SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Rebecca’s Prayer for Abraham Lincoln
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.janeyolen.com/
CITY: Hatfield
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 112
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born February 11, 1939, in New York, NY; daughter of Will Hyatt and Isabelle Yolen; married David W. Stemple (a professor of computer science and ornithologist), September 2, 1962 (died, 2006); children: Heidi Elisabeth, Adam Douglas, Jason Frederic.
EDUCATION:Smith College, B.A., 1960; University of Massachusetts, M.Ed., 1976; completed course work for doctorate in children’s literature at University of Massachusetts.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, editor, and educator. Saturday Review, New York, NY, production assistant, 1960-61; Gold Medal Books (publishers), New York, NY, assistant editor, 1961-62; Rutledge Books (publishers), New York, NY, associate editor, 1962-63; Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (publishers), New York, NY, assistant juvenile editor, 1963-65; full-time professional writer, beginning 1965. Editor of imprint Jane Yolen Books for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988-98. Teacher of writing and lecturer, beginning 1966; taught children’s literature at Smith College. Chair of board of library trustees, Hatfield, MA, 1976-83; member of Hatfield Arts Council.
AVOCATIONS:“Folk music and dancing, reading, camping, politics, all things Scottish.”
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (cofounder and member of advisory board, 1974—, and former New England regional advisor), Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America (president, 1986-88), Author’s Guild, Children’s Literature Association (member of board of directors, 1977-79), Science Fiction Poetry Association, National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling, Western New England Storyteller’s Guild (founder), Bay State Writers Guild, Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild (founder), Smith College Alumnae Association.
AWARDS:Boys’ Club of America Junior Book Award, 1968, for The Minstrel and the Mountain; Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1968, for The Emperor and the Kite, and 1973, for The Girl Who Loved the Wind; Best Books selection, New York Times, 1968, for The Emperor and the Kite; American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book designation, 1968, for World on a String; Children’s Book Showcase selection, Children’s Book Council (CBC), 1973, for The Girl Who Loved the Wind, and 1976, for The Little Spotted Fish; Golden Kite Award, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), 1974, and ALA Notable Book designation and National Book Award nomination, 1975, all for The Girl Who Cried Flowers and Other Tales; Golden Kite Honor Book designation, 1975, for The Transfigured Hart, and 1976, for The Moon Ribbon and Other Tales; Christopher Medal, 1978, for The Seeing Stick, and 2000, for How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?; Children’s Choice selection, International Reading Association (IRA)/CBC, 1980, for Mice on Ice, and 1983, for Dragon’s Blood; LL.D., College of Our Lady of the Elms (Chicopee, MA), 1981, and Smith College, 2003; Parents’ Choice selections, Parents’ Choice Foundation, 1982, for Dragon’s Blood, 1984, for The Stone Silenus, and 1989, for both Piggins and The Three Bears Rhyme Book; Garden State Children’s Book Award, New Jersey Library Association, 1983, for Commander Toad in Space; CRABbery Award, Acton (MD) Public Library, 1983, for Dragon’s Blood; ALA Best Books for Young Adults selection, 1984, for Heart’s Blood; Mythopoeic Society Fantasy Award, 1984, for Cards of Grief, 1993, for Briar Rose, and 1998, for “Young Merlin” trilogy; Daedelus Award, 1986; The Lullaby Songbook and The Sleeping Beauty selected among Child Study Association of America’s Children’s Books of the Year, 1987; World Fantasy Award, 1988, for Favorite Folktales from around the World; Parents’ Choice Silver Seal award, Jewish Book Council Award, and Sydney Taylor Book Award, Association of Jewish Libraries, all 1988, Judy Lopez Honor Book designation, and Nebula Award finalist, both 1989, and Maude Hart Lovelace Award, 1996, all for The Devil’s Arithmetic; Kerlan Award, 1988, for “singular achievements in the creation of children’s literature”; Golden Sower Award, Nebraska Library Association, 1989, and Charlotte Award, New York State Reading Association, both for Piggins; Smith College Medal, 1990; Skylark Award, New England Science Fiction Association, 1990; Regina Medal, 1992, for body of writing; Keene State College Children’s Literature Festival award, 1995; Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book designation, 1995, for And Twelve Chinese Acrobats; Storytelling World Award, 1997, for “The World the Devil Made Up”; Nebula Award for Best Short Story, 1997, for “Sister Emily’s Lightship”; honorary doctorate, Keene State College, 1998; named Literary Light, Boston Public Library, 1998; Nebula Award for Best Novelette, 1998, for “Lost Girls”; Anna V. Zarrow Award, 1999; Smith College Remarkable Women designation, 1999, and honorary Ph.D., 2003; California Young Reader Medal in Young-Adult Category, 2001, and ALA Best Books and Best Books for Young Adults designations, both 2004, all for Armageddon Summer; National Outdoor Book Award, 2002, for Wild Wings; Aesop Prize, 2003, for Mightier than the Sword; National Storytelling Network ORACLE Award, 2003; Writer Award, 2004; ALA Best Books for Young Adults designation, 2004, for Sword of the Rightful King; IRA Teachers’ Choices selection, 2004, for My Brothers’ Flying Machine; ALA Best Books for Young Adults designation, 2005, for Prince across the Water; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People designation, National Council for the Social Studies/CBC, 2006, for The Perfect Wizard; Locus Award for Best Young-Adult Novel, 2006, for Pay the Piper; ALA Notable Children’s Books designation, 2007, and Claudia Lewis Award, Bank Street College of Education, 2008, both for Here’s a Little Poem; Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor Book selection, 2009, for Naming Liberty; World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement, 2009; John Burroughs Society Award, 2010, for A Mirror to Nature; Massachusetts Reading Association Award, 2010, for lifetime achievement; Best Children’s Books selection, Bank Street College of Education, 2010, for both Come to the Fairie’s Ball and My Uncle Emily; named Grand Master, Science Fiction Poetry Association, 2010; (with Andrew Fusek Peters) Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Gold Award, 2010, for Switching On the Moon, and All Star; (with Heidi Stemple) Crystal Kite Award, SCBWI—New England region, 2010, for Not All Princesses Dress in Pink; National Outdoor Book Awards Honor Book selection, 2010, for An Egret’s Day; ALA Great Graphic Novels for Teens designation, 2011, for Foiled, and 2012, for The Last Dragon; Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book selection, 2014, for B.U.G (Big Ugly Guy); ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young-Adult Readers designation, 2014, for Bad Girls; Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, 2017.
POLITICS: “Liberal Democrat.” RELIGION: Jewish/Quaker.WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kliatt vol. 39 no. 4 July, 2005. Sherry Hoy, “Yolen, Jane & Hayden, Patrick Nielsen, eds. The year’s best science fiction and fantasy for teens.”. p. 32.
Publishers Weekly vol. 252 no. 29 July 25, 2005, , “How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?”. p. 74.
Kliatt vol. 39 no. 4 July, 2005. Rohrlick, Paula. , “Yolen, Jane & Stemple, Adam. Pay the piper.”. p. 17.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 73 no. 9 May 1, 2005, , “Yolen, Jane & Patrick Nielsen Hayden–Eds. The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens.”. p. 549.
Publishers Weekly vol. 253 no. 50 Dec. 18, 2006, , “Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep.”. p. 61.
Booklist vol. 103 no. 5 Nov. 1, 2006, Engberg, Gillian. , “Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters.”. p. 62.
Kliatt vol. 40 no. 4 July, 2006. Rohrlick, Paula. , “Yolen, Jane & Adam Stemple. Troll bridge; a rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale.”. p. 16.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 74 no. 8 Apr. 15, 2006, , “Yolen, Jane: Dimity Duck.”. p. 419.
Booklist vol. 102 no. 15 Apr. 1, 2006, Phelan, Carolyn. , “Yolen, Jane. Count Me a Rhyme: Animal Poems by the Numbers.”.
Booklist vol. 102 no. 9-10 Jan. 1, 2006, Mattson, Jennifer. , “This Little Piggy.”. p. 93.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 73 no. 16 Aug. 15, 2005, , “Yolen, Jane: Baby Bear’s Chairs.”. p. 925.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 81 no. 5 Sept.-Oct., 2005. Heppermann, Christine M. , “Jane Yolen: How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?”.
Publishers Weekly vol. 252 no. 31 Aug. 8, 2005, , “Pay the Piper: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fairy Tale.”. p. 235.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 73 no. 14 July 15, 2005, , “Yolen, Jane: Soft House.”. p. 797.
Booklist vol. 103 no. 15 Apr. 1, 2007, Rochman, Hazel. , “Here’s a Little Poem.”. p. 50.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 83 no. 4 July-Aug., 2007. Parravano, Martha V. , “Jane Yolen: How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?”.
Booklist vol. 105 no. 71 July 1, 2009, Engberg, Gillian. , “The Scarecrow’s Dance.”. p. 69.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 85 no. 4 July-Aug., 2009. Long, Joanna Rudge. , “Jane Yolen: My Uncle Emily.”. p. 415.
Kirkus Reviews Apr. 1, 2009, , “Yolen, Jane: DRAGON’S HEART.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 1, 2009, , “Yolen, Jane: A MIRROR TO NATURE.”. p. NA.
Booklist vol. 104 no. 19-20 June 1, 2008, Barthelmess, Thom. , “Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth.”. p. 104.
Booklist vol. 104 no. 19-20 June 1, 2008, Engberg, Gillian. , “Sea Queens: Women Pirates around the World.”. p. 102.
Booklist vol. 104 no. 16 Apr. 15, 2008, Weisman, Kay. , “Naming Liberty.”. p. 58.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2007, , “Yolen, Jane: SHAPE ME A RHYME.”.
Kirkus Reviews July 15, 2007, , “Yolen, Jane: THE ROGUES.”. p. NA.
Stone Soup vol. 30 no. 1 Sept., 2001. Julia Zelman, “Queen’s Own Fool.”. p. 36.
Booklist vol. 97 no. 21 July, 2001. Cooper, Ilene. , “The Wolf Girls: An Unsolved Mystery from History.”. p. 2007.
Publishers Weekly vol. 248 no. 8 Feb. 19, 2001, , “ODYSSEUS IN THE SERPENT MAZE.”. p. 91.
The New York Times Book Review vol. 105 no. 47 Nov. 19, 2000, Thomas, Jane Resh. , “Off with her head: a child jester is a true and faithful servant.”. p. 58.
Publishers Weekly vol. 247 no. 45 Nov. 6, 2000, , “BOOTS AND THE SEVEN LEAGUERS: A Rock-and-Troll Novel.”. p. 92.
Booklist vol. 97 no. 4 Oct. 15, 2000, DeCandido, GraceAnne A. , “Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People.”. p. 436.
Publishers Weekly vol. 247 no. 27 July 3, 2000, , “SISTER EMILY’S LIGHTSHIP: And Other Stories.”. p. 54.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 73 no. 9 May 1, 2005, , “Yolen, Jane & Patrick Nielsen Hayden–Eds. The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens.”. p. 549.
Publishers Weekly vol. 252 no. 8 Feb. 21, 2005, , “The Perfect Wizard: Hans Christian Andersen.”. p. 175.
Booklist vol. 101 no. 6 Nov. 15, 2004, Phelan, Carolyn. , “Yolen, Jane and Harris, Robert J. Prince across the Water.”. p. 585.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2009, , “Yolen, Jane: AN EGRET’S DAY.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 1, 2009, , “Yolen, Jane: COME TO THE FAIRIES’ BALL.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 70 no. 1 Jan. 1, 2002, , “Hippolyta and the Curse of the Amazons. (Children’s Books).”. p. 54.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 70 no. 16 Aug. 15, 2002, , “Girl in a Cage. (Children’s Books).”. p. 1240.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 70 no. 9 May 1, 2002, , “The Firebird. (Children’s Books).”. p. 670.
Publishers Weekly vol. 250 no. 15 Apr. 14, 2003, , “Sword of the Rightful King: A Novel of King Arthur. (Fiction).”. p. 72.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 71 no. 6 Mar. 15, 2003, , “My Brother’s Flying Machine: Wilbur, Orville, and Me. (Children’s Books).”. p. 482.
Booklist vol. 99 no. 11 Feb. 1, 2003, Peters, John. , “Yolen, Jane and Harris, Robert J. Atalanta and the Arcadian Beast.”. p. 996.
Publishers Weekly vol. 249 no. 51 Dec. 23, 2002, , “How do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? (Picture Books).”. p. 68.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 70 no. 16 Aug. 15, 2002, , “Harvest Home. (Children’s Books).”. p. 1240.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 72 no. 16 Aug. 15, 2004, , “Yolen, Jane & Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple: the Salem Witch Trials: an Unsolved Mystery from History.”. p. 815.
Yak’s Corner [National Magazine] Apr. 1, 2004, Campbell, Janis. , “Yakking with poet Jane Yolen.”.
Booklist vol. 100 no. 2 Sept. 15, 2003, Olson, Ray. , “* Yolen, Jane. The Radiation Sonnets: for My Love, in Sickness and in Health.”. p. 195.
Kliatt vol. 37 no. 5 Sept., 2003. Conrad, Stacey. , “Yolen, Jane. Boots and the seven leaguers; a rock-and-troll novel.”.
Publishers Weekly vol. 250 no. 31 Aug. 4, 2003, , “The Flying Witch.”.
Kirkus Reviews vol. 71 no. 12 June 15, 2003, , “Roanoke, The Lost Colony: An Unsolved Mystery from History.”. p. 865.
Kirkus Reviews July 1, 2012, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS EAT COOKIES?”.
Booklist vol. 109 no. 2 Sept. 15, 2012, Cummins, Julie. , “Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs.”. p. 67.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 1, 2012, , “Yolen, Jane: WAKING DRAGONS.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Nov. 15, 2012, , “Yolen, Jane: THE EMILY SONNETS.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Jan. 15, 2013, , “Yolen, Jane: BAD GIRLS.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2014, , “Yolen, Jane: CENTAUR RISING.”.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 15, 2013, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY I’M MAD?”. p. NA.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 89 no. 5 Sept.-Oct., 2013. Gershowitz, Elissa. , “Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters.”. p. 68.
Children’s Bookwatch Sept., 2013. , “Grumbles Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist.”. p. NA.
Booklist vol. 109 no. 18 May 15, 2013, Cooper, Ilene. , “Wee Rhymes: Baby’s First Poetry Book.”. p. 51.
Kirkus Reviews May 1, 2013, , “Yolen, Jane: THE HOSTAGE PRINCE.”.
