Whether you are simply exploring an interest in poetry or are a seasoned reader of the great poets, Longfellow's poems will move you. There is a poem in this collection that is perfect for every mood you could be in. If you are down and need to be lifted up, if you simply want to smile about the beauty of life, or if your heart has been broken, Longfellow's works will speak to your heart. Longfellow's works have spoken to my soul as no other poet or writer has ever before.

I love this book it is something that men and women would enjoy. I have tons of information on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow because our house is a remake of his he lived from 1807-1882. If I were you I would buy it I am the biggest fan of his I have every single book of poems,songs,and more on him in paperback and hardcover. Buy it!

When I was producing a video biography of Longfellow for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill in 1992, I needed a one-volume selection of Longfellow's poetry, and this book did the job very nicely. It includes Longfellow's best-known poems as well as two others that were never published during the poet's lifetime but must be classed with his finest work. The introduction by Lawrence Buell provides a useful biographical sketch and a thoughtful discussion of why Longfellow--the most famous American of his time--is not more widely read today. Buell's observations may get you thinking about this schoolbook poet in a different way.

Hiawatha is a beautiful, richly detailed poem of Native Americans before the treahery of the white man overwhelmed their way of life. Susan Jeffers took each verse and created a breathtaking, artist's view of the young Hiawatha. Each verse becomes vibrantly alive with her delicate rendiions."By the shores of ..." and Nokomis fill the readers souls with new images because of the renderings made by the talented Susan Jeffers.

Susan Jeffers' drawings exemplify the clarity and imagination of Longfellow's epic poem to a tee. A must have for every child's library, hopefully to be read over and over again.

I have this poem memorized because my father recited it to me so many times as a child. This illustrated version has beautiful pictures that capture the fact that this is the story of child and embody the lyric quality of Longfellows poem.

For the last two days I have read Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow to my 4 and 7 year old. We have learned the history, vocabulary words, the different methods the artist used to illustrate the poem, and many other interesting facts. They are begging for more! What are great book! Longfellow makes history come to life. You can just feel the night air in Revere's face as he so courageously warns the people.

It had good information for my report in the back of the book. It had true history of the ride. I liked the illustrations. My moms friend did the design layout.

"One if by land, two if by sea/ And I on the opposite shore will be" -- The stirring ballad of Paul Revere's ride lives in the lands of folklore and poetry simultaneously thanks to the craft of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. (Longfellow's distinctive poetic style earned him a lampoon on "Bullwinkle's Corner", an honor he shared with Wordsworth and R. L. Stevenson, among others.) What sets this edition apart is illustrator Ted Rand's vivid rendition of the poem: large, dramatic pictures alive with a sense of danger and blue with frosty darkness. As a reader of stories to preschool groups, I would not ordinarily seek out Longfellow to present to three-year-olds, but Rand's big, bold pictures capture their attention and suck them in to the drama of an exciting (though historically less than accurate) piece of Americana. As a read-aloud for first through third grades, this book is a good opener for _George the Drummer Boy_ and _Sam the Minuteman_, both by Nathaniel Benchley, and _Six Silver Spoons_ by Janette Sebring Lowrey.

An undying tale.. legend... song... Wonderful poetry, the language is simply astounding! I have read the russian translation by Bounin, which was as remarkable as the original.

A book for generations. Mine was published 1898 and given me by my mother whose father(b.1875) gave it to her. It goes to the heart of the Indian race, a people susceptible to mythology and magic as their last great hope. Read it with an open mind, imagination, and for its beauty.

"The Song of Hiawatha" is the best book I have ever been exposed to. Every time I hear the wonderful rhyme of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I begin to think of what this land was like before the Europeans conquered it. It is a wonderful tale of peace between nations and a great book to read to children.

No lo he visto, pero es importante para la comunidad de la Escuela Henry W. Longfellow de San Germán, Puerto Rico.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is perhaps the greatest rhymester to have ever lived. His endless rhymes almost seem to stay in one's mind, refusing to go. And this edition of his collected poetry just shows Longfellow at his best.

This here is poetry that - though over a hundred years old - is still fresh and alive with vigor. The poems tell tales of men and women, of birds and beast, and of gods and demigods (such as found in The Song of Hiawatha) in such magnificent form that it isn't a wonder why Longfellow was known to be the greatest American poet of his time.

