Green bandReady now · Open and print today

The Snow-storm

From Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American essayist, poet and philosopher, and a leader of the Transcendentalist movement. This poem was first published in 1841. Emerson lived in New England, where winter storms are fierce and transformative. In this poem, he imagines the north wind as a wild architect, building structures of snow more intricate and beautiful than any human could make in a single night. The poem celebrates the creativity and power of nature. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. This poem is worth a child's time because it teaches us to look closely at the natural world and see artistry in wildness.

Band

Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11

Length

medium · about 690 words in 5 sections · 3 pictures

Source

Poems, Ralph Waldo Emerson

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

Report a concern about this reader · What’s in a HummingRead reader