There sat my motherWith the harp against her shoulderLooking nineteenAnd not a day older,A smile about her lips,And a light about her head,And her hands in the harp-stringsFrozen dead.
Since I was lucky enough to become a grandma (thank you DIL!) I’m always searching for new and interesting books to tempt Angel Boy 2.0 and his voracious appetite for words and pictures and language. One of my favorite photos was of AB 2.0 at around two months looking intently at AB 1.0 while he read a story. We swear he was paying attention. Maybe/maybe not, but we like to think so.
I went to our local library where they have a store staffed by volunteers and always find great books-sadly some never even cracked open-and grabbed an armful.
I parked myself in a little child-sized chair and briefly skimmed through my treasures. I found a book by one of my son’s favorite authors, James Herriot, who wrote All Creatures Great and Small and Moses the Kitten, along with about a dozen other really good stories, mostly about animals (my personal interests shining through).
Somehow, though, this book slipped by…
The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver by Edna St. Vincent Millay, illustrated by Beth Peek.
Visually stunning, I anticipated a lovely illustrated poem that Theo would enjoy, but waited until I had already driven home to fully read this one.
UH OH, thank goodness I read it first and I’m even more grateful that Theo can’t read at all.
I know I initially read it in high school, because as soon as I saw this page, the horror I had initially felt–returned.
A bedtime story? I think not. Not unless you want to seed some traumatic nightmares! I can’t imagine what kind of positive life lesson there could be here, can you?
I didn’t remember that it ended with the mom dying, having sacrificed her life for her son, and it’s not even that I DISAGREE with that concept because I believe a good parent should place her/his needs beneath those of the innocents we bring into this universe, BUT the guilt trip that little guy will most likely endure isn’t an equivalent value for having his loving mother ALIVE.
No wonder it appeared that this book looked as if it had never been touched.
The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver
Wow! I remember when I was about 8, I was reading in one of my mother’s books and ran across Goethe’s “The Erl-King”. It really shook me up! I firmly believe that they start listening VERY young, you are right.
I am very sorry that literary poetry, especially good rhyming poetry, has fallen out of schools and children’s books. However, I do like the new reality and playfulness in chldren’s books in the last 20(?) years. I have really enjoyed the newer ones with my grandkids and the kids in their school.
Glad you get to have fun with Angel Boy, Jr.!
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I totally agree with you! Poetry is sadly lacking, that’s why I grabbed this one haha, was totally taken in by the words and never remembered it ended with the mom dying. Maybe a good read for high school, but definitely not a toddler! Hope all is good with you and you have a happy thanksgiving!
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Yikes! I got as far as this: “It’s lucky for me, lad your daddy’s in the ground.” Clearly, not the warm and fuzzy message you were hoping for!
I love Dr. Seuss for rhyming stories for kids. (He seems to fall out of favor every now and then, but his use of language in children’s stories is magical.)
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It’s kind of funny/not funny, but I wonder how many parents would start reading and then make up a brand new HAPPY ending as as soon as they saw what was happening? Until you have a good self reader, it wouldn’t be a problem, but it’s a bit dark for toddlers! (or me) And try to explain what “your daddy’s in the ground” really means…back to Dr. Suess for sure!
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