"A poem should not mean but be," Archibald MacLeish wrote in "Ars Poetica." These poems are not intricate, and they're not incomprehensible, and they're definitely not senseless nor pointless; they are timeless, rhetoric voices of literature that tell so much . . . of so much.

And besides, how much times do we come across a poet who does not want to talk about how he feels and his emotions? It seems to be all that poets want to write about. It's good to sometimes read poems that simply want to tell stories and not what the Soul, or the Heart, or the Mind feels. Those things can be nice, but can make one ponder more than he or she should.

Another thing that will become apparent to the reader of this book is that Longfellow was a keen observer of people. In these poems, he writes about them very well. "The Village Blacksmith," for example, is a brilliant poem that tells of one ordinary man with an ordinary occupation: being a blacksmith. It's not of some Don Juan, or Rob Roy, or Casanova that in real life are as scarce as an honest politician. The story of the man in the poem - how he toils, and mourns, and triumphs, and suffers - is one that anyone can relate to.

It is even possible to find comfort in these poems that simply tell stories and not of emotional issues. Also, as I aforementioned, the iambic tales will stay in your mind as you might find it hard to forget them. It is probably the simplicity of these poems that make them so easy to memorize, and are probably what made Longfellow great.

This is the review which was in the Times-Picayune on March 3, 2002.The young and the restless

The epic tale of the Acadian 'Evangeline,' told for children who know the territory
03/03/02

By Marigny Dupuy Children's book columnist

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poetically tragic love story of Evangeline and her lost love, Gabriel, has held readers in thrall since its publication in 1847. And whether readers know the source or not, many are familiar with its opening line: "This is the forest primeval." Sentimental by modern standards, it is a tale of families torn apart, exile, homelessness, death and the pain suffered by separated lovers -- and it has a sad ending. This not the typical material for a picture book for children.

"Evangeline for Children," written by Alice Couvillon and Elizabeth Moore, illustrated by Alison Davis Lyne, retells the story in simple language. From the pastoral happiness enjoyed by the Acadians in the French settlement of Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, to the cruelties they suffered at the hands of the British who expelled them in 1755 to various locations in American and Europe to ensure their political powerlessness -- this describes a sad piece of history. The settings and events are real.

The story is told through the sorrowful experience of a pair of Acadian lovers, Evangeline and Gabriel (fictitious, though possibly based on real people), who are separated during the grand derangement of 1755 and only reunited many decades later -- and then only for a moment. Evangeline searches desperately for her Gabriel, going as far south as the town of St. Martinville, La., inquiring at every settlement of displaced Acadians for news of her love, but never with any success. She eventually joins a convent and is reunited with Gabriel through pure chance as he lies on his deathbed. She dies soon after and they are buried together.

While the story is not necessarily suited for young children, there is a connection with the history of south Louisiana that makes this useful for teachers and librarians. Many local children are familiar with Evangeline Parish to the Evangeline Oak and the statue of young Evangeline that stands prominently in St. Martinville, and may enjoy learning more about Evangeline's connection to our part of the country. Certainly the link between the exiled Acadians and Louisiana Cajuns is a meaningful one.

Illustrated in full color, "Evangeline for Children" includes an excellent short history of the Acadians at the end of the book, describing their troubled history, their significance in Louisiana, and the story of Longfellow's epic poem.

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Jeffrey Thompson's bold illustrations capture the drama, the urgency of that midnight ride on the eighteenth of April, 1775. The somber quality of Longfellow's poem is reflected in Thompson's use of muted backgrounds, contrasted with powerful black, stark white and red accents. The three-dimmensional quality of certain illustrations is reminiscent of primitive wood carvings. The design of the text pages is effective, with ample white space and an authentic, colonial appearance. Close attention to the details of the poem and time period are apparent. The historical endnote includes a map and informs the reader that Paul Revere was captured before completing his ride to Concord. He was released but sent on his way without his horse. Jeffrey Thompson has contributed his own style to Longfellows poem, in stark contrast to Ted Rand's softer, more classical paintings in his book Paul Revere's Ride. (Dutton, 1990) This is Thompson's first book - an impressive beginning.

Another Revolutionary War rider for freedom was Sybil Ludington. Read about her adventures in Sybil's Night Ride, written and illustrated by Karen B. Winnick. (Boyd's Mill Press, 2000.)

