LSSL 5360: Module 3 -- Poetry

Crossing Stones

By Helen Frost

1)    BIBLIOGRAPHY

Frost, H. (2011). Crossing stones. Toronto: CNIB.  ISBN  9780374316532

2)    PLOT SUMMARY

Muriel Jorgensen is at a crossroads in her life, she has just graduated from school and World War I has just begun.  Muriel is very opinionated and speaks her mind about the war and the women’s suffrage movement.  She and her family’s life are intertwined with the Normans who live on the other side of Crabapple Creek.  When the Norman’s son, Frank, enlists in the war she’s unsure of her feelings for him and wary of what the future holds.  As both families cross the stones over a nine month period, Muriel, Ollie, and Emma share the ups and downs of both the war and the suffrage movement.  At the end of the book, Muriel embarks on a journey back to Washington D.C. to find her place in the world and to help with the suffrage movement.

3)    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In the novel in verse Crossing Stones, Helen Frost weaves a beautiful story of a young girl finding her voice and embarking on a journey of self-discovery.  Frost enhances her writing with figurative language and imagery throughout the novel, and creates mental images throughout.  She writes the story primarily from Muriel’s point of view, but includes Ollie, Muriel’s brother, and Emma, Muriel’s neighbor and friend, to allow the reader insight into multiple perspectives of the war and what occurred during the nine month time period.  Frost purposefully wrote Muriel’s poems in a zigzag pattern to create the look of a path, and Ollie and Emma’s poems to resemble stones.  At the end of the book, Frost includes notes on the forms of the poem where she explains why she wrote the poems in the design of paths and stones, and how she chose to rhyme her poems to follow a pattern.  Crossing Stones takes the reader on an emotional journey of hope, loss, grief, justice, compassion, love, and the happy, jubilant times sprinkled here and there.  The multiple point of view narrative is written in conversational tone, and allows the reader to understand the character’s thoughts and how decisions impacted all three of them.  Frost does give the reader a glimpse into Muriel’s future with the epilogue at the end and why she chose to end the novel in verse.  Crossing Stones includes symbolism with the bluebird, and Muriel is ready to embark on her journey to find her place in the world.

4)    REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Kirkus’ Review:  “With care and precision, Frost deftly turns plainspoken conversations and the internal monologues of her characters into stunning poems that combine to present three unique and thoughtful perspectives on war, family, love and loss. Heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful, this is one to savor.”  (Reviewed 5/20/2010)

Horn Book’s Review:  “In 1917, neighboring families face a sea of troubles. Two sons enlist in WWI; a suffragist aunt goes on a hunger strike; a seven-year-old daughter nearly dies from influenza. In Crossing Stones, Helen Frost reveals her story through tightly constructed poems. The discipline of the form mitigates against sentimentality, and the distinct voices of the characters lend immediacy and crispness to the tale. (Farrar/Foster, 2009).”  (Reviewed 7/28/2014) 

5)    CONNECTIONS

v This is a great book if you are teaching:

o   Imagery

o   Figurative Language

o   Symbolism

o   Point of View

v Other similar stories:

Woodson, Jacqueline.  BROWN GIRL DREAMING  ISBN 978039925218

Hesse, Karen.  OUT OF THE DUST  ISBN 9780439771276

Rose, Caroline Starr.  MAY B.  ISBN 9781582463933