Voice of Youth Advocates vol. 36 no. 1 Apr., 2013. Carter, Kim, and Ruth Cowan. , “Yolen, Jane. Curse of the Thirteenth Fey: The True Tale of Sleeping Beauty.”. p. 685.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 15, 2013, , “Yolen, Jane: JEWISH FAIRY TALE FEASTS.”. p. NA.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 89 no. 2 Mar.-Apr., 2013. Schneider, Dean. , “B.U.G. (Big Ugly Guy).”. p. 125.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 89 no. 2 Mar.-Apr., 2013. Auger, Tanya D. , “Curses! Foiled Again.”.
Kirkus Reviews May 15, 2010, , “Yolen, Jane: NOT ALL PRINCESSES DRESS IN PINK.”. p. NA.
Publishers Weekly vol. 257 no. 14 Apr. 5, 2010, , “Foiled.”. p. 64.
Kirkus Reviews July 15, 2010, , “Yolen, Jane: LOST BOY.”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2010, , “Yolen, Jane: SWITCHING ON THE MOON.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 1, 2010, , “Yolen, Jane: HUSH, LITTLE HORSIE.”. p. NA.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 86 no. 5 Sept.-Oct., 2010. Long, Joanna Rudge. , “Elsie’s Bird.”. p. 69.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 15, 2010, , “Yolen, Jane: THE BAREFOOT BOOK OF DANCE STORIES.”. p. NA.
Booklist vol. 107 no. 3 Oct. 1, 2010, Rochman, Hazel. , “Switching On the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems.”. p. 45.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 1, 2011, , “Yolen, Jane: BIRDS OF A FEATHER.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 1, 2011, , “Yolen, Jane: CREEPY MONSTERS, SLEEPY MONSTERS.”.
Booklist vol. 108 no. 15 Apr. 1, 2012, Cooper, Ilene. , “Take Two! A Celebration of Twins.”. p. 43.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 15, 2012, , “Yolen, Jane: BUG OFF!”.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction vol. 122 no. 3-4 Mar.-Apr., 2012. De Lint, Charles. , “The Last Dragon.”.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 88 no. 1 Jan.-Feb., 2012. Burkam, Anita L. , “Snow in Summer.”. p. 106.
Kirkus Reviews Nov. 15, 2011, , “Yolen, Jane: SELF PORTRAIT WITH SEVEN FINGERS.”. p. NA.
Booklist vol. 108 no. 1 Sept. 1, 2011, Olson, Ray. , “Things to Say to a Dead Man: Poems at the End of a Marriage and After.”. p. 30.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 1, 2011, , “Yolen, Jane: SISTER BEAR.”. p. NA.
Booklist vol. 107 no. 21 July 1, 2011, Phelan, Carolyn. , “The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye.”. p. 52.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2014, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS STAY SAFE?”.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 15, 2014, , “Yolen, Jane: A PLAGUE OF UNICORNS.”.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2015, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS STAY FRIENDS?”.
Kirkus Reviews July 15, 2015, , “Yolen, Jane: SING A SEASON SONG.”.
Kirkus Reviews May 15, 2015, , “Yolen, Jane: THE STRANDED WHALE.”.
Booklist vol. 111 no. 14 Mar. 15, 2015, Ching, Edie. , “You Nest Here with Me.”. p. 82.
Kirkus Reviews Jan. 1, 2015, , “Yolen, Jane: STONE ANGEL.”. p. NA.
Booklist vol. 112 no. 12 Feb. 15, 2016, Nolan, Abby. , “What to Do with a Box.”. p. 78.
Kirkus Reviews Jan. 15, 2016, , “Yolen, Jane: WHAT TO DO WITH A BOX.”.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2017, , “Yolen, Jane: MEET ME AT THE WELL.”.
Booklist vol. 114 no. 4 Oct. 15, 2017, Hyzy, Biz. , “The Emerald Circus.”. p. 31.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 94 no. 3 May-June, 2018. Gershowitz, Elissa. , “Mapping the Bones.”. p. 144.
Kirkus Reviews May 1, 2018, , “Yolen, Jane: ON GULL BEACH.”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2018, , “Yolen, Jane: FLY WITH ME.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 1, 2018, , “Yolen, Jane: MONSTER ACADEMY.”.
Kirkus Reviews July 1, 2018, , “Yolen, Jane: CROW NOT CROW.”.
Booklist vol. 115 no. 3 Oct. 1, 2018, Lockley, Lucy. , “How to Fracture a Fairy Tale.”. p. 31.
Kirkus Reviews Apr. 15, 2019, , “Yolen, Jane: THE LAST TSAR’S DRAGONS.”.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 1, 2019, , “Yolen, Jane: BREAKING OUT THE DEVIL.”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 1, 2019, , “Yolen, Jane: EEK, YOU REEK!”.
Herizons vol. 33 no. 2 summer 2019 p. 32. Gale , vol. Santiago, Sylvia. , “FINDING BABA YAGA.”. p. 32.
Kirkus Reviews June 15, 2019, , “Yolen, Jane: MERBABY’S LULLABY.”.
Children’s Bookwatch June, 2019. , “A Kite for Moon.”.
Kirkus Reviews Feb. 1, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: MIRIAM AT THE RIVER.”.
Kirkus Reviews Jan. 1, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: EMILY WRITES.”.
Kirkus Reviews July 1, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: KNOWING THE NAME OF A BIRD.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews May 15, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: ON EAGLE COVE.”.
Kirkus Reviews July 15, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: INTERRUPTING COW.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: INTERRUPTING COW AND THE CHICKEN CROSSING THE ROAD.”.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 15, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: PLYMOUTH ROCKS!”.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 1, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS SHOW GOOD MANNERS?”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2020, , “Yolen, Jane: I AM THE STORM.”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 1, 2020, , “Harrison, David L.: RUM PUM PUM.”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2021, , “Yolen, Jane: THE LEATHER APRON CLUB.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews July 1, 2021, , “Yolen, Jane: SOMETHING NEW FOR ROSH HASHANAH.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Jan. 15, 2021, , “Yolen, Jane: BEAR OUTSIDE.”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2021, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODBYE?”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2022, , “Yolen, Jane: WHAT TO DO WITH A STICK.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Nov. 15, 2022, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS LEARN TO BE KIND?”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 1, 2022, , “Yolen, Jane: LOVE BIRDS.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2022, , “Yolen, Jane: BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL ME.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews July 1, 2022, , “Yolen, Jane: YUCK, YOU SUCK!”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews June 1, 2022, , “Yolen, Jane: GIANT ISLAND.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews May 15, 2022, , “Yolen, Jane: ELEFANTASTIC!”. p. NA.
Publishers Weekly vol. 269 no. 13 Mar. 28, 2022, , “Mrs. Noah’s Doves.”. p. 63.
Publishers Weekly vol. 269 no. 9 Feb. 28, 2022, , “Elefantastic! A Story of Magic in 5 Acts.”. p. 68.
Publishers Weekly vol. 268 no. 40 Oct. 4, 2021, , “Eeny Up Above!”. p. 154.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 1, 2021, , “Yolen, Jane: ARCH OF BONE.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2022, , “Yolen, Jane: THE SCARLET CIRCUS.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Jan. 15, 2023, , “Yolen, Jane: THE HORSEBACK LIBRARIANS.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Nov. 15, 2023, , “Yolen, Jane: IN AND OUT THE WINDOW.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 1, 2023, , “Yolen, Jane: BODY MUSIC.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 15, 2023, , “Yolen, Jane: SMOUT & THE LIGHTHOUSE.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Feb. 1, 2023, , “Yolen, Jane: SCHLEMIEL COMES TO AMERICA.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Feb. 1, 2024, , “Yolen, Jane: TOO MANY GOLEMS.”. p. NA.
Children’s Bookwatch Jan., 2024. , “See This Little Dot.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2023, , “Yolen, Jane: EENY AND HER SISTERS.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Nov. 15, 2023, , “Yolen, Jane: TEA WITH AN OLD GIANT.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 15, 2024, , “Yolen, Jane: WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 1, 2024, , “Yolen, Jane: THE MANY PROBLEMS OF ROCHEL-LEAH.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews July 1, 2024, , “Yolen, Jane: REBECCA’S PRAYER FOR PRESIDENT LINCOLN.”. p. NA.
Children’s Bookwatch Mar., 2024. , “Mighty Micah.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Feb. 15, 2024, , “Yolen, Jane: QUIET AS MUD.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 1, 2017, , “Yolen, Jane: ON DUCK POND.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2016, , “Yolen, Jane: THUNDER UNDERGROUND.”.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 15, 2016, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS CHOOSE THEIR PETS?”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 15, 2016, , “Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple: THE SEELIE KING’S WAR.”.
Kirkus Reviews June 15, 2016, , “Yolen, Jane: THE ALLIGATOR’S SMILE.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 15, 2016, , “Yolen, Jane: ON BIRD HILL.”.
Kirkus Reviews Apr. 1, 2018, , “Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS LEARN TO READ?”.
Kirkus Reviews Feb. 15, 2018, , “Yolen, Jane: SANCTUARY.”.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 15, 2017, , “Yolen, Jane: THE EMERALD CIRCUS.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 15, 2016, , “Yolen, Jane: ON BIRD HILL.”.
Booklist vol. 113 no. 4 Oct. 15, 2016, Kan, Kat. , “Stone Cold.”.
Jane Yolen’s books and stories and poems have won the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, three World Fantasy Awards, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, two Golden Kite Awards, the Jewish Book Award and the Massachusetts Center for the Book award. She has also won the World Fantasy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Science Fiction Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, the Sydney Taylor Body of Work Award, and the Science Fiction Poetry Associations Grand Master Award (the three together she calls the Trifecta). Plus she has won both the Association of Jewish Libraries Award and the Catholic Libraries Medal. Also the DuGrummond Medal and the Kerlan Award, and the Ann Izard story-telling award at least three times. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates for her body of work, so–she jokingly says–you could call her Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Yolen though she can’t set a leg. However, she does warn about winning too many awards as one of them set her good coat on fire. If you meet her, you can ask about that!
This website presents information about her more than 400 books for children and adults. It also contains essays, poems, answers to frequently-asked questions, a brief biography, her travel schedule, and links to resources for teachers and writers. It is intended for children, teachers, writers, storytellers, and lovers of children’s literature.
Writer’s FAQ
How do you find the time to write so much?
There is no such thing as the time fairy dropping bits of time for aspiring writers to trip over or find. If you want to be a writer, you find or make or grab or take time from whatever else is going on. Otherwise you really don’t want to be a writer, you just want to have written.
Do I need an agent?
There are very few really good agents for children’s books, and many good editors at splendid publishing houses. It’s harder to get an agent. Sell a few books and then look around. Join SCBWI and get their agency list. Make sure when you talk to an agent you know other people they handle.
How do I find an illustrator?
Don’t. That’s the editor’s job. Just write the best manuscript you can. Then revise it and make it better. When you send it in (without little side comments to an illustrator, please) the editor will already know dozens of fine artists and will pick out the best.
How can I find out which publisher is right for me?
First join SCBWI and get their publisher lists.
Go to conferences and take notes.
Read web pages like Harold Underdown’s to stay current with publishing needs.
Network, network, network. Why network? Three reasons really:
1. You won’t make the mistakes that all new writers make or at least you’ll avoid a number of them.
2. you will keep current with the who/what/where of children’s literature and
3. you will make many good friends in your business.
There’s actually a number 4 as well. When you reach the level I have reached, it’s incumbent upon you to give back to the system what you’ve taken/earned from it. We can’t really pay back all the people who have helped us along the way, so we pay forward.
Should I send out simultaneous submissions?
First you need to find out which editors are willing to look at simsubs. Next you need to understand that even the ones who say they will, still have a subtle negative attitude toward them. Always let the editors know if you are sending the manuscript out to other editors at the same time.
Is this a good or bad time to be getting into publishing?
Do you remember the dream of Pharaoh: Behold in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile; and seven cows fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass; and seven other cows came up after them, poor and very gaunt and thin, such as I had never seen before in the land of Egypt. And the thin and gaunt cows ate up the fat cows, but when they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as gaunt as at the beginning.”
I believe Pharaoh was a publisher and he was dreaming about the troubling world for writers. Do I hear an amen? In the 60s and 70s and yeah–even into the 80s, we writers were all part of those fat cows. And we ate grass and frolicked in the warm sun, and never gave thought to the future. And then along came those seven gaunt cows. I shall name them: Multi-national companies, Barnes & Noble; Thor Power Tool Amendment, zero dollars to school libraries, overproduction of books, television-driven merchandise, and the super-saturation of slush piles by desperate wannabee writers sending multiple submissions.
The publishers responded to this famine situation by (in the last five years) deep and devastating cuts in their lists, firing their editors (both junior and senior), further amalgamating with other publishers, and closing their doors to unsolicited and unagented manuscripts.
That’s the bad news. We have all been at the receiving end of it. Without an agent, you cannot get in the door. Get in the door, you get a rejection that says “Much as I love this, I cannot get my pub committee to agree.” Or “This is too quiet and gentle a book.” Or (as I heard a couple of yearso from a British firm that turned down 7 of my books at once) “She writes beautifully but is too literary for our market.” And if you finally and against all odds sell a book–your editor dies, moves west, or starts a boutique–all of which have happened to me. Or the manuscript is paid for, and after one or two or three or–as happened to me a while ago–after five years languishing on some editor’s desk–it is returned.
But remember–after the seven gaunt cows, will come seven fat cows. Or maybe seven sleek but not quite fat cows. I believe this is already starting to happen. Why in the last two years, in the two online writing groups I am part of, several of the people sold their first books. And one of my ex-students, who had not been able to sell a book in seven years, recently sold a new picture book.
Do you have a secret that makes you so productive?
Want to know my secret? BIC.
That’s right. BIC. Butt in chair. There is no other single thing that will help you more to become a writer.
William Faulkner said: “I write only when I’m inspired. Fortunately I’m inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.”
BIC.
Can I publish on the internet?
Of course you can. The word “publish” simply means to make public. And by putting it there, you will be published. But will you be edited? Will you be read? Will you get paid for your work? No, possibly, and not much. Also, once something is on the Internet, the piece may not be of interest to a print publisher. So the decision is yours.
What about self publishing?
If having a book between covers is all that you are interested in, then go ahead and self publish. (But go to a local printer. Stay away from “vanity” publishers, who tell you how wonderful you are and then double charge you.) It will cost you quite a bit and–if you’re lucky–it will look professional. But then you will have hundreds and hundreds of books that you can’t even GIVE away. A friend recently showed us a self-published book. It was very nicely done. But she allowed as how she couldn’t come up with 250 friends and relatives to send copies to. Most printers will give you a good price break at 1,000. If you have never seen 1000 books in boxes, be afraid. Be very afraid to have them in your living room!