As a middle school English/Social Studies teacher, I require my students to memorize The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. I was interested in how Christopher Bing had interpreted this most famous poem by Longfellow. I must say that I was stunned by his artistic rendering of the different parts of the poem. Most unique of all was the three dimensional letter attached to the flyleaf which was written by Thomas Gage, the British commander. This letter, sent to Lt. Col. Smith, described how he (Gage) would march a force of men to Concord to seize any munitions the Americans might have stored there. And equally incredible is the three dimensional fold out deposition by Paul Revere which described the actions he took to warn the Americans the British were coming. This book was alive with surprises and "hands on" interactivity. When I tried this book out on my 110 students, they were amazed. Then something really amazing happened....history and a poem came alive, giving them a much fuller understanding of the events of April 18, 1775. The way the poem was layed out page by page even helped them memorize the poem quicker and more accurately. The maps, illustrations, and the miscellany concerning the historical ride lend so much to this famous poem that even the most jaded American historian/teacher could learn all over again why we Americans are who we are and why we do the patriotic things we do. This is a must have book for every red-blooded American! Thank you Christopher Bing for transforming American history.

I just finished reading Jeff Shaara's "Rise to Rebellion," a novel about the start of the American Revolution, which includes a chapter on Paul Revere and William Dawes riding to Concord to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them and then go on to Lexington to capture the gunpowder and munitions stored there by the colonial militia. So when I saw "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" I happened to pick it up. I have never been a fan of the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, especially since I remember someone arguing that the only reason he picked Revere to immortalize was because it is hard to rhyme anything with "Dawes." But once I opened up this book and saw what Christopher Bing had done in the way of graving and painting, I was captivated. On the frontpiece there is a letter you can open up that turns out to be a reproduction of a letter from Thomas Gage, the commanding general of the British troops in Boston, giving the 10th Regiment, Foot their fatal mission.

The poem is told over the course of a dozen spreads; the breakdown is not in terms of stanzas and is cued more to the narrative than the form of the poem. But as much as you might enjoy this book if you like poetry, that is nothing compared to what you will think about it if you are a student of history. There are maps of "The Plan for the Secret Expedition to Concord" and "Paul Revere's Ride and the Middlesex Alarm." On the backpiece you can open up a pamphlet being "The Deposition of Paul Revere prepared for the Massachusetts Provincial Congress." Bing might be out to illustrate Longfellow's poem, but he is also very much aware that the poet made up a lot of the details. In his "Miscellany Concerning the Historical Ride of the Patriot Paul Revere" Bing keys his comments to each of this twelve spreads, explaining the "true" history of the fabled ride. In his note on the preparation of this book, Bing take equal pains to explain the stages used in creating his masterful illustrations, which involved a glazing technique to create the "glow" in the nighttime scenes. This is a superb effort and I will definitely track down Bing's earlier volume on Ernest Lawrence Thayer's "Casey at the Bat" and eagerly await anything else this talent conceptual illustrator sets his mind to do.

After more than half a century, I remembered still the sonorous rhythms of the prelude to Evangeline. Much has changed since I first read the tale of Arcadian innocence torn apart on order of the heartless King, and Longfellow and his poetry have fallen on hard times and harder hearts in the interim

His allusions and images are strained; his words pathetically romantic and sentimental; and the story of Evangeline barely tracks the actual events of 1755. All of the charges are true, yet much of value remains in the poem. The poet recognized instantly a crime against humanity when he first heard the tale, and he had the talent, drive, and fortitude to create this vehicle to memorialize the sad story of star crossed lovers, families, and communities divided and exiled from their adored homeland.

That a heart could be committed to a lifetime of wandering in search of a lost love seems archaic to the sophisticates of the twenty-first century, but I believe it possible, even today.

I read the poem - aloud and silently - and the beat of the accents, like operatic arias, added to the the sorrow of the sentimental story. I recommend this poem to parents who love to read aloud to their children. I'm sure that Evangeline and her beloved Gabriel have the power still to stir the hearts of the young - and of the readers, too.

A very useful notes section offsets an overly wordy foreword. I found it easy to find and reference words and phrases no longer in common use.

Read it aloud to your early adolescent sons and daughters and to your love. You'll be happy you did.

I heard about this book from my mom a few weeks ago after I went to see the movie Serendipity. I told her about the plot of the two people in love searching for one another and just missing every time. She said it reminded her of another story, Evangeline. Since i attend an engineering school I am always very eager to read books with real meaning behind them, given that all my textbooks focus on is wastewater treatment, biological processes, etc... So given that I wasn't really expecting too much but a relief from textbooks when I picked up this book. Little did I know it was soon to become one of my favorites. I was pleasantly surprised by the Christian influences behind the poem and found myself crying a lot more than I expected. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a great appreciation for well written, romantic poetry and literature.

