Knee-deep In Blazing Snow: Growing Up In Vermont [Hardcover]

James Hayford (Author), X. J. Kennedy (Author), Dorothy M. Kennedy (Author), Michael McCurdy (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

James Hayford lived in Vermont for almost his whole life. At Amherst College, he studied with the famous poet Robert Frost. Frost took an interest in the young man and offered him a bargain. Hayford would receive one thousand dollars - enough, back in 1935, to live on for a whole year - if he would remain in America, stay away from advanced studies, and devote himself to writing poems. With Knee-Deep in Blazing Snow, as well as several other collections of poetry, Hayford shows us he kept up his end of the bargain, bestowing on the world poems about New England life that speak to our senses no matter where we may live. The poems in this collection were chosen for their appeal to young people, and sorted into the four seasons, so readers can get a taste of growing up in New England year-round. Hayford evokes moments of sometimes happy, sometimes wistful solitude, recalling swims in a secret pond, nighttime milking, the bliss of radiator-warmed socks, and maple sugaring in late-March woods "knee-deep in blazing snow." Michael McCurdy's black-and-white scratchboard and wood engravings amplify the drama of New England seasons and the beauty of rural life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up–Hayford, a gifted poet, was mentored and lauded by Robert Frost, and the Kennedys have selected some of his spare yet evocative verses to share with a new audience. Looking back upon his childhood in early-20th-century rural Vermont, Hayford imbued ordinary activities, events, and observations with acquired and perceptive wisdom. In Time to Plant Trees, he recommends planting them, …when you're young/So you will have them to walk among–/So, aging, you can walk in shade/That you and time together made. Adults who share these poems can provide some useful context to support a few images that may otherwise be unfamiliar to contemporary children. Some of the selections have an easy rhyme; others are free verse. McCurdy's black-and-white woodcuts, at times quite dark, reflect the quiet nostalgia expressed in these pages.–Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. In this collection "you'll hear that Vermont way of talking--with no wasted words," write X. J. Kennedy and Dorothy Kennedy in the introduction to their selection of Hayford's poems. Divided into sections based on the seasons, the spare, direct poetry reflects rural life with humor: "You talk about imagination--think. / A creature armed with nothing but a stink / Propelled to make aggressors stop and blink," begins the "The Skunk." Many lines evoke flashes of old-fashioned country life--jumping into hay, gathering maple sap for syrup--and McCurdy's small, black-and-white scratchboards and wood engravings extend the nostalgic mood in scenes of a rural train depot and ox-driven sleighs. But it's the quiet observations about the natural world that are perhaps most powerful: the "molten light" of midsummer evenings; "an afternoon turned hushed and black" by an oncoming storm. Teachers will want to share these accomplished selections in poetry units; suggest this also to readers of the Little House books, who may enjoy the glimpses of long-ago rural life. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 59 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (October 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590783387
• ISBN-13: 978-1590783382
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,019,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TREASURE OF NEW ENGLAND POEMS, January 23, 2006

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Knee-deep In Blazing Snow: Growing Up In Vermont (Hardcover)

A student of one of America's most beloved poets, Robert Frost, the young James Hayford was a native of Vermont. It was at Amherst College that he studied with Frost who became more than a teacher to him. Frost believed in Hayford and offered him $1,000 if he would stay in American and spend his time writing poetry. In 1935 that amount of money was enough for Hayford to live on for a whole year, and he accepted. We're grateful that he did for he has left the world a treasure of poems about New England, capturing its beauty and its hardships.

"Knee-Deep In Blazing Snow," a collection especially edited for young readers, covers the four seasons of the year beginning with Summer and "Hay-Jumpers": "When hay was put in loose, We jumpers had our use...." A reminder of the fun youngsters had jumping in the hay.

Autumn is heralded with "Night Milking Time" and Winter with "First Snow":

"Blanketing fields that lately were bare brown,
Let this soft midnight snow brings blessings down
On all the people in the little town."

Special pleasure is found in reading Hayford's poems aloud and, of course, the talented Michael McCurdy's woodcuts are the perfect accompaniment to this collection subtitled "Growing Up In Vermont."

- Gail Cooke

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Jewel, December 19, 2005

By 

Misao Misako (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knee-deep In Blazing Snow: Growing Up In Vermont (Hardcover)

This gentle book of poetry is wonderful and would make a good gift for anyone fond of New England and the outdoors, be they child or adult. James Hayford was encouraged by meeting Robert Frost when young, and went on to be an evocative, if unjustly overlooked, poet. The title of the book suggests his grasp of imagery, and skilful rhyme and meter predominate throughout. In the Frost tradition, Hayford's style is not flowery, but simple and direct. In four sections (one devoted to each season, as expertly selected by the book's editors), he celebrates the simple joys of jumping in hay, spotting wildlife, playing in snow, trains in the distance, etc. Gorgeous black and white scratchboard illustrations by Michael McCurdy add to the quiet enjoyment.