Should I copyright my work before sending it out?
Legally your work is copyrighted when you set it down. No one in regular book publishing is going to steal your words or ideas. But if you are nervous about this, do the following: put a copy of the manuscript in an envelope and send it to yourself, return receipt requested. Put the name of the piece on the envelope. Then DO NOT OPEN THE ENVELOPE. Should you feel someone has stolen something of yours, you can have a judge open the envelope which will be date-stamped. Or you could have a copy of your manuscript notarized. But this is a silly worry. Worry more about real things. Like a comet striking the earth.
How do I write a query letter?
An editor wants to know (in a couple of paragraphs) what the book is about.
Think: flap copy. And a couple of paragraphs about your writing background (if you have any). A first chapter might be helpful, too.
Clue: NEVER send two chapters from the middle of the book. Send the first and perhaps second.
Clue 2: Don’t tell them your life’s story and how you need money.
Clue 3: Don’t tell them how good you are, how funny/sad/moving/important the book is. The book will have to speak for itself.
If the above clues seem to you particularly… well…clueless…we get letters like that all the time.
Samples good and bad:
Bad:
Dear Editor:
I have written a brilliant little fairy tale about three mice who live in a pumpkin. There names are Tic, Tac, and Toe. They have a variety of adorable adventures. The book is in rhyme. My best friend, who is an artist, has done the pictures.
Though I have never published before, I have read this little book to all the classes at St. Mary’s on the Sea and the children always ask for more. I think a series of rhymed stories about the trio would hit the baby boomer market just right. We could even make dolls to go with the books.
(How many errors can you spot in those two paragraphs?)
Good:
Dear Ms. Yolen:
I would like to submit a rhymed story about three mice who live in a pumpkin for consideration on your list. Though I am as yet unpublished in children’s books, I have had numerous articles in books and magazines, including the Saturday Review, the Horn Book, Facts R Us, and the Ford Times. I have also worked as a children’s librarian for five years.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Of course for novels, you would do a much longer letter.
What about revisions ?
Now is your time to dream again, to revisit some of that wonderful initial moment of conception, when all things were still possible in this book or poem or piece of writing. Things that have died come alive again during the revision process.
But it will not be exactly the same. After all, the writer’s brain works differently in revision than it did originally, being less focused on creation and more on re-creation.
Think of the process this way: there is a difference between a plant setting down tap roots, and the same plant pushing out buds. Now you have to cultivate those buds into lovely blossoms. Sorry about the overblown metaphor. But it simply springs (pun intended) to mind when speaking of revision.
Do you have any words of wisdom for writers?
No, but I have seven rules:
1. Write every day
2. Write what interests you.
3. Write for the child inside of you. (Or the adult, if you are writing adult books.)
4. Write with honest emotion
5. Be careful of being facile
6. Be wary of preaching
7. Be prepared for serendipity
Finally I would remind you of something that Churchill told a group of school boys: “Never give up. Never give up. Never, never, never give up.”
Biography
A SHORT BIOGRAPHY
I was born on February 11, 1939 in New York City at Beth Israel Hospital, the first child of my parents, Isabel Berlin Yolen and Will Hyatt Yolen. Because my grandmother Mina Hyatt Yolen’s family, the Hyatts, only had girls, a number of us were given their last name as a middle name to carry it on. So I am Jane Hyatt Yolen, and my brother, Steven Hyatt Yolen, was born three and a half years later. Alas, we are no relation to the Hyatt Hotels, no matter how often I have tried to convince the staffs there.
My father was a café journalist at the time, writing columns for the New York newspapers. He’d been a police reporter before that. My mother was a psychiatric social worker until I was born. After that, she never held another full-time out of the home paid job (though she did volunteer work), but wrote short stories that didn’t sell and crossword puzzles and acrostics that did.
When my father got a higher paying job, being a publicity flack for Hollywood movies, we moved to California. I was barely one. We stayed there for a couple of years while he worked on such movies as “American Tragedy” and “Knut Rockne” (“Let’s win one for the Gipper” Starring Ronald Reagan.)
We came back to New York City in time for the birth of my brother Steve, after which Daddy went into the army as a Second Lieutenant and was shipped off to England for World War II. Mommy and Stevie and I spent the war years in Newport News with her mom and dad, Grandma Fanny and Grandpa Dan. Meanwhile Daddy served as head of ABSIE, the secret radio in London, but was wounded in the buzz bombs and came home a hero. He told me that he’d won the war single-handedly, and I believed him.
Back to New York where we lived on Central Park West and 97th Street until I turned thirteen. I went to PS 93, where I was a gold star kid, writing up a fury and singing with my pals Sue Hodes (who is now a well known painter) and Sue Levitt (who is now Susan Stamberg of NPR radio) and others. I took piano lessons, and studied ballet at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet. Then I tested and got into Hunter Junior High School and discovered that there were a lot of gold star girls all over the city. What a shock! I had to work hard just to stay in the middle of the class.
During this time, my brother and I created a newspaper for our apartment. We wrote all the articles and interviewed our neighbors. My mother typed up the copies (this was long before either computers or indeed xerox machines, so the copies were made with carbon copy paper) and we sold the things for five cents each to the same neighbors we’d interviewed. Five cents bought a lot of candy and comic books back in the day.
Two years later, I tested and got into Music and Art High School and was looking forward to starting in the fall. That summer, like the summer before, my brother and I went off to camp in Vermont. I went to the girls camp, Indianbrook, and he went to the boy’s camp, Timberlake. (It’s still a going concern called Farm & Wilderness.) A Quaker camp, it was the first time I got to be involved with the Society of Friends, which I was to join years later. I also got my first kiss from a boy, named Paul Gordon, who also happened to be my third or fourth cousin.
My parents had other plans for us. That summer, without telling us, they bought a house in Westport, Connecticut. Our Aunt Isabelle and Uncle Harry came for us and brought us to the new house. What a surprise! It was a large ranch house set on a couple of acres. A girl just a grade below me, Carol Tropp, lived next door with her parents and younger sister. And off I went to Bedford Junior high for ninth grade, and then Staples High School. I sang in the choir, was captain of the girl’s basketball team, won the debate awards, was News Editor of the school paper, vice president of the Spanish and Latin Clubs … a gold star kid.
I graduated seventh in my class. If I had worked hard, I might have been third. Then I might have gotten into my first choice college— Radcliffe. As it was I was accepted at Oberlin, Wellesley, and Smith. I chose Smith. It was to be a fortuitous choice.
At Smith College, I discovered (again) that all the gold star girls around America were there. I had to work hard just to stay in the middle of the class. But by the end of my four years, I was president of the Press Board, won all the poetry writing awards, the journalism award—and wrote the lyrics to the class musical as well as starred in our senior show, singing a song that got a standing O. I didn’t have the highest grades, but I wrote a book of poetry, many poems of which were published in various small journals like The Grecourt Review, and i.e and the Chicago Jewish Forum.
After college, I moved to New York City and became an editor—writing during lunch breaks and evenings and weekends. I considered myself a poet and a journalist/nonfiction writer. But to my surprise, I became a children’s book writer, selling my first book on a cold February day. My 22nd birthday, as a matter of fact. It was called Pirates in Petticoats.
I love being a writer. In 2018, I celebrated #Yolen365 in which my 365thbook (yes, that is a Yolen book for every day of the year) was published. Actually, 365 and 366 published on the same day. Since then, that number has grown to 378.
I married David W. Stemple in 1962. He and I had three children and six grandchildren. Alas, he died of cancer in March, 2006 after 44 years of a wonderful marriage. I live in Western Massachusetts right next door to my marvelous daughter Heidi (the little girl in OWL MOON). My sons live far away with their families, Adam in Minneapolis, Jason in Charleston, SC. I also have a house in Scotland where I live for part of the year.
Now for the surprise–as much for me as my readers! Eight months before Covid, and 15 years after David died, out of the blue, an old college boyfriend and now widower, Peter Tacy, sent me a copy of a wonderful New Yorker article about three of my Holocaust novels. We re-met at the Emily Dickinson House, became close friends, and then declared ourselves married. We spent the first three months of the pandemic at his house and it became clear that we belonged together. We have written and published a book of poems together—The Black Dog Poems—and a bunch of as-yet unsold children’s books.
THE ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY
GENESIS
Born 2/11/39 in New York City. I am told I can still be identified by this picture.
Jane around 2
Jane and parents
Parents: Will and Isabelle Yolen
Dad played the guitar like a ukele and the piano only on the black keys. Mother was a soprano until she lost her singing voice in her 40s. We never knew why.
Brother: Steven Hyatt Yolen born 11/4/42. Here we are mugging for the photographer on the piano bench in our New York apartment. Steve and Jane
EDUCATION
PS 93 in New York City grades 1-6
Hunter Junior High School grades 7-8
Staples High School, Westport, Ct., grades 9-12
Smith College BA 1960
University of Massachusetts, Masters in Education 1976
Jane in grade school
In the sixth grade at PS 93
Jane with basketball
Jane busy in Staples High School as captain of the girls’ basketball team. The coach called me Yoyo until I advised her otherwise.
news clipping
Jane and Mike Lieber during the Smith College years. He went to nearby Trinity College. We sang together though never really dated. He is a professor of anthropology in Chicago. We are still good friends. Jane and Mike
Jane as young woman
Yes, I wrote poetry at Smith College. And could sit on my hair. Well, it was the beginning of the ’60s after all.
On graduation day, Smith College, Northampton, MA 1960. I still hate to wear heels.
barefoot Jane
Jane in the early sixties, photographs by my fiancee David Stemple.
Jane and David Married 9/2/62 to David W. Stemple
Family on the verge of teenage and other chasm (1979)
Children:
Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple 7/1/66, 2 children
Adam Douglas Stemple 4/30/68 married to Elizabeth (Betsy) Pucci, 2 children
Jason Frederic Stemple 5/21/70, married to Joanne Lee (lower right-hand corner), 2 children
The whole family, team Stemple, 1999
Team Stemple 1999 © 1999 by Erin Grinstead
New addition David Francis
Grandkids:
Glendon, Maddison, Ariel, David, Caroline, & Amelia
Team Stemple at full strength
Christmas/Chanukah 2003
© 2003 by Janine Norton
hingnorton@earthlink.net
Newest additions: Twin girls. Caroline and Amelia
Nana with yet another David
Nana with all the grandkids as of 2002
Some of the men in my life: David, David and Adam
Heidi with owl
Little girl in Owl Moon with friend Maddison with owl
Daughter of little girl in Owl Moon with friend
David with owl
“Pa” from Owl Moon with friend
My three grown children
My beloved husband’s gravestone.
It is in the shape of a Celtic/Pictish stone. He loved those stones, and we went around Scotland searching them out. He was called “The Man Who Knew Everything”
by his nieces and nephews. A full life boiled down to its essentials. I think, though, that he would be pleased.
David W. Stemple
July 31, 1937 – Mar. 22, 2006
Beloved
Husband, Father, Papa
Scientist, scholar, teacher
mentor, linguist, bird recordist
“The man who knew everything”
My Writer’s Group in 2014
A lot of books, a lot of awards, and a whole lot of love.
In front from left, Leslea Newman and Patricia MacLachlan. Standing in back from left Ann Turner, Corinne Demas, me, Ellen Wittlinger Barbara Diamond Goldin.
MISCELLANY
Books: Over 400!
Past President: Science Fiction Writers of America
Board of Directors (now retired): Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for 25+ years
Jane Yolen
(Jane Hyatt Yolen Stemple)
USA flag (b.1939)
Mother of Adam Stemple
Jane Yolen is one of the acknowledged masters of fantasy today. She is the author of more than two hundred books for children and adults. Her young adult novel The Devil's Arithmetic won the Jewish Book Council Award. Her children's book Owl Moon, illustrated by John Schoenherr, was awarded the Caldecott Medal; her fantasy novels Sister Light, Sister Dark and White Jenna were both short-listed for the Nebula; and she's won the Nebula twice for short stories. She has also won the World Fantasy Award, the Christopher Medal twice, and the Golden Kite Award.
Jane Yolen lives with her husband in western Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
Awards: WFA (2018), Nebula (2017), Mythopoeic (1993) see all
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy, Children's Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, General Fiction, Literary Fiction
New and upcoming books
June 2025
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Sea Dragons
(Monsters of Fife, book 1)
Series
Isabel the Witch
The Witch Who Wasn't (1964)
Isabel's Noel (1967)
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Robot and Rebecca
The Mystery of the Code Carrying Kids (1980)
The Mystery of the Missing Owser (1981)
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Commander Toad
Commander Toad in Space (1980)
Commander Toad and the Planet of the Grapes (1982)
Commander Toad and the Big Black Hole (1983)
Commander Toad and the Dis-Asteroid (1985)
Commander Toad and the Intergalactic Spy (1986)
Commander Toad and the Space Pirates (1987)
Commander Toad and the Voyage Home (1998)
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Pit Dragons
1. Dragon's Blood (1982)
2. Heart's Blood (1984)
3. A Sending of Dragons (1987)
4. Dragon's Heart (2009)
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Books of the Great Alta
1. Sister Light, Sister Dark (1988)
2. White Jenna (1989)
3. The One-Armed Queen (1998)
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Here There Be...