I am not going to sit here and claim to be the expert on English language poetic literature my 12th grade English teacher would like me to be. I have often fallen prey to the boredom of reading long poems and look upon poetry generally with some weariness.

When my father went to New Orleans, I asked him to bring me something back. He brought back a copy of this poem. It was required reading for my parents growing up - I had never heard of it.

I confess I was probably hesitant when I sat down to read it. But in no time I was hooked. The poetic language is perfectly styled to slowly tell the tale of two Acadian lovers doomed by the path of Acadian history to separate lives. Reading this poem is like suckling slowly on a sweet nectar under the gently rustling leaves of an oak on the side of a gently flowing river. If this sounds appealing to you, then you will enjoy this poem.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was one of the most noteworthy poets of the 19th century United States. "Favorite Poems" brings together selections from about 40 years' worth of his career. While some of the poems seem very dated -- due to their sentimentality and conventional structure -- the best of these poems remain rewarding and enjoyable.

The focus in this collection is on Longfellow's shorter poems. So his long poems "The Song of Hiawatha" and "Evangeline" are not included, and not even excerpted. But the volume does contain many of his most memorable pieces: "The Wreck of the Hesperus," "The Village Blacksmith," etc.

The longest poem in the collection is "The Courtship of Miles Standish," a mini-epic of more than 30 pages. "Courtship" is a fascinating poem about the colonial era Puritans, and offers a fascinating perspective on gender relations, race, religion, and other aspects of Puritan culture. "Courtship" makes for an interesting companion text for both actual Puritan era writings (like Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative) and later literary works about that era (like Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible").

Another noteworthy poem is "The Slave's Dream," a somewhat romantic, but sympathetic view of an enslaved African-American. Also included is "Paul Revere's Ride," a wonderfully musical poem that, like "The Courtship of Miles Standish," looks back at American history. "Paul Revere's Ride" has a particularly impressive rhyme scheme to complement Longfellow's masterful use of meter. Yes, some of Longfellow's work may not seem very relevant to contemporary audiences. But "Favorite Poems" contains much that remains vital, and deserves a continuing readership both in and out of schools.

"Working in these walls of time,
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with Ornaments of Rhyme"

These are the lines of the first verse of a powerfully written poem "The Builders" which, to me, seems to be about living a moral, honorable life on which to build a future for all of society. Such powerfull and truthfull words to live by.

On a whim, I recently pulled this book from my bookshelf to read(I have a copy in 'The Classic collectors edition' which I like mostly because it's prety decoration for my bookshelves. As a child I learned "Paul Revere's Ride" in school, but never learned the full depth of Longfellow's works. So refreshing are the realistic moralism of yesteryear, from a time when a persons works and deeds counted for something.

I was captivated by the brutality of "The Saga of king Olaf" as it recounted the brutal nordic kings' religious conquest of Scandanavia. "Hiawatha's Song" swept me up into a tale of beauty of a time lost. The poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is writen with a beauty and elegance and even excitement which conveys thier meaning in stunning clarity. As I read "Paul Revere's Ride" for the first time in over a decade I found myself speaking in the rythm of the hoofbeats of that steed Paul Revere rode.

These historic poems are truly great, and should be read and cherished by all.

This slim paperback book from Dover Thrift Editions is an excellent starting place for those who are not familiar with the poetic works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It's inexpensive, a quick read (at only 84 pages), and contains much of Longfellow's most popular poems, plus some selected prose as well as a few more obscure works. Longfellow (1807-1882) was an absolute master of rhyme, meter, and the the actual SOUND of words, and he wrote with a strong sense of morality and ethics (one reason that he is gererally disregarded by modern poetry snobs, but loved by his faithful readers!). All in all, if you want to explore the poetic mind of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for the first time, you can't go wrong with this book! Check out his masterful choice of words and imagery in poems like "The Christmas Bells", "The Slave's Dream", "Hymn to the Night", "A Psalm of Life", "The Building of the Ship", "The Reaper and the Flowers", "Excelsior", etc., etc., etc. Longfellow enthusiasts looking for a more complete or scholarly volume should check into some of the other Longfellow books offered on Amazon, particularly "The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow", although I found "Complete's" small print, (in columns, like most modern Bibles) to be a bit rough on the eyes....Either way, explore this excellent master of rhyme!