The Runaway

by Robert Frost, Glenna Lang (Illustrator)

Robert Frost's poem is about caretaking and concern for young creatures. It shows that unknown situations are not always as frightening as at first they might appear, and that a comforting presence is never far away.

Genres: Poetry

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 1998

About the author

Flinty, moody, plainspoken and deep, Robert Frost was one of America's most popular 20th-century poets. Frost was farming in Derry, New Hampshire when, at the age of 38, he sold the farm, uprooted his family and moved to England, where he devoted himself to his poetry. His first two books of verse, A Boy's Will (1913) and North of Boston (1914), were immediate successes. In 1915 he returned to the United States and continued to write while living in New Hampshire and then Vermont. His pastoral images of apple trees and stone fences -- along with his solitary, man-of-few-words poetic voice -- helped define the modern image of rural New England. Frost's poems include "Mending Wall" ("Good fences make good neighbors"), "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" ("Whose woods these are I think I know"), and perhaps his most famous work, "The Road Not Taken" ("Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- / I took the one less traveled by"). Frost was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times: in 1924, 1931, 1937 and 1943. He also served as "Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress" from 1958-59; that position was renamed as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry (or simply Poet Laureate) in 1986.

Frost recited his poem "The Gift Outright" at the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy... Frost attended both Dartmouth College and Harvard, but did not graduate from either school... Frost preferred traditional rhyme and meter in poetry; his famous dismissal of free verse was, "I'd just as soon play tennis with the net down."

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think the poem works well when broken up over several pages, though Glenna Lang's simple illustrations are a nice touch.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frost's poem about a woman, child, and dog observing a colt loose in a field while snow began to fall. Lang uses a silkscreen style with flat colors for each shape. From beginning to end, the snowflakes accumulate to fill more and more of the two-page spreads. I wish I could have read Frost's verse before getting Lang's visual interpretation, which is nonetheless a challenge and an accomplishment.

[Tyler Wetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

personal response: This was a interesting poem. I had never read a poem by Robert Frost until now, and I think I would like to read more.

plot summary: This poem is about two guys who are walking and stop by a mountain pasture to watch the first snowfall. Then they see a "morgan" or a breed of horse and stop and look at it. The horse snorted at the people and ran off. Then the people talk about how he must be afraid of the snow and that the owner should have taken the horse inside by now.

recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read Robert Frost. I think this is a basic reading level poem that any one could read and enjoy.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

left us thinking about the deeper meaning of what Frost was saying, but without looking too deep it is a fun read and makes you want to get out into nature - even in the snow!