THE BALLAD OF THE HARP-WEAVER

This haunting tragic fantasy—about a poor boy whose mother dies while weaving him of ``the clothes of a king's son,/Just my size,'' on a harp that ``Nobody would take,/For song or pity's sake''—was the title poem in Millay's Pulitzer-winning collection (1923). The current concern for poverty-trapped children makes the verse's powerful plea especially timely, with its dramatic appeal and mesmerizing rhythm—skillfully varied with an occasional heartstopping extra line. Peck's austere paintings are an appropriate visualization, setting the scene in a drab city with sober inhabitants but focusing on the two central figures in their bare tenement. The colors are somber, but the love between mother and son glows like the glints of color in the mother's miraculous last gift to her beloved child. An intelligent note about Millay's relationship with her own mother is included. (Poetry/Picture book. 5+)