poem

November: Poetry and Picture Books for Early Winter.

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The Poetry of Robert Frost The complete poems c1969 Henry Holt & Co. New York

That IS November on the cover. You do not have to delve far into this volume to find My November Guest. It is right up front on page 6… If you are born in New England, you are required to know a few Frost poems by heart. We carry on about the weather as if there is no other topic of conversation, after we briefly go over the latest town meeting gossip, and Robert Frost is the best interpreter of how the weather contributes in making us the way we are. Read Brown’s Descent. We know it is colder and darker in Arctic regions, but they have the Northern Lights, don’t they.

My November Guest   by Robert Frost

My Sorrow, when she's here with me,
  Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
  She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.
  She talks and I am fain to list:
She's glad the birds have gone away,
She's glad her simple worsted gray
  Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,
  The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
  And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know
  The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
  And they are better for her praise.

This poem is followed shortly by Storm Fear, but let’s not cower in the cave yet. What are we supposed to think in the opposite to May month? Have we done everything we were supposed to in the proper season? Better get caught up! Did we forget to appreciate what we have, better get on that too, especially if we a are certain age. Time is running out…

Stop right there, friends, and take in these November authors and artists who help us see the beauty in this time at the end of the year. If you are one of those people who have your Holiday shopping done, fie on you, but go outside after dark and see which constellations are visible. Enjoy the feel of a warm sweater, take the kids for a walk and ask them what they see. Bake something and bring it over here!

In November by Cynthia Rylant Illustrated by Jill Kastner c2000 Voyager Books / Harcourt Inc.

Cynthia Rylant takes the youngest children on a simple stroll through the month, visiting the animals, scents, crisp sounds, and sights of winter coming on. Whether you live where it snows or not, changes are going on and children like to help you notice them. It is good to take their minds off the advertising and noise of the approaching Holidays with a little walk outdoors and some quiet listening. This book sets the tone for seeing the particular beauty of early winter.

Illustration by Jill Kastner from In November written by Cynthia Rylant

November is also warm inside with the folks.

Snow Toward Evening : A Year in a River Valley Poems selected by Josette Frank with paintings by Thomas Locker c1990 Dial Books / Penguin Books : New York

Short selections from famous poets and paintings by Thomas Locker showcase natural events in a river valley. There is a lovely view for each month of the year. From wild geese flying across cloudy skies in August, to golden leaves on the ground in October, and blue skies over daffodils in May, this book opens young eyes to beauty. November is featured above. Other books by Thomas Locker include: Where the River Begins, The Mare on the Hill, Sailing with the Wind and other lovingly illustrated titles.

Lest you become melancholy:

Waiting for Winter Written and illustrated by Sebastian Meschenmoser c2009 Kane Miller : Tulsa First published in Germany in 2007.

Three friends, Squirrel, Hedgehog, and Bear have never seen snow and they are determined not to miss it this year. Deer has told them that snow is white, wet, cold and soft. While waiting impatiently for snow to appear, the friends amuse themselves by singing sea shanties, and finding various objects that fit the description deer gave them, but are hilariously wrong. The animals pictured here are all a bit disheveled and that fits the comic tone of the story perfectly. This book always broke up my story time audience who were also very eager for the first flakes to fall.

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett Illustrated by Jon Klassen. c2012 HarperCollins : New York

November is sweater season. Annabelle is a knitter and her magic ball of yarn never runs out. She knits for friends, family, cats, dogs, and perhaps even large, inanimate objects that could use some new coverings. When her never ending ball of yarn is stolen by an evil archduke, Annabelle and her whole town are dismayed. Will the archduke’s new possession bring him what he desires?

Friends of Annabelle in their new sweaters

Poetry for Regular People

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Best Loved Poems of the American People. Selected by Hazel Felleman

Best Loved Poems of the American People Selected by Hazel Felleman c1936 Doubleday & Company : New York

A Prayer

Lord, let me live like a Regular Man,
   With Regular friends and true;
Let me play the game on a Regular plan
   And play it all the way through;

Let me win or lose with a Regular smile
   And never be known to whine,
For that is a Regular Fellow's style
   And I want to make it mine!
 from the poem by Berton Braley



This book is a collection of poems put together by Hazel Felleman, who edited the Queries and Answers page of the New York Times Book Review.  Her boss, Adolph S. Ochs, publisher of the New York Times, liked poetry and he set Miss Felleman to work locating poems for readers who might remember only a line or theme of a poem and wrote in for help finding the rest. 

Once upon a time Americans memorized poetry. It was thought that A Fully Furnished Mind should contain a few inspirational, sentimental, maybe even patriotic poems that could be recited or recalled at appropriate moments. Nobody had cell phones in their pockets to rely on. Today, a dead battery puts a serious cramp in the dinner table conversation where a useful quote or poetic phrase is called for.  Back in the day it was not embarrassing for a poem to rhyme.  Memorization is much easier with a little rhythm and rhyme going for you.  Poems could say simple things like "A smile is better than a frown", and still get published. This book is a collection of poems that were popular in 1935. It is a bit of a time capsule, a pretty hefty time capsule at 670 pages. You may locate Over the Hill to the Poor-House or The Charge of the Light Brigade and allow a young person to sit up on a literary booster seat at Thanksgiving dinner all at once. 

I left the bookmarks intact in the picture of this book.  It was my mother's copy, and some of those mark her favorites.  It was hard for me to realize that a large collection of Americans favorite poetry did not include anything by Robert Frost. No Stopping by Woods?  Many of the poems are by authors unknown, but like old folk songs, they have a life beyond the latest new thing. These are poems loved by regular people with regular themes like love, friendship, faith, home, childhood, nature, beauty, and grief. This volume has a place on the family bookshelf. Learn a few of the poems and be prepared for power outages. A poetry outage is unthinkable.