Here There Be Dragons (1993)
Here There Be Unicorns (1994)
Here There Be Witches (1995)
Here There Be Angels (1996)
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Young Merlin
1. Passager (1996)
2. Hobby (1996)
3. Merlin (1997)
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Tartan Magic
1. The Wizard's Map (1999)
2. The Pictish Child (1999)
3. The Bagpiper's Ghost (2002)
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Stuart Quartet (with Robert J Harris)
1. Queen's Own Fool (2000)
2. Girl in the Cage (2002)
3. Prince Across the Water (2004)
4. The Rogues (2007)
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Young Heroes (with Robert J Harris)
1. Odysseus in the Serpent Maze (2001)
2. Hippolyta and the Curse of the Amazons (2002)
3. Atalanta and the Arcadian Beast (2003)
4. Jason and the Gorgon's Blood (2004)
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Rock'n' Roll Fairy Tale (with Adam Stemple)
Pay the Piper (2005)
Troll Bridge (2006)
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Foiled
1. Foiled (2010)
2. Curses! Foiled Again (2013)
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Seelie Wars (with Adam Stemple)
1. The Hostage Prince (2013)
2. The Last Changeling (2014)
3. The Seelie King's War (2016)
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Stone Man Mysteries (with Adam Stemple)
1. Stone Cold (2016)
2. Sanctuary (2018)
3. Breaking Out the Devil (2019)
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Circus
1. The Emerald Circus (2017)
2. The Midnight Circus (2020)
3. The Scarlet Circus (2023)
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Monsters of Fife
1. Sea Dragons (2025)
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Novels
Trust a City Kid (1966) (with Anne Huston)
The Inway Investigators (1969)
The Transfigured Hart (1975)
The Mermaid's Three Wisdoms (1978)
The Boy Who Spoke Chimp (1981)
The Gift of Sarah Barker (1981)
The Stone Silenus (1984)
Cards of Grief (1984)
The Devil's Arithmetic (1988)
The Dragon's Boy (1990)
Wizard's Hall (1991)
Briar Rose (1992)
Children of the Wolf (1993)
The Wild Hunt (1995)
Armageddon Summer (1998) (with Bruce Coville)
Boots and the Seven Leaguers (2000)
Sword of the Rightful King (2003)
Except the Queen (2010) (with Midori Snyder)
The Last Dragon (2011) (with Rebecca Guay)
Snow in Summer (2011)
Curse of the Thirteenth Fey (2012)
B.U.G. (Big Ugly Guy) (2013) (with Adam Stemple)
Centaur Rising (2014)
A Plague of Unicorns (2014)
Trash Mountain (2015)
Mapping the Bones (2018)
Finding Baba Yaga (2018)
The Last Tsar's Dragons (2019) (with Adam Stemple)
Arch of Bone (2021)
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Collections
The Girl Who Cried Flowers (1974)
The Hundredth Dove (1977)
Dream Weaver (1979)
Dragonfield (1985)
Merlin's Booke (1986)
Tales of Wonder (1987)
The Faery Flag (1989)
Storyteller (1992)
Sister Emily's Lightship (1997)
Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast (1997)
Here There Be Ghosts (1998)
The Fish Prince (2001) (with Shulamith Oppenheim)
The Radiation Sonnets (poems) (2003)
Barefoot Book of Stories from the Ballet (2004) (with Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple)
Fairy Tale Feasts (2006)
The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories (2009) (with Rebecca Guay and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple)
What You Wish For: A Book for Darfur (2011) (with others)
Things to Say to a Dead Man (poems) (2011)
The Last Selchie Child (poems) (2012)
Bad Girls (2013) (with Heidi E Y Stemple)
Wee Rhymes (poems) (2013)
The Bloody Tide (poems) (2014)
Animal Stories (2014)
Once There Was a Story (2017)
Before The Vote After (poems) (2017)
Meet Me at the Well (2018) (with Barbara Diamond Goldin)
How to Fracture a Fairy Tale (2018)
Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts (2020) (with Heidi E Y Stemple)
The Last Robot (poems) (2021)
Kaddish (poems) (2021)
Grumbles from the Forest (poems) (2021) (with Rebecca Kai Dotlich)
In and Out the Window (poems) (2024)
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Novellas and Short Stories
The Adventures of Eeka Mouse (1974)
The Whitethorn Wood and Other Magicks (1984)
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Anthologies edited
Zoo 2000 (1973)
Shape Shifters (1978)
Dragons and Dreams (1986) (with Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh)
Favorite Folktales from Around the World (1986)
Spaceships and Spells (1987) (with Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh)
Things That Go Bump in the Night (1989) (with Martin H Greenberg)
2041 (1991)
Vampires (1991) (with Martin H Greenberg)
Xanadu (1993) (with Martin H Greenberg)
Xanadu 2 (1994)
Camelot (1995)
The Haunted House (1995) (with Martin H Greenberg)
Mother Earth Father Sky (1995)
Xanadu 3 (1995)
Gray Heroes (1999)
The Fairies' Ring (1999)
Sherwood (2000)
Mirror, Mirror (2000) (with Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple)
Not One Damsel in Distress (2000)
Mightier Than the Sword (2003)
The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens (2005) (with Patrick Nielsen Hayden)
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Series contributed to
MagicQuest
8. The Magic Three of Solatia (1974)
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Oz Reimagined
11. Blown Away (2013)
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Nebula Award Stories
52. Nebula Awards Showcase 2018 (2018)
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Chapter Books hide
The Wizard of Washington Square (1969)
Shirlick Holmes and the Case of the Wandering Wardrobe (1981)
Sleeping Ugly (1981)
Jane Yolen
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jane Yolen
Yolen in 2011
Yolen in 2011
Born February 11, 1939 (age 85)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation Writer, poet
Alma mater Smith College
Period 1960s–present
Genre Fantasy, science fiction, folklore, children's fiction
Notable awards World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement
Website
janeyolen.com
Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 400 books, of which the best known is The Devil's Arithmetic, a Holocaust novella.[1][2] Her other works include the Nebula Award−winning short story "Sister Emily's Lightship", the novelette "Lost Girls", Owl Moon, The Emperor and the Kite, and the Commander Toad series. She has collaborated on works with all three of her children, most extensively with Adam Stemple.[1]
Yolen delivered the inaugural Alice G. Smith Lecture at the University of South Florida in 1989. In 2012 she became the first woman to give the Andrew Lang lecture.[3] Yolen published her 400th book in early 2021, Bear Outside.[4]
Early life
Jane Hyatt Yolen was born on February 11, 1939, at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan. She is the first child of Isabell Berlin Yolen, a psychiatric social worker who became a full-time mother and homemaker upon Yolen's birth, and Will Hyatt Yolen, a journalist who wrote columns at the time for New York newspapers,[5] and whose family emigrated from Ukraine to the United States.[1] Both of Yolen's parents were Jewish, and raised her secular-Jewish.[6] Isabell also did volunteer work, and wrote short stories in her spare time. However, she was not able to sell them. Because the Hyatts, the family of Yolen's grandmother, Mina Hyatt Yolen, only had girls, a number of the children of Yolen's generation were given their last name as a middle name in order to perpetuate it.[5]
When Yolen was barely one year old, the family moved to California to accommodate Will's new job working for Hollywood film studios, doing publicity on films such as American Tragedy and Knut Rockne. The family moved back to New York City prior to the birth of Yolen's brother, Steve. When Will joined the Army as a Second Lieutenant to fight in England during World War II, Yolen, her mother and brother lived with her grandparents, Danny and Dan, in Newport News, Virginia. After the war, the family moved back to Manhattan, living on Central Park West and 97th Street until Yolen turned 13. She attended PS 93, where she enjoyed writing and singing, and became friends with future radio presenter Susan Stamberg. She also engaged writing by creating a newspaper for her apartment with her brother that she sold for five cents a copy. She was accepted to Music and Art High School. During the summer prior to that semester, she attended a Vermont summer camp, which was her first involvement with the Society of Friends (Quakers). Her family also moved to a ranch house in Westport, Connecticut, where she attended Bedford Junior high for ninth grade, and then Staples High School.[5] She received a BA from Smith College in 1960 and a master's degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts in 1978.[1] After graduating she moved back to New York City.[5]
Career
Although Yolen considered herself a poet and a journalist/nonfiction writer, to her surprise she became a children's book writer. Her first published book was Pirates in Petticoats, which she sold on her 22nd birthday, February 11, 1961.[5]
During the 1960s, Yolen held editorial positions at various magazines and publishers in New York City, including Gold Medal Books, Routledge Books, and Alfred A. Knopf Juvenile Books. From 1990 to 1996 she ran her own young adult fiction imprint, Jane Yolen Books, at Harcourt Brace.[1]
She has co-written two books with her son, the writer and musician Adam Stemple, Pay the Piper and Troll Bridge, both part of the Rock 'n' Roll Fairy Tale series.[7] She also wrote lyrics for the song "Robin's Complaint," recorded on the 1994 album Antler Dance by Stemple's band Boiled in Lead.[8]
As of 2021, Yolen has written more than 400 books.[4]
Personal life
In 1962, Yolen married David W. Stemple. They had three children, including musician Adam Stemple, and six grandchildren. David Stemple died in March 2006. Yolen lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She also owns a house in Scotland, where she lives for a few months each year.[1][5]
Awards
1987 Special World Fantasy Award (for Favorite Folktales From Around the World)[9]
1989 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Older Readers (for The Devil's Arithmetic)[10][11]
1992 The Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal (for her body of children's literature)[12][13]
1999 Nebula Award for Novelette (for "Lost Girls")[14]
2009 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement at the 2010 World Fantasy Convention. A panel of judges selects about two people annually.[9][14]
2017 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award[15]
Nominations
1984 World Fantasy Award for Anthology/Collection (for Tales of Wonder)[9]
1986 World Fantasy Award for Anthology/Collection (for Dragonfield and Other Stories)[9]
1987 World Fantasy Award for Anthology/Collection (for Merlin's Booke)[9]
1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella (for Briar Rose)[9]
1993 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (for The Devil's Arithmetic)[9]
2009 Sydney Taylor Book Award Younger Reader Honor (for Naming Liberty, illustrated by Jim Burke)[11]
2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award Picture Book Honor (for Miriam at the River, illustrated by Khoa Le)[11]
Similarity to Harry Potter
Regarding the similarities between her 1991 novel Wizard's Hall and the Harry Potter series, Yolen has commented:
I'm pretty sure [J. K. Rowling] never read my book. We were both using fantasy tropes—the wizard school, the pictures on the wall that move. I happen to have a hero whose name was Henry, not Harry. He also had a red-headed best friend and a girl who was also his best friend—though my girl was black, not white. And there was a wicked wizard who was trying to destroy the school, who was once a teacher at the school. But those are all fantasy tropes ...There's even a book that came out way before hers where children go off to a witch school or a wizard school by going on a mysterious train that no one else can see except the kids, at a major British train station—I don’t know if it was Victoria Station or King's Cross. These things are out there ...This is not new.[3]
Jane Yolen
http://www.janeyolen.com
B. 1939
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Science fiction and fantasy writer, editor, children’s author, and poet Jane Yolen was born in New York City. She grew up in Hollywood, New York City, and Newport News, Virginia, and earned a BA at Smith College and an MA in education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Yolen’s stories use rhythm and rhyme in conjunction with elements of folklore and fantasy. In an article for the Huffington Post, she stated, “I write to satisfy the story or poem or piece of fascinating research that speaks to me. To rub a sore, to resonate with joy, to answer a question no one else has satisfactorily answered for me.”
Yolen is the author of more than 300 books, and her work has been translated into almost two dozen languages. Her poetry collection Radiation Sonnets: Love, in Sickness and in Health (2003) deals with her late husband’s battle with cancer. Her numerous books for young readers include the picture books Owl Moon (1987, illustrated by John Schoenherr), How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (2000, illustrated by Mark Teague), and the novella The Devil’s Arithmetic (2004). Her nonfiction includes Take Joy: A Writer’s Guide to Loving the Craft (2006) and Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie & Folklore in the Literature of Childhood (1981, expanded edition 2007). She has edited many anthologies, including Favorite Folktales from Around the World (1986).
Yolen has received the Daedelus Award and the Catholic Library Association’s Regina Medal, and her books have won two Caldecott Medals, two Nebula Awards from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, two Christopher Medals, and the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She has honorary doctorates from Smith College, Keene State College, and the College of Our Lady of the Elms. The former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Yolen has served on the board of directors for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for more than 25 years. She divides her time between homes in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and Scotland.
An Interview with Author Jane Yolen
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Picture books. Young adult novels. Beginning readers. Essays. Poetry. With over 300 books to her credit its hard to find a category in which author Jane Yolen hasn’t made her mark.
Jane divides her writing time between Massachusetts and Scotland. A full time writer, she is well known among children’s writers for the motto “butt in chair,” which is, according to her, the best way to get the job done.
She took time to share her wisdom about writing and to tell us about an honor that has come her way. In addition to her writing for children, Jane is known for her work in folklore, an area she feels each and every author should study.
WOW: First of all, congratulations. You will be giving the next Andrew Lang Lecture at St. Andrews in Scotland on November 1st. That’s a huge honor–J.R.R. Tolkien gave that lecture. How did you react to the call?
Jane: I was hesitating and then they said, “You’ll be the first woman.”
WOW: Your talk is “Fakelore vs. Folklore.” What is Fakelore?
Jane: About 30 years ago, I was talking to the American folklorist Alan Dundes. He was trying to reprint an essay I’d done on Cinderella. He mentioned the term fakelore, and my hackles went up. He was quoting Richard M. Dorson. What they both meant was folkore is that which a folklorist gets in the field from a respondent. Someone tells them a story that they’ve had in their family for years. Fakelore covers everything from retold folktales told in books to Angela Carter, and Hans Christian Anderson and other authors, including me, who make up stories with folk elements.
What Dorson missed is that a lot of that goes back into the folk culture. The Grimms were held up as the great collectors of folklore, but it’s come out in the last 15 to 20 years that many of their respondents were middle class, French Huguenots who had come to Germany with books of their own stories. They weren’t German stories but were set down and became part of the culture.
I am lecturing about how we remake our stories to fit our cultural needs at that time.
WOW: Why is it important for today’s writers to study folklore?
Jane: Often younger writers today don’t read the oldest folktales. They read retreads of retreads of retreads. They read Tolkein but they haven’t read anything that he had read—the old myths, the old legends, the long poems from the folk tellers, whether it's Beowulf or the sagas. They take as their template Tolkein rather than the deeper, older gods.
And then the next group comes along and they take their template from those who took their template from Tolkien.
WOW: What are writers going to gain by going back to these older tales?
Jane: Folklore takes you back to our common core in ways that a lot of our entertainment today doesn’t. Modern entertainment skims along the top of emotions, or it goes the other way to show you the wicked, horrible things that can happen to you if you go into the woods in the middle of the night.
Folk tales show us what we have in common whether it’s a Cinderella story or an overcoming the troll story. These folk tales teach us about a common humanity which is something we tend to forget in times of war, in times of famine, and in times of fear.
WOW: What should they study?
Jane: I would start with the Pantheon Library of Folklore. You have Calvino for the Italian, the Grimm, Asbjornsen from Scandinavia. Pantheon has a whole library of collections. I did one for them called Favorite Folktales from around the World. Folklore is so broad that sometimes you have to narrow it. You have to read just Cinderella stories. Alan Dundes did Cinderella: A Casebook. My piece in it is “America’s Cinderella.” You can look at the folklore of a particular country. Or you can say, “I want to know stories from around the world about strong women.” Or about aging. I wrote Gray Heroes: Elder Tales from around the World, which are tales from around the world about the aging process. You could read the Andrew Lang Colored Fairy Books, the Blue Fairy Book the Red Fairy Book, the Green Fairy Book, etc. Just start reading. There’s so much out there.
WOW: All of the folklore that you’ve studied feeds into your writing. With over 300 books to your credit, you’ve written fantasy and historic, picture books and poetry and young adult and much, much more. What do you have to say to writers today who are worried about building a platform?
