sleigh follows just the right instincts when he pauses to examine the "downy flakes" alighting on his mitten. What child hasn't studied these in wonder as they fall like stars out of the sky? Jeffers must also have enjoyed drawing the large hexagonal designs of flakes floating in the foreground.

Robert Frost's first line "Whose woods these are I think I know" is one of perfection, and with humor and music the poem continues. Reviewer mcHAIKU is grateful for a childhood filled with poetry, for hearing Robert Frost in person as an adolescent, and for the aching memory of the poet at JFK's inaugural ceremonies - - aging in the way he had so often written about.

Read, and 'SAY' poetry to your children, and encourage them to write so they will lose the fear of expressing themselves. And enjoy to the fullest every possible moment in the out-of-doors, snowy or otherwise!

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!

I think it's wonderful to have this poem illustrated in a format that makes it more appealing to children. I think it's wonderful to introduce children to poetry, and I have read this to my three older children in the 4-7 1/2 year old range, and they enjoyed it. I wish there were more poems presented in this children's book format.

The illustrations in the large-scale (8.5 x 11) version are crisp and enchanting. Something is lost by shrinking it down to the 8x7 format. I plan to give this book to my nieces and nephews, but I will look on the used market for the larger-scale version. That version I would give a 5-star.

This and Graeme Base's Jabberwocky are my two favorite adaptations of poetry for young children. Both are elegant and still plenty of fun. Either one would be the ideal gift for a distant grandchild, if that's why you're on the store poking around.
Susan Jeffers' illustrations are shot through with winter light on snow, just a relief to look at. They're also full of pleasant little hidden treasures for the squirmy set. She uses details to recast the darker side of the poem, maybe, because this is a children's title. For example, the narrator's carrying a tree in his sled, to be planted: one of the promises to keep. (Note to illustrator: In the winter, the ground is typically frozen.)
Reading this aloud to children is a gratifying experience. Give yourself that tear in your eye.

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.

As another reviewer posted, this is a marvelous interpretation of Robert Frost's timeless poem. I read the original to my son and he now reads it to his son. I think it's a great child's introduction to the great works of Robert Frost. The problem is that the original edition had far better illustrations. I would recommend the original hardcover edition published in 1978. It appears to be available thru the store Partners. If you can find a clean addition, buy it, it's wonderful.

The poem is great, as always. However, I'm disappointed in the changes to the Susan Jeffers illustrations. In the original version of the book, 8.5 x 11" (approx),the illustrations are finer, more deilicate. In the new, smaller format (7 x 8.5"), the lines are cruder, fuzzier, and someone has added a lot more color. It detracts from the lovely, icy, wind-blown quality of the original art. In my local bookstore, they are not even able to order a copy in the original format. It's a shame. I don't know why the publisher has decided to mangle a beautiful book. I've bought and given as gifts numerous copies of the original version. I won't buy the "new" version.

Illustrations that go great with this wonderful poem. Has the text well split up between the pages so that kids won't get sick of the picture before it's time to turn the page. A great way to introduce kids to this poem without them knowing they're hearing "poetry". Also a great format for fans of Stopping by Woods.

Step into a Winter Wonderland with the strokes of Susan Jeffers' brush and let Robert Frost words carry you through the woods and on into life. This book is a perennial on our guest night stand and is read continually by our Grandgirls with awe and stillness. This is a gift for others but it will be a gift to yourself each time you read it!