Edna [Hardcover]

Robert Burleigh (Author), Joanne Yardly (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000

Uses the imagined viewpoint of Edna St. Vincent Millay to recreate her early years as a poet in New York City. Includes her poem "Recuerdo" and a brief profile of her life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-This book essays much: biographical sketch, introduction to a poem, a verbal snapshot of the Bohemian life in Greenwich Village at the turn of the century, and a first-person storytelling style. Burleigh conveys Edna St. Vincent Millay's love of her life among the struggling young artists of New York including the advantages of cheap restaurants and free entertainment. One of the best bargains was the Staten Island ferry ride. It was from one of these heady excursions that Millay later wrote the poem "Recuerdo," which is appended in full. Burleigh's attempt to capture Millay's voice is not entirely successful. The narrative is infused with optimism, but doesn't convey a sense of the legendary volatility of this poet who defied convention with triumphant abandon. The illustrations, executed in gouache and ink, are competent but fail to suggest adequately the crazy quilt of narrow lanes and inaccessible garrets that were Millay's world. An afterword includes slight biographical material. There is no real story here, so the book may find its best use as supporting material for poetry units that include Millay and her work. Still, there is no bibliography and no attribution for the few direct quotes used.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Written from the viewpoint of Edna St. Vincent Millay, this picture book, the background of one her poems, offers readers a glimpse of life in New York at the end of the Great War. Millay describes living as a poet in a poor but happy Greenwich Village community of artists and writers. She next tells of riding the Staten Island Ferry all night with a friend and returning to buy a newspaper from an old woman: "we gave her everything^-our apples, our pears, and most of the little money we had!" Millay then writes a poem about that night. Teachers may use this book to show the transformation of a person's experience in an inspired work of poetry (the poem appears at the book's conclusion), but the text offers such a self-satisfied portrayal of Millay that many readers will be put off. Even Joanna Yardley's illustrations, skillful ink-and-gouache paintings, which sensitively evoke the time and place, picture Millay always smiling. Since the poem is more often read in high school than in kindergarten (the publisher recommends the book for grades K^-4), this will probably have a limited audience. Given that the poem itself is so accessible, why not just read the original one more time? Carolyn Phelan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531302466
• ISBN-13: 978-0531302460
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,490,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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