Jane: There are two things. One, follow your heart. Two, be smart and don’t branch out too soon and too early. I was able to do it at a time when we weren’t worried about branding and platforms. It is a very different world out there now.
As a writer, if I wanted to repeat the same thing over and over, I’d take a job at a factory. It would pay better. There would be benefits.
I have a very low threshold of boredom. So repeating something is very hard. I love my How Do Dinosaur books but if it was the only thing I was writing, I would shoot myself.
In a single week, I will write several poems, work on a picture book, write a chapter of a novel, and research on something else. In some ways, I’m still in high school where you have seven different classes. That set the mold for how I work today.
WOW: What about the writer who is still trying for the sales that they need to build a career? What advice do you have for them?
Jane: You can grow into writing many different things, but you have to somehow make your name first. That’s hard to do today. A publisher will take your first book and then give you one more. If you’re still struggling for sales, the third might have to be under a different name.
This is a problem because very few people write that big book the first time out. Very often, especially if they’re young, they simply don’t have the writing bones yet. When we reward someone for a book that’s not that worthy, but became popular off the bat, how do they learn to get better?
There are organizations. There are critique groups. There are classes. There are conferences. One has to cultivate a learned patience. The French biologist George-Louis de Buffon said that genius is a long patience.
I really believe that’s true. To become a good writer isn’t something that happens, POOF, overnight. We begin as apprentices. We become journeymen. If we’re lucky, we become masters. Just because you make a lot of money doesn’t make you a good writer. The problem is that many people today are equating best seller with good writing. I love good writing. Don’t write as good as . . . write better than. We need to aspire, not settle for.
WOW: Do you have any final words of encouragement for our readers who are juggling family, jobs and so many other things and struggling to find time to write?
Jane: Instead of thinking of the family and the other stuff as dragging you away from writing, think of it as filling your cup. That is what you’re going to write from. I wrote in the midst of having three children, a marriage, traveling, and bird watching. We were involved in our children’s education. We even had a craft center in our barn. These things became a part of what made me the writer that I am. You have to live life to have something to write about. You can always find time to write, but you first have to do some living as well.
Children’s Book Author Interview: Jane Yolen
May 31, 2017
2013 May-June, Arts & Culture
May 31, 2017
By Nadine Epstein
| May 20, 2013
Jane Yolen, author of the classic The Devil’s Arithmetic, is the renowned author of more than 300 books. Her books, poems and stories have won many awards, including two Nebulas and the Caldecott Medal. I chat with Yolen about her inspiration for The Devil’s Arithmetic, her favorite childhood novels and why so many kids ask her about J.K. Rowling.—Nadine Epstein
What inspired The Devil’s Arithmetic? Did you know any survivors?
I did, but that’s not what started it. I had lunch with one of my editors, who happened to be a rabbi’s wife. She said, “I know you’re Jewish, but you don’t write about anything Jewish—it’s time you start.” I had grown up very non-observant, until I was 13, when I said I wanted to be confirmed. I had never really thought about writing a Jewish book because I didn’t know enough. I said the only two things that would interest me were something biblical or the Holocaust, because I figured I could not write anything about being modern Jewish—what would I talk about? So she said, what about the Holocaust, and I said I could only do it if I could take a character back in time. Because kids today don’t know anything about the Holocaust. The way to explain would be to take a modern kid back into the Holocaust and have him or her ask those questions that a kid today would ask. My editor said, oh, send me something. Once a month I’d get a letter in the mail asking how I was coming on the book. Finally, to stop the letters from coming, I wrote a first chapter, which is essentially the first chapter in the book now. And I said, see, it can’t be done. She said, “This is terrific, here’s a check.” And I was stuck. That’s when I had to just commit myself to it.
How did you prepare to write the book?
I gathered all the materials I could find and I started reading. I must have read for four to six months straight. And I knew that at some point, I was going to have to interview survivors. One of the reasons I stopped being a journalist was that I could not interview people, especially if the stories they had to tell were horrific. So my assistant, Barbara Diamond Golden—who’s now a quite-well-known author of Jewish children’s books—said, I’ll do it. She had questions that I couldn’t find in any of my research, like what color was the ink when the tattoo was inked on your arm.
I loved all the descriptions of the shtetl and the house; how did you learn about shtetl life?
I had several books about the shtetl, and I cobbled together an iconic shtetl from various descriptions. My father and mother’s families had come from small shtetls. My father’s people came from the Ukraine, my mother’s from Latvia, but I never spoke to them about that; they never volunteered that information. The one story that was told to me by a friend, who as a three- to four-year-old was in a labor camp in Poland, a wonderful man named Marek Zamner who became an architect in this country, was about how all the children would run and jump in the mitten pile. It became the metaphoric centerpiece of the camp that my character goes to, but it came out of a real-life situation. People wonder if I made it up, but I didn’t.
Is the arithmetic that you describe in the book based on fact?
Somewhere I read that people were desperate to remember their numbers, because any time an SS man would come and ask your number, you had to recite it. If you didn’t, they’d shoot you. Many used mnemonic devices in the beginning, especially children. There were also the Greek political prisoners who were brought when Greece was taken over, and they had a “G”at the beginning of their number. Somebody mentioned that you never wanted to stand next to somebody with a “G” because they were slow to answer, and if they got shot, you got shot too. It’s this horrible matter of fact thing—don’t stand next to a Greek.
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Is there any other book for kids that you also think does a good job explaining the Holocaust?
There are lots of them that are very moving and powerful. But they tell different parts of the elephant. It’s like the blind man and the elephant—you can’t get the entire thing. As I like to tell people, The Devil’s Arithmetic really starts where Anne Frank stopped. Because we don’t hear from Anne once she’s taken away. You also have to read The Upstairs Room, about two children, one of whom was the author, who was hidden in an upstairs room. I wrote Briar Rose, which uses the story of Sleeping Beauty as its main conceit. It starts with a modern girl who tells a very odd version of Sleeping Beauty, which has all the elements of that castle, the wicked fairy in her black uniform and jackboots, clearly a Nazi uniform. And I’m about to work on my third, and I swear to you, my last, Holocaust novel, called House of Candy, using the Hansel and Gretel story, with Chaim and Gitel, who are twins, and it’s about the twin experiments.
I had no idea you were still writing about the Holocaust…
I don’t know why I’m still doing that. When an idea comes to you as a writer and it makes you shiver, it’s the one you have to go with. It’s the raising of those little fine hairs on the back of your neck, and you say, this is an idea and I will be ashamed if I don’t write it. I know it’s hard, but it’s something you have to do. And I balance those books with amusing books so that I have something that I can say, I can pull myself out of this, I can do something amusing.
Years ago, I read your book, Wizard’s Hall, and wrote a piece for The Washington Post Book World about books that J.K. Rowling must have read. Do you think she did?
Since the books didn’t go over to England or Scotland, I’m not sure she ever did. I get letters from kids that say, “I was so mad, you ripped off Harry Potter, and then the teacher told me to look at the copyright page, and are you going to sue her?” I say, these are fantasy tropes, no one’s stealing anything. If you read a lot of fantasy, you’re going to come across these kinds of things. They travel from one person’s book to another.
What were your favorite novels as a child?
Anything by Louisa May Alcott. The Black Stallion, The Island of Stallions, all that stuff. And Bob, Son of Battle, Treasure Island. I was crazy about pirates. Anything about King Arthur. Anything by James Thurber; he wrote three children’s novels: The 13 Clocks, The White Deer and The Wonderful O.
Are there three books that every kid should read today?
I could give you ten. Where the Wild Things Are, Frog and Toad are Friends, maybe Sarah, Plain and Tall, Tuck Everlasting, The White Deer, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz—it’s not well written, but it’s full of wonders. The Once and Future King—and that’s cheating because I think that’s three volumes. The Fellowship of the Ring and Little Women.
What advice do you have for young people who want to be writers?
The first thing is to be a reader. If you’re not reading all the time, you haven’t figured out what’s good writing and bad writing. You have to love words, you have to love stories, you have to love metaphors, you have to love all those things in books. And the second thing is that you have to write every day, because writing is a muscle that has to be exercised every day. Even the premier ballerinas in the New York City Ballet are there every day taking class, doing their bar workouts, because they knew the elasticity of their bodies only happens if they exercise them every day. The same thing with the writer. The elasticity of our creative mind needs to be stretched in some way every day. The third thing I tell kids is don’t let anyone—your parents, your teachers, your friends—tell you that you can’t write. Keep writing. You might be lousy at the beginning; I was lousy at the beginning. But the more you write, the better you’ll get.
I love writing. There are a lot of writers who hate writing. They love having written, but they hate writing. They feel like they’re bleeding onto the page, and I think that’s an awfully messy way to write. If I am unhappy during the process, it usually means that it’s going awry. It means that I’ve taken the wrong road. Writing is full of forks in the road. Sometimes the more interesting story is in what looks to be the wrong fork, but you don’t know that until you’ve gone down that road a ways. But sometimes you take a long walk in the wrong direction and realize you have to backtrack. And I’m not happy when that happens, but I’m still happy to write.
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Author Spotlight
Jane Yolen
Author Spotlight: Jane Yolen
KidLit411 is delighted to present to you the legendary author, JANE YOLEN!
Jane Yolen has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century. She is a huge supporter of fellow authors and artists and offers solid advice to those trying to break into the industry. Jane is a tremendous talent, having written over 300 books, winning numerous awards, and has been awarded six honorary doctorates in literature.
We have some questions for you about craft and process, Jane. So let's begin!
After so many years of writing so many wonderful books, what keeps you interested and inspired? Is it new ideas? New techniques?
I try to stretch myself all the time. I have just written my first YA novel in verse. And though I haven't sold it (yet, she says hope eternal) it was something new for me.
The last few years I have been writing graphic novels.
My books of adult poety are tumbling out of me. It's as if I can hear the time fairy pointing to a ticking clock (I just turned 75).
But really, I think if writers (or creative artists of any stripe) don't keep growing and changing, they are dead. Maybe still walking about the house, but creatively dead. I call this the importance of reinvention. Perhaps one's regular audience resists the change. They like what they like. But for the writer, reinvention is as necessary as breathing.
We have often heard you refer to OWL MOON as a poem. Did you write it intending for it to become a picture book? When does a story become a poem, and when does a poem become a story?
It was always going to be a picture book as a poem. From the beginning. I insisted upon it. The very act of going out with a child into the deep woods to call down owls is sheer poetry. So the only response to it has to be as a poem.
Are your books like children, or is it okay to have favorites? What is your favorite book that did not find broad commercial success? Are you ever surprised by which books catch the market's fancy and skyrocket?
I get the first part of this question all the time. My answer to that is: it depends what day and what hour you ask.
Probably the two books that always find themselves on my top five list are OWL MOON and THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC. If I were to go with sheer commercial success, I'd have to say HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODNIGHT and all its siblings.
Some of Jane Yolen's best-selling DINOSAUR series
But that's not true. Any number of other books I've written crowd in before it. I think the best poetry I ever wrote for kids is in a book called RING OF EARTH. The best novels are SWORD OF THE RIGHTFUL KING, WILD HUNT, SNOW IN SUMMER. Best book of poems--that's a tough one.
I want this on my gravestone (and have told my kids about it):
She wrote many good books and one great one.
Because that should stimulate conversation and debate, something I have always encouraged.
Do you write your ideas for rhyming stories first in rhyme or prose? If you start by rhyming, do you write it out in prose, too?
If it begins in rhyme, it almost always ends that way. The one notable exception that I can think of is EENY MEENY MINEY MOLE which began in excruciating bouncy rhyme. The published version is lyrical prose that's better by far than any bouncy rhymes I have ever written.
Do you have a ritual that you do when you write? When you're finished with a manuscript? Is there anything special that you do that you would like to share with us?
I drinks pots of decaf tea when I write. Sometimes I just make the tea and don't even get around to drinking it.
But lately, with a bad back, I have to force myself to get up from the chair/sofa/bed every half hour and walk through the house for five-6 full circles (about ten minutes) just to get the blood flowing again. Otherwise I could sit there unmoving for five hours.
When I finish something, I always promise myself to play for a while--see a movie, go to dinner with friends, go for a walk outside with my field glasses. But since something is always percolating, the only person I'm fooling is myself. My friends and family get it. My mind is often off going walkabout in the next book.
Do you have any advice for authors that are trying to get published in today's market?
Go into the field fully armored with information. Don't let yourself be surprised and sandbagged by scams and scammers, by unseemly "publishing" operators. Join SCBWI (Society of Childrens Book Writers and Ilustrators), take classes, get into workshops and critique groups, go to SCBWI conferences. Learn as much as you can so that what you send out is truly READY to be marketed.
I heard you say somewhere that PB writers should study poetry. Why is that?
PB writers need to study poetry because picture books need to be compressed, lyrical, and every single word must count--just as in a poem.
And finally, the KidLit411 question that we ask all of our guests: Do you eat pizza? And if so, do you like it with anchovies?
Hate anchovies. Love all kinds of traditional pizza otherwise. But, since I have just passed my first ever gallstone and landed in the hospital, am supposed to be leery of cheese, alas my favorite food. So I guess pizza is off my diet forever.
Thanks so much for spending some time with us at KidLit411, Jane!
Jane Yolen is an author of children’s books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon, The Devil’s Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
She is also a poet, a teacher of writing and literature, and a reviewer of children’s literature. She has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century.
Jane Yolen’s books and stories have won the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, the World Fantasy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Association of Jewish Libraries Award among many others.
www.janeyolen.com
A note from Jane:
We support out local indie bookstores. Jess and her crew at the World Eye can get books that we will sign for you.
Just give them a call!
Interview with legendary children’s book author Jane Yolen
March 21, 2014 by Henry Herz 3 Comments
Jane Yolen, often called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” (Newsweek) is the author of well over 335 books (she has lost count), including OWL MOON, THE DEVIL’S ARITHMETIC, and HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODNIGHT. Her work has won an assortment of awards–two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, a Caldecott, the Golden Kite Award, three Mythopoeic awards, two Christopher Medals, a nomination for the National Book Award, and the Jewish Book Award, among many others. She has been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize. She is also the winner (for body of work) of the World Fantasy Assn. Lifetime Achievement Award, Science Fiction Poetry Association Grand Master Award, the Catholic Library’s Regina Medal, the Kerlan Medal from the University of Minnesota, the 2012 du Grummond Medal, the Smith College Alumnae Medal. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates.
Henry: I’d call you the Leonardo da Vinci of American literature. Damn! Just, damn.
YolenJane
For what age audience do you write?
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All ages, all genres except hard science. (Though I have written a lot of Natural Science.)
Tell us about your latest book.
These three books are my latest: ‘How Do Dinosaurs Say I’m Mad’ (Scholastic), ‘The Hostage Prince’ (middle grade fantasy, first book in the Seelie Wars Trilogy, Viking), and ‘Sister Fox’s Field Guide to Writing’ (adult poetry collection for Unsettling Wonder).
Henry: Indeed, Apatosaurus anger management was a literary niche waiting to be filled. Well played.
What do you hope readers will get from reading those books?
Enlightenment, entertainment, and an appreciation for poetry.
Henry: My poor poetry-writing ability is limited to limericks involving the word “Nantucket.”
What aspect of writing do you find most challenging?
Getting editors to get back to me!
Henry: Hah! Well, editors are notoriously overworked. And with over 300 books under your belt, something tells me anyone would have trouble keeping up with you.
What is a powerful lesson you’ve learned from being a writer?
Never give up, revise, and keep my BIC (butt in chair).
Henry: For those not familiar with the term, BIC refers to focusing on doing the writing. Technically, if you prefer to write while standing or bathing, that is also acceptable.
What has been a memorable experience that you never would have had if you had not been a writer?
Getting letters from children and grownups saying that my stories and poems and essays had changed their lives.
Henry: If only we could have gotten Vladimir Putin to read ‘How Do Dinosaurs Say I’m Mad?’
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
If you give up at the first rejection or the first bad review, you will never make it in publishing.
Henry: A writer must be thick-skinned. Like the Ankylosaurus!
Do you have any favorite quotes?
“Touch magic, pass it on.”
Henry: “See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. O, that I were a glove upon that hand. That I might touch that cheek!” ― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Do you have any strange rituals that you observe when you write?
No.
Henry: No hard rock music blasting in the background? No dinosaur models on a nearby shelf?
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
To bring world peace and the perfect story to the world.
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Henry: Nothing like aiming high! And that is the most altruistic superpower anyone has mentioned on this blog.
If you could have three authors over for dinner, who would you choose?
Emily Dickinson, James Thurber, and Isak Dinesen. Because they would make great conversation, tell amazing stories about their lives, and might possibly drop wisdom into my ear.
Henry: That’s a lovely trio. For the younger readers of this blog, Wikipedia helpfully elaborates:
“Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830 –1886) was an American poet. While Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime. Dickinson’s poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality.”
“James Grover Thurber (1894 –1961) was an American cartoonist, author, journalist, and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in The New Yorker magazine and collected in his numerous books. One of the most popular humorists of his time, Thurber celebrated the comic frustrations and eccentricities of ordinary people.”
“Karen von Blixen-Finecke (1885 – 1962), née Karen Christenze Dinesen, was a Danish author also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen. Blixen is best known for ‘Out of Africa’, her account of living in Kenya, and one of her stories, ‘Babette’s Feast’, both of which have been adapted into highly acclaimed, Academy Award-winning motion pictures.”
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Read, go for a walk, watch a movie, go to live music or live theater, wander a museum or castle, or play with a grandchild.
Henry: The only castles nearby in which I can wander are in my imagination.
What would you like it to say on your tombstone?
She wrote many good books and one great one
Henry: I think it’s safe to say you’ve created a powerful legacy already.
Where can readers find your work?
Wherever books are sold or can be ordered, and in any school or public library. Also there are some on kindle and other ebook readers.
This interview is also posted on the San Diego Children’s Books Examiner.
Jane Yolen Interview
Victoria Rogers October 27, 2015 2 Comments
jane_yolenJane Yolen is an award winning author who has written more than three hundred books. Open Road Media are currently re-releasing several of her books as e-books. Including The Bagpiper’s Ghost, Boots and the Seven Leaguers, The Pictish Child, Among Angels, Tales of Wonder, Wizard’s Hall, Prince Across the Water and The Rogues. We’ve had the pleasure of talking to Jane Yolen.
During the last few years you have had several older books released as e-books, how has the response been and do you have any particular personal favourites among them?
Publishing is full of small deaths, especially if one is a prolific (I hate that word!) writer, so it’s always wonderful to have a second coming of a book I sweated over and loved. I think the one I am particularly delighted with is CARDS OF GRIEF because it was my first adult book, and was begun right after my father’s death. He’d lived with us the last four years of his life.
How comfortable are you generally with seeing the re-appearance of older work?
I don’t let everything be reprinted because some books simply haven’t worn well. I began book publication at 22, and was still learning my craft, not to mention the slower learning curve of my art! So not everything is worth bringing back. I think long and hard when an offer comes in. Some revenants should not be encouraged to walk or they will come back and haunt me.
How are you finding the e-book revolution? Personally, are you happy with an e-reader these days, or do you still prefer ‘tree-books’?
Honest answer? I don’t own an e-reader. I love the feel, heft, smell of a book. And honestly, I love autographing books. Can’t say that works well on an e-reader!!!
You have been a victim of censorship, particularly with Briar Rose. You have stated that Briar Rose was intended as an adult book, but it has been brought into the classroom by others. How did the censorship make you feel? How do you feel about a book that you intended for one audience making its way to another?
BRIAR ROSE, a Holocaust, has not only be censored (gay content), it was burned on the steps of the KC Board of Education. And I hope that the irony of a right-wing group burning a Holocaust book is not lost on my readers! Some censorship makes me laugh at the idiocy of the burners. But some is truly scary. Think about what Salman Rushdie has gone–and is still going through. Thinks of the two (I think) translators who were killed because of that book.
As for a book making its way into two (or more) audiences, I say hurrah. Harry Potteris still read by people 5-95. Briar Rose is taught in high school and college classes but was originally published for adults. Robin McKinley’s Beauty was written for adults but published for teens and has found both audiences. My Owl Moon picture book, is adored by children and grownups. What’s not to love about that!
With the rise of digital publishing and the internet, how do you think this has affected censorship?
I haven’t given that much thought but I expect it’s something digital publishers think about a lot.
You write both for children and adults, which do you find most challenging?
Writing for children because children will let you get away with nothing, but adults will often let a lot of stuff slide–if they are enjoying a book. Children will reread a favorite book ten times in a row, or more. Wowser! The book better live up to such repeated readings! Also because writing books for children is life giving and (sometimes) life saving, whereas writing for adults is mostly seen as entertainment.
Religion plays a large role in a lot of your work. What is it about religion that draws you, as an author? And, how do you go about translating these ideas for children?
Well, not any actual functioning real live human religion. (Though for me ritual is endlessly fascinating.) But I find the sacred in nature and science. So that’s what you see in my books. I am Jewish but raised without much ritual and no religiosity. Minored in religion in college because it was a passion of mine, without making me choose any particular religion. I became a Quaker for 15 years, partly because it was the Vietnam War years, and I was anti-war, partly because I had three small children and I loved that hour of silence once a week, and partly because I am an old-fashioned do-gooder that some political parties these days despise!
Why children’s and young adult literature? What drew you down that path? And, what do you think are important themes in literature aimed at a younger audience?
I began my writing career as a journalist and a poet, journalism for my pocketbook, poetry for my soul. But I quickly transitioned into book publishing as an assistant editor (Gold Medal Books, then Ridge Press/Rutledge Books–packager–then assistant editor for Knopf Children’s Books. Sold my first two books, both for children–one nonfiction (see, journalism) and one a rhymed picture book (see poetry!) both came out the same year, 1963. I never looked back. Didn’t write an adult book till about fifteen years later–though wrote adult short stories and poetry, essays, reviews–all during that time.
As for themes, they change every few years. Right now nature and science are riding high, books to teach all sorts of things (didactic while trying not to be) are also big. But there’s always a ground swell for a while for anything that smells nice and new, and then we head right back to good old-fashioned storytelling.
In his paper, Transmitted Holocaust Trauma: A Matter of Myth and Fairy Tales? Published in European Judaism, Philippe Codde discusses secondary traumatization, or transgenerational trauma relayed in fairy tales by children and grand-children of holocaust survivors. This trauma can be passed down through stories of the survivors and/or through their children dealing with their parents’ post traumatic symptoms. Has this affected your writing, and subject choices?
I write fiction when a character taps me on the shoulder and says “Tell my story.” I don’t think about such things as the Codde thesis with my forebrain. But I read a lot and that sort of thing hangs around in the lizard brain/subconscious. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. The shadow knows!!!
You also write shorter fiction. How different do you find writing short stories and shorter fiction rather than novels? Do you have a preference?
I am basically a short form writer–poetry, short stories, picture books, verse novels. (Which is not to say I haven’t done more than my share of novels for middle grades, young adults, and adults–more than 60 so far!) but my preference is for the short form. I love the brevity, compression, meditative sense of a short piece. Novels end up hurting my fingers and my brain!
Your work has been analysed, cited, quoted and referenced in many published academic papers. How does this make you feel?
Sometimes overfull of myself. Sometimes exhausted by the attention. Sometimes astonished at which of my stories or poems or books people feel necessary to cite. When my husband was alive, he made sure my feet were firmly on the floor. Now that he’s gone, I have to rely on my children and friends to remind me to laugh. The one that really gets me, though, as a folklorist manque is when I am described as alegend. No folks, I neither breathe fire nor go about in an invisible cloak or leap tall buildings in a single bound, unless you mean that metaphorically! Metaphors be with you! as the Poetry Alive folks like to say.
What kind of books do you read, any favourite authors?
I love historical novels, fantasy novels, mysteries, biographies, and poetry. I read pretty broadly.
Why science fiction and fantasy? What drew you to the genre?
It was the next logical step after fairy tales and Arthuriana, my two biggest reading influences as a child.
What’s next? What other projects are you working on at the moment?
A number of picture books with titles like The Dancing Trolls, A Celebration of Bees(poetry), Paw/Whisker/Claw (poetry) Emily Writes (picture book about the childhood of Emily Dickinson) none of which have sold yet. Recent picture books sales to come out in the next few years include three new How Do Dinosaurs. . . books, On Bird Hill, Prayer for the Birds, Monster Academy, Kite for Moon, The Alligator’s Smile. Finishing up a trilogy of noir mystery graphic novels with son Adam Stemple set in Edinburgh in the 1930s called The Stone Man Mysteries, and am at the same time writing a YA Holocaust novel based on Hansel and Gretel called House of Candy. But I also have about a dozen other mss. making the rounds. And about 25 books under contract, all but four of them written. I write a poem a day for 360+ subscribers. I teach writing workshops, give lectures at major conferences, write short stories when I get a chance. That sort of life!!!
An Interview with Jane Yolen
Posted by: Redhead on: November 10, 2015
In: Jane Yolen 4 Comments
img-jane-yolen-author-photo_175350610876I’m sure you grew up reading Jane Yolen. I know I did. Maybe your mother read you her children’s rhyming books when you were a child. Maybe you read those books to your children. Even if you don’t know her name, you know her work. From young children rhyming books such as An Invitation to the Butterfly Ball to books for young readers, to books for older readers. When I was a preteen, I read a book whose scenes still haunt me, more than twenty years later. That book? By Jane Yolen.
A novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author, Jane Yolen has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
Many of her titles have recently become available as e-books through Open Road media. Mrs. Yolen was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about her books, how publishing has changed, and if she’s got a particular pet. Read on for the answers!
Little Red Reviewer: Although many readers (including you and I) are still quite fond of physical books, e-books are making quite the inroads. I find e-books convenient for books that have been out of print for a long time and are have now become available as e-books. What do you think might be the next leap in “book technology”?
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Jane Yolen: Possibly a return to physical books (which I prefer) with parts that move, imbedded movie bits, music chips. Or possibly surround-books with movie screens in the middle of which the reader sits to be immersed in the sound and movement of the book. I don’t expect to see these myself at my age.
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LRR: Your collection of re-imagined fairy tales, Sister Emily’s Lightship, was recently re-released as an e-book. What is so alluring about taking the fairy tales we grew up with, and giving them a twist? Do you have any particular favorites out of that collection?
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JY: I am always partial to the Grimm reconstructions: “Granny Rumple”, “Snow in Summer”, “Allerleirauh.” but of course that book is more than just re-imagined fairy tales. The two stories in it that are Nebula winners are not. “Lost Girls,” is a modern feminist take on Peter Pan, and the other, the title story (which is in my mind I have always called Emily Dickinson Meets A Martian), is a classic First Contact sf story of the meeting between two poets, one human and one alien. But fairy tales were my first love and laid such a strong ground bass to my life, of course that had to come out in my stories.
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LRR: Your books have been illustrated by so many incredible artists – Roger Roth, Mike Cavallaro, Mark Teague, Bruce Degen, Kelly Murphy, Jim Burke, and Jane Breskin Zalbin, just to name a few. How involved have you been with the artwork the illustrators created to go with your lyrical prose?
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JY: Normally picture book writers and illustrators are kept arm’s length from one another. That’s because most writers haven’t a clue as to how the pictures in a picture book are made. I’ve been a children’s book editor (with Knopf and Harcourt) so am seen as more seasoned and knowlegable. I keep up with new young illustrators. So I am much more involved than most.
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LRR: It’s been more than twenty years since I read The Devil’s Arithmetic, and scenes from that book still haunt me. You’ve written a number of non-fiction history books for young readers and historical fiction. What is your researching process for your historical books?
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JY: How do you decide what subjects to study and then write about? It almost always begins with a character: Hannah, Mary Queen of Scots and her three female jesters, Robert the Bruce’s daughter captured and put in a cage by King Long Shanks. Even before I start to do research, I know my hero. Warts and all. Research fills in the interstices, fleshes out costumes and what can be eaten, the dresses, the history itself. But character comes first.
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LRR: Any suggested titles (yours or others) for parents of reluctant readers, or even older kids who say they don’t like reading?
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JY: Graphic novels because there are fewer words, books that are also movies to give the reluctant reader a bit of a boost, series books because once that young reader opens the door to the first one, he or she will breeze through the rest. They already have the key to that door, you see and having used it once, have no fear of using it again.
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LRR: Your writing and publishing career has spanned over five decades. What in the publishing and writing world has changed the most during the time period?
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JY: Let me get out my cane and whack it a couple of times on the floor. Whack! Whack! Whack! In the old days, an editor would decide on her own what manuscript she (most children’s book editors back then were women) wanted to buy and then walk it down the hall to where the marketing and publicity people worked and say, “This is the book that you will sell. But now there is a pub committee on which sit other editors, marketing people, sales people etc and the editor has to try and convince them all that the book will make the publishing company a good deal of money. Children’s publishing has gone from 1500 different books published a year to about 10,000.
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LRR: I mentioned to my family that I was doing this interview, and one of my family members would like to know if you have a pet dragon yet. And if not, would you like one?
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JY: I have a lot of dragon figures around the house, a selchie, some unicorns. But a real dragon? Do you know how big and smelly their fewmets are? How many pieces of furniture they’d destroy by burping out flames?
LRR: thanks Jane! you can check out more of her titles that are now available as e-books here.
Author Interview: Jane Yolen
On June 11, 2018 By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews
This month’s PB author interview is by a writer who has a special relationship with OPB—she helped get it going. I’d been mulling over creating this website for a few years and when I shared the idea with my friend and mentor, Jane Yolen, she told me: “Silly boy. Why aren’t you already doing this?”
So, of course, I did exactly that. And she was eager to volunteer to be one of my first interviewees. The only reason she wasn’t the first one published here? I had many hours of recordings to work through and I’m a slow transcriber. Plus—what to leave out? What to include? It wasn’t easy.
I was lucky enough to be able to bring Jane out to Ringling College of Art and Design in January 2018 for a couple of days of events to support the creative writing program there. So the following interview has been pieced together from just a small bit of the mountain of writing and publishing information she shared in classes, student meetings, lunchtime talks, and public evening discussions. Yes, this is longer than most OPB author interviews but I suspect you’ll forgive me for its length. (And if you still need more from Jane, check out my interview with her in a fall 2018 issue of The Writer, where I cover lots of different things than what’s below.)
Jane really needs no introduction. If you’re here, you love picture books. If you love picture books, you surely have a half-dozen favorites written by her. I’ll simply end this warm-up by sharing three of my own favs of hers. If you don’t have these already, maybe grab a copy?
RVC: One of your Ten Rules for Writing Success is BIC. Could you share what that is?
JY: Butt in Chair. Or if you wish to be polite here in Florida—Bottom, Buttocks, Behind, Backside, Behunkus in Chair.
In other words, you have to work. Fingers on keys. Or wrapped around a pen. Use a chisel to carve the book on stone. If you aren’t at work writing, you’re not writing the book.
Yes, there are other parts to writing. There’s thinking it through. There’s research. There’s seeing landscape. There’s listening in keyholes. There’s sorting through gossip. There’s smelling the grandbabies. These are all wonderful parts of getting ready to write. They’re what I call “gathering days.”
But in the end, if you never put your B in the C, you are not going to write the damn book.
RVC: Procrastination really isn’t part of your vocabulary, is it?
JY: You see, too often we sit around thinking about what we hope to, plan to, want to write … and never do. The difference between my 366 books and your not-quite one, or not-quite five or not-quite ten or even your not-quite 100 books is as simple as that. Write the damn book.
Stop agonizing over whether you’re an undergraduate or a graduate student, a housewife or somebody’s younger brother. Stop worrying about having original ideas or contracts or contacts. Stop telling your boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse or partner that some day soon they’ll see you in print.
Just write the damn book.
Now I’ve just said “damn” three times. Oops—make that four times. If that seems unseemly for a children’s book writer, I apologize. But choosing and using the right word has been my passion for over 50 years now. (Longer if you add in my writing in high school and elementary school, though some of it was pretty lame, I admit.) And damn is the right word. Though one famous children’s book writer friend of mine calls it something stronger, from earlier on in the alphabet, which I won’t use here in polite company.
I know that urging—no insisting—that you write the damn book may seem simplistic. But until you get the book down, what have you to show?
I was an editor for fifteen years, and editors know that finishing a book is one of the hardest parts of writing. Most would-be writers want to have written. But for true writers, it’s the process of writing that they find fulfilling, not necessarily publication.
For years over my desk, I had posted: “Love the process, not the product” and while I have long since lost that piece of paper, I no longer need it. That motto is imprinted on my heart.
Yes, I know. Easy for me to say with my 365th and 366th book just out this past March, but honestly, that number could’ve been a terrible burden if I didn’t love writing. The writing—even when it is difficult, even when it’s horrible, even when it’s going badly—is the reason for doing what we do.
So that’s why my very first rule has to be: Write the damn book!
RVC: For some years now, you’ve run small writing workshops—called Picture Book Boot Camps—that are described as “A weekend Master Class for published picture book authors with Jane Yolen, held at her farm in western Massachusetts.” Where did the idea for these retreats come from?
JY: For years, I taught workshops at writer’s conferences and weekend retreats, and I loved the teaching, but when someone else is throwing the party, they get to keep all the change. So to do a 2- or 3- or 10-day conference? Putting what I’m writing on hold for that many days for nearly any amount of money became non-doable.
When we put together a conference of our own, Heidi [Jane’s daughter Heidi EY Stemple, who is an accomplished PB writer too] and I make enough money to make it worthwhile and we plan it exactly the way we want to. I’m still able to do some of my own work during the Boot Camps, too.
We’ve had some absolutely stunning authors participate and their work was extraordinary at times. We’re working with people who are already published and that was a very conscious choice. We wanted people who already understood what revision meant, people who understood what listening to critique—without pride or arguing—meant, people who listened when you talked about problems and went on to solve them in their own way.
I get a lot of people asking: “When are you going to do a picture book boot camp for newbies”? And my answer is never. There are lots of places that will do that, like an SCBWI conference where people can have their first manuscript read by a professional in the field. That’s not what I’m going to do here.
“Can’t you do a boot camp for novelists?” people also ask. For nine years, I edited novels. But to really be able to provide a good and solid critique of a novel, reading one chapter isn’t enough. You really need to read the whole thing.
How could I possibly read 10 whole novels like that? I’d have to put my entire life on hold to sit down and write the kind of critiques I’d like to provide as an editor.
RVC: One of the things you told my Writing Picture Book students is to cultivate patience. I’ve been thinking about that myself a good bit these days.
JY: There are two kinds of patience needed when working on any kind of writing.
The first is with yourself. Give yourself the time you need to settle into your story, to find your characters who—like recalcitrant teenagers—sometimes want to be anywhere but where you are. Or your poem, with its fish-sliding words that are difficult to catch. Or your essay or memoir or anything.
And more, you need to be patient with the publishing process should you wish to go that far. It may help to know that even those of us with books in the double and triple figures have to learn to wait.
Editors aren’t slow because they like to be mean. They’re slow because the process itself doesn’t encourage hustle. If they’re in the book business, they’re already working on lists that are two and three and four years into the future. Magazines and journals—probably three to six months ahead.
Editors are being forced to attend endless meetings, few of which have any immediate meaning for you and your work. They have their own host of complaining authors. Or they move to another publisher or magazine just when you were working on something together. Or they turn down everything you send them, almost always without comment.
Whatever the reasons for the interminable slowness, the snail-like nature of the business, it’s rarely just the author’s fault. All the editors I know read manuscripts on the subways, the trains, the ferries, the buses on their way to and from work. They take manuscripts with them on planes across the country and back again. They carry manuscript with them on vacations, to weddings, funerals, and family birthday parties. They read at night in bed, at conventions, and skip breakfast to read some more. And those are the manuscripts they have already bought! You can imagine how long it takes for them to get to the manuscripts in the piles of as-yet-unbought, even from top agents.
And then there’s the slush pile. Slush—or unsolicited manuscripts—are what’s sent out by new writers who have no agent, no contacts, no big name to drop into the letter of introduction.
But cultivating patience should never mean that you stop working. No rest between stories. And while those manuscripts are out making their rounds, getting occasional nudges from you, you are writing the next and even better piece.
I’m still learning how to write every single day.
RVC: What’s the best bit of writing advice you’ve ever received?
JY: Two things.
The first came early on in my career from an amazing editor name Francis Keene. I did about four or five books with her. She said to me: “You have great facility. Don’t be beguiled by it.” In other words, don’t just take the first thing that comes out. You’re good enough to go with the first thing that comes to mind and run with it. But just don’t leave it there.
And the second one came from Linda Zuckerman, another amazing editor. I’d written a novel for her about the Shakers entitled The Gift of Sarah Barker. Set in the 1850s, everything that happened in this novel all happened in three days.
I first showed it to my husband who read it and said, “It’s too fast.”
Then I showed it to my agent who agreed—“Three days is too fast.”
Then when Linda bought the book, she asked, “Tell me why everything happens in three days?” She asked me the question instead of telling me I was wrong. And as I was trying to explain it to her, I realized that I had imposed a fairy-tale number on a historical story. It didn’t work.
Linda then told me: “Trust your reader.” And that became the second mantra after “Don’t be beguiled by your own writing.”
RVC: Tell me about SCBWI. You got involved early. What did it mean to you? What’s its relevance today?
I am now, outside of Steve Mooser and Lin Oliver who began SCBW (the “I” came in later—at the start, it was mostly just Writers, not Illustrators), the person who’s been in the organization the longest. The person who got there before me was Sue Alexander. It wasn’t even an organization when Sue joined, just Steve and Lin saying “Hey, let’s put on a show.” They were both young, working for the same company that had hired them to put out a series of textbooks for kids. They were good writers, but neither one had ever written for children.
They looked for an organization where they could join and learn, but there was no such thing. So they started one. They put an ad in the paper, and Sue Alexander, who lived in CA (where Steve and Lin worked), was the first one to sign up. Right after that, Sue came to Colorado for a workshop Uri Shulevitz and I were doing, and she quickly became a friend of mine.
She told me about this organization, I said “How do I sign up?” I had about 6 or 7 books out at that point, so I too wanted to be in an organization with other children’s book writers.
The “group” asked me to come to California where they were going to have their first-ever event—not a conference so much as a dinner. They needed dinner speakers, so they asked Sid Fleischman and me, as we were the only two well-published children’s book authors they knew.
While I was there, they were telling me that had plans to have an actual conference. I said, “I’ll come and speak at it. But I’m in the Northeast, can I make an SCBW outpost there and have people join?” They said that I could be the first regional advisor. They hadn’t even considered having regions for the group before.
So that’s what I did. First I spoke at their dinner and then I organized the New England Region of a barely-started SCBW.
RVC: What’s the value of SCBWI today for young writers?
JY: The value is that it’s still a place that’ll tell you everything that you need to know about getting started in the children’s book field. SCBWI’s board, which I’m a part of, is full of industry insiders—writers, illustrators, art directors, editors, agents, movers and shakers. We meet twice a year, once in NY and once in LA. And we’re a working board. We’re not just an in-name-only board. We discuss everything that has to do with children’s books and publishing—from this publisher is not paying its people, this bad boy of publishing has been abusing women, or this agent ran off with money to work with larger issues as well, such as how do we help get more minorities into publishing, a yearly list of publishers’ wants, what is trending, what are the addresses for those publishers, and how do people who don’t have agents get access, those sorts of things.
It’s very much the only organization that’s hands-on in terms of helping early-career writers. And it continues to serve the writers through their apprenticeships and well into the fullness of their careers.
RVC: Any final words of wisdom for those of us who, like you, are still learning to write every single day?
JY: Don’t believe anyone’s rules. Not even mine.
Write what you want, how you want, when you want. The only rule that counts is number one: Write the damn book.
Write it because you must. Because it whispers incessantly in your ear. Because it is your passion, your desire, your constant companion. Write it because you have to.
Write it because I want to read it.
RVC: Thanks so much, Jane!
May 10, 2019 by creativewriting
An Interview with Jane Yolen
by Sydney Nicole
The Visiting Writers Forum (www.visitingwritersforum.com) at Ringling College of Art and Design has been a way for young writers like myself to hear from seasoned writing professionals such as Pulitzer-winner Robert Olen Butler and Cuban-American poet Virgil Suarez, among others. Children’s book superstar Jane Yolen kicked off the spring 2018 series, but before she took the main event, she joined me for a quick chat.
Sydney Nicole: 300+ published books is an impressive number. What’s your motivation to keep writing?
Jane Yolen: Well, possibly because at almost eighty, I don’t know anything else. I love to write. I love to find out what I’m thinking and the way I can find out what I’m thinking is to write. I also come from a family of writers. My father was a writer. My brother’s a writer, my mother was a failed writer – she sold only one short story in her entire life. But she made crossword puzzles and my great-grandfather in a small shtetl – which is a Jewish community in the old country – had an inn and he use to tell stories around the fire to people. So we are a long line of liars.
SN: Your picture book Stranded Whale deals with death. How important is it to incorporate serious topics into children’s books?
JY: I do some lightweight stuff and I do some funny stuff like Commander Toad in Space and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? But I also do serious things in picture book form. I’ve also written three Holocaust novels – my latest comes out this year – so I write everything. It’s the story that I want to tell that dictates in which sub-genre it’s going to be and how dark it’s going to be; how light it’s going be. If I start writing something in bouncing rhyme, I’m sure not going to make it into a Holocaust novel. So there are limits to the number of changes you can make in something. But when I’m writing, in the beginning, I’m not always sure what it’s going be. Sometimes I am, but most of the time I try to get my ideas down and see where they take me.
SN: A few of your books have made it onto banned books lists. What advice do you have for writers who want to write for a younger audience, but fear they may be banned?
JY: If it’s banned, you’ll sell more copies. You’ll get a lot of press and people will want to see what they’re missing. But I think if there’s a serious issue that you want to write about, you write about it. If you want to write about it because you think it’s going to make money? That’s a bad reason. You want to write with your heart. Not with your pocketbook.
SN: How has today’s current climate affected your writing?
JY: I’ve been thinking about writing a Women’s March picture book, though I have a friend who’s doing it, so I probably won’t. But I’ve been certainly writing poems about that. I think that if you look at my body of work, you’ll find a lot of feminist stuff. In fact, a book of mine that just came out last week is about the women and girls in the Hebrew Bible, a feminist take on their stories. It liberates them out of the men’s stories and lets them live on their own. So I’m always thinking of women topics.
SN: So we can expect to see more of that in your work?
JY: Yes, absolutely.
SN: I’m writing a musical about the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s going to be about a black girl who is adopted, both her parents are white and her dad is a cop and how she perceives race in today’s history.
JY: Interesting, good take. I wrote a musical – two musicals for kids. One was performed in Boston and performed again in Massachusetts. And the other one was performed in North Hampton, Massachusetts and it is that kind of cooperative venture that picture books are too.
SN: How are picture books cooperative?
JY: Your first cooperation is not only between an author and his or her words. Instead of how is that story? You say to the story, “Come on, cooperate with me.” But then you’re cooperating with an editor, then you’re cooperating with the illustrator. Then you’re cooperating with a copy editor. You’re cooperating with all the promotion people 10 who want to sell your book to teachers and librarians who want to know what you really meant in your book. Most arts are cooperative – even though we think of ourselves as this lone wolf sitting there day in and day out putting down these magnificent words on the page. But in the end—like the musical—it’s very cooperative.
SN: I’m also working with a documentary group as the writer. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the documentary film 13th, about mass incarceration in the U.S. A local elementary school showed it to a bunch of fifth graders and the students wrote spoken word poetry based off what they saw. Our goal is to capture both how they felt about the subject matter and their experience with writing poetry.
JY: So where do you want to go? Do you want to do all these things or do you want to narrow it and go after one?
SN: I kind of like everything, but right now I’m more focused on screenwriting. I’m taking a lot of screenwriting class because I like film and television, but I also want to write a musical and I like books. I’m a little all over the place.
JY: Don’t think of it as being all over the place. Think of it as being easily bored, so you want to follow your passion and never narrow yourself because you don’t know right now what you are capable of. I still don’t know now what I can’t do. I want to be able to write anything I want. Maybe excluding porn. Who knew forty years ago that I could write graphic novels – which I have. Who knew fifty years ago that I could write fiction? I thought I was a nonfiction writer and a picture book writer and suddenly I became a fiction writer as well. Who knew I could write musicals? Who knew I could write movie scripts? All of those things I did because I didn’t tell myself I couldn’t. If somebody says, “Can you do this?” my answer is always, “Yes, I can.” Maybe I can’t, but I have to find that out for myself. Don’t narrow yourself before you know what you can’t do. Let every moment be a can-do instead of a can’t-do.
About the Author:
Jane Yolen is an author of children’s books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon, The Devil’s Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? She is also a poet, a teacher of writing
and literature, and a reviewer of children’s literature.
About the Interviewer:
Sydney Nichole was born in Columbus, Ohio where she originally went to school for engineering. Instead of doing her engineering homework she found herself writing stories. Switching paths, she found herself at Ringling College of Art + Design for Creative Writing focusing on screenwriting. In her free time, she likes to do puzzles and pretend that she’s a late-night TV Show host.
Interview with JANE YOLEN
September 1, 2020 Civilian Reader InterviewAnthology, Fantasy, Jane Yolen, Midnight Circus, Tachyon Publications
133576271Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Jane Yolen?
I have been in the book making business since my first book (non-fiction) came out in 1963. But I had been in publishing before that as an editor, magazine writer, and poet.
Tachyon are due to publish your latest story collection, The Midnight Circus, in October. How would you introduce it to a potential reader?
Who knew Jane Yolen, the fairy-tale writer, author of the Commander Toad in Space books, and the How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight series, wrote dark fantasy and dark science fiction. Yet she had stories in World’s Best Horror several times over her long short story writing career. Not dark slasher fiction, but the frisson of terror, the haunt of oppression, the creak of a door where no door exists, kind of darkness.
Also I wrote 3 Holocaust novels (The Devil’s Arithmetic, Briar Rise, and Mapping The Bones). Surely those count!
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What inspired you to write the novel and series? And where do you draw your inspiration from in general?
As I have almost 400 books out, I draw inspiration from everywhere — my life, my family’s life, my next door neighbor’s open door, the bear that slept on my porch, my children’s assistant headmaster’s deaf child, my sons’ loving dinosaurs as three and four year olds, my family’s obsession with bird-watching, my house in Scotland, laddie. And reading two newspapers a day.
How were you introduced to genre fiction?
The Crypt Comics in the mid 50’s, Poe short stories, and every fairy tale, folk tale, and Arthurian story that I could get my hands on.
How do you like being a writer and working within the publishing industry?
There’s other work?????
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Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices?
Butt in chair. Write every day, If someone asks if you can do something for their publishing company or their anthology…. say yes I can. Then try. If you say no at the beginning, you may never get a second chance.
When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing? Do you still look back on it fondly?
Both my parents were writers. All their friends — and this included Will Oursler, Hemingway, James Thurber, etc. (Dad was president of the overseas Press Club as well) — were writers. So I assumed all adults were writers. They also had day jobs. My brother and I wrote a weekly “newspaper” for the apartment house in NY where we lived when we were 5 and 9. Hand wrote it and then Mom typed it up a dozen times and we sold it for 5 cents a paper back to our neighbors. I still remember! He became a newspaper man and I became… me.
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What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?
It is so vast now, I have trouble keeping up with it. But I still love what I read of it.
Do you have any other projects in the pipeline, and what are you working on at the moment?
I always have more things in the pipeline.
I am working on a middle grade novel for Tachyon which begins where Moby Dick left off. About Starbuck’s son. A bunch of picture books. Pitching Ruby Circus (odd fantasy and sf love stories), and a bunch of adult poetry books. My agent has about fifteen picture book manuscripts making the rounds, and I am about to remake an old short story into a graphic novel.
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What are you reading at the moment (fiction, non-fiction)?
Just finished the last Linda Barnes’ Boston PI novels. Re-reading Moby Dick for the novel. Cursed (collection of short stories) and about to start my son, Adam Stemple’s, novel Duster which is just out. And a bunch of research for the new novel I am working on.
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If you could recommend only one novel or book to someone, what would it be?
Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin and/or Briar Rose. Or anything by Diana Wynne Jones.
LeGuinU-E1-AWizardOfEarthseaUK2016
What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?
I’ve dog-sled in Alaska, trained on the Spanish Riding Academy’s Lippizaner horses, Maria Tallchief hung her practice tutu on my ballet school locker, and James Thurber gave me permission in writing to turn his book The White Deer into a musical.
Oh — and one of my awards for writing set my good coat on fire.
What are you most looking forward to in the next twelve months?
Something that surprises me. Like Biden winning the election handily, and a coronavirus shot.
*
Jane Yolen’s The Midnight Circus is due to be published by Tachyon Publications on October 1st, in North America and in the UK. Tachyon also publishes two of Yolen’s other short story collections — The Emerald Circus and How to Fracture a Fairy Tale; as well as two novels — The Transfigured Hart and The Last Tsar’s Dragons.
Interview of Jane Yolen, Author of 400 Books!
April 20, 2021 Kirsti Call Interviews, Interviews - Authors & Illustrators, Writing - Picture Books 36 comments
Kirsti Call: As my mentor and friend, you are an inspiration! This is your 400th book. How does it feel to make it to 400?
Jane Yolen: Not exactly a surprise since by the time we celebrated books 365-366 (Read a new book of Jane Yolen’s every day for a year–even on a leap year!) I already had 30 more booked under contract and waiting in the wings. But still a surprise, mostly that I am alive to see it happen and at 82 with a new husband and a fresh life. (My first husband died fifteen years ago.)
KC: As a marriage and family therapist, I love bibliotherapeutic books. What was the inspiration for BEAR OUTSIDE?
JY: Actually, it was not therapy. I was looking at illustrators who did great bears for a different book of mine—A BEAR SAT ON MY PORCH TODAY—different editor, different kind of picture book, different publisher—and came across Jen Corace’s website. Loved her work immediately—and there was a picture of a little girl peering out of a bear’s mouth. It wasn’t the right sensibility for PORCH, but I carried that picture in my mind for about a year before writing the story. Told it to Neal Porter, an editor I had always wanted to work with. He looked the artist up and asked her if she would illustrate the book EVEN BEFORE he told me he was buying the book!!!
KC: The first sentences of your book are: “Some folks have a lion inside,or a tiger. Not me.” What kind of animal do you have on the inside? Or do you wear your animal on the outside like your main character?
JY: I think I carry some sort of cat or horse, depending which day. Cat for comfort. Horse when I need speed.
KC: How do you balance writing and marketing your books?
JY: It’s a challenge! I adore writing. I want nothing more than to be deep inside a new book or books. But marketing means going outside of any number of my comfort zones and it takes me away from the writing. It means turning on Outside Jane and turning off Inside Jane. But I do it because it helps introduce more people, more kids, to books. I think most writers, most artists are inside, not outside people. We turn all our passion and laser focus on the story or poem or piece of art we are doing. Then we look out the bear’s mouth and go—yeah, time to see the world through bear’s eyes, speak through bear’s mouth.
KC: What advice would you give aspiring authors?
JY: Do not give up. You will get better the more you write. Ideas are everywhere, but each writer puts her or his own spin on that idea. Put your passion where your idea is. If someone rejects the story, take it and move on to the next and the next editor. Dr. Seuss’s first book was turned down by over 30 editors. And think how much the world of children’s books would have missed if he had given up. In the end, writing books for young people is not about the individual author or illustrator, it’s about the story that unfolds between book and reader (or read-to). Because stories can stick with a child for the rest of their lives. It’s an honor to be part of that!
KC: Thank you, Jane. And thanks for sharing a new bear poem with us.
Seeing Through The Bear’s Eyes
Light, like an eyeball, from the cave’s opening. Bits of green poking through the snow. Everything is waking up. The long sleep is over. I will have a meal. I will say a poem. It will be about bears, because what else matters?
@2021 Jane Yolen all rights reserved
To win a copy of this book, comment on this post. If you share on Facebook or Twitter, you get another entry. Giveaway closes in one week. US only.
Jane Yolen’s books and stories and poems have won the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, three World Fantasy Awards, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, two Golden Kite Awards, the Jewish Book Award and the Massachusetts Center for the Book award. She has also won the World Fantasy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Science Fiction Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, and the Science Fiction Poetry Associations Grand Master Award (the three together she calls the Trifecta). Plus she has won both the Association of Jewish Libraries Award and the Catholic Libraries Medal. Also the DuGrummond Medal and the Kerlan Award, and the Ann Izard story-telling award at least three times. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates for her body of work, so–she jokingly says–you could call her Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Yolen though she can’t set a leg. However, she does warn about winning too many awards as one of them set her good coat on fire. If you meet her, you can ask about that!
Exclusive Interview: “The Scarlet Circus” Author Jane Yolen
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By Paul Semel
Post date
February 15, 2023
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With The Scarlet Circus (paperback, Kindle), fantasy writer Jane Yolen is releasing the third in a series of short story collections that started with 2017’s The Emerald Circus, and continued in 2020 with The Midnight Circus. In the following email interview, Yolen discusses what kind of stories she included in Scarlet, and why it may be the end of this series.
Jane Yolen The Scarlet Circus
For starters, is there an underlying theme that connects the stories in The Scarlet Circus?
To understand where The Scarlet Circus comes from, you need to know the earlier Circus collections from Tachyon — The Emerald Circus and The Midnight Circus — each had their own themes. By the time I got around to this collection, the idea to do a book of romance stories was a no-brainer…except…except I didn’t think that I had published enough of those kinds of stories to fill out a collection. And yet here I was, a woman who had two successful marriages (with a long widowed-hood pause between), and so most people should have assumed that I had a load of love stories in my past.
Well, yes, love poems galore. Several love novels (mostly based on folk and fairy tales). Lyrics for love songs for a variety of bands as well. But I was certain I had only one or two love short stories at most.
When you realized a theme was emerging, what made you run with it as opposed to turning against it?
Why the certainty? Two reasons. First, I am eighty-four and have been publishing short stories since the early 1970s. Second, I have published 418 books along the way, with 37 others accepted by publishers large and small; books for children, teens, and adults that range from nonfiction to fiction to easy readers, science fiction, fantasy, poetry collections, short-story collections, and anthologies. I write a poem each day and send it to about a thousand subscribers. So, if you do the math and factor in my age, it becomes laughingly clear that I have forgotten a good third or more of what I have published over the years.
My daughter Heidi is my PA (I call her my “Other Memory”), and she helped me locate a lot of the stories in this volume. She lives next door and says that she has “the easiest commute in the world.” And that includes New England winters.
Aside from having to fit the theme, what other parameters did the stories in The Scarlet Circus have to fit?
The three parameters for choosing the stories were: They had to be about love, romance, marriage; suitable for both teens and adults; and written by me. That’s all.
What was not considered? Any story that had been in a previous Circus series collection.
So are there any stories in The Scarlet Circus that were either inspired by or influenced by a writer who you’d say is not a fundamental influence on your style as a whole, but did influence this one story?
My literary influences were as they have almost always been folk and fairy tales.
Also, such writers as Peter Beagle, Charles de Lint, Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia McKillip, Terri Windling, Isak Dinesen…if I could be considered in their midst, I might try to write for eighty-four more years.
How about non-literary influences; were any of the stories in The Scarlet Circus influenced by any movies or TV shows?
I don’t think so. Mostly what I watch on TV is the news.
Jane Yolen The Scarlet Circus
Finally, is there anything else you think people should know about The Scarlet Circus?
I think this may be the last of the collections, at least for a while. Not that I have run out of short stories, but I am out of ideas for collections.
Interview With an Author: Jane YolenDaryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library, Thursday, March 2, 2023
Author Jane Yolen and her latest novel, The Scarlet Circus
Author Jane Yolen and her latest novel, The Scarlet Circus
Jane Yolen is the author of more than four hundred books, including children's fiction, poetry, short stories, graphic novels, nonfiction, fantasy, and science fiction. Her publications include Owl Moon, The Devil’s Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship, and Sister Light, Sister Dark. Among her many honors are the Caldecott and Christopher Medals and multiple Nebula, World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Golden Kite, and Jewish Book awards. Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. She lives in Western Massachusetts and St Andrews, Scotland. Her latest book is The Scarlet Circus and she recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What inspired you to collect some of your short fiction into these themed collections: The Emerald Circus, How to Fracture a Fairy Tale, The Midnight Circus, The Scarlet Circus?
I have a LOT of short stories sitting in old magazines, old collections, old anthologies. I began to reread some of them, wondering if any might grow into a novel, and realized—"Hey! This should be in a collection of stories with a similar kind of vibe or theme." Having been an editor myself—five years at Knopf children's books, nine years of MY own SF/fantasy imprint at Harcourt—that's a POV that never leaves me.
What is your process for putting together these collections? Do you choose a theme (fairy tales, dark stories, romance) and then look for stories to include, or do you approach it in a different way? How do you decide which of your stories will be included?
I already know the kinds of stuff I write, so the first two books were easy to put together, although occasionally (as I was rereading through my old stuff) a story I had forgotten had just the right vibes for the collection I was working on. Although both the horror collection, The Midnight Circus, and the romance volume,The Scarlet Circus, both surprised me, as I would have said—before researching my old stuff—that I had not written that kind of story. Shows how wrong one can be about old pieces (and even some more recent ones).
You've published more than four hundred books of a lot of different types (picture books, fiction and nonfiction for children and adults, short stories, poetry, and graphic novels, to name a few). Is there a format or type that you prefer over the others?
Picture books are front and center here. I am basically a poet, and most picture books (at least, the ones I write) are extended poems. Not necessarily rhymed, but certainly lyrical.
In your introduction for The Scarlet Circus, you describe how you initially claimed that you didn't write stories about sports, cowboys, or romance and then prove that that claim was wrong. Is there a genre or type of story that you haven't yet written? Is there one that you want to try?
After searching for stories for these collections, I found out that I have written several sports picture books, one cowboy picture book, and (it turns out) a collection's worth of romance. I have done several children's middle-grade books that are either quasi- or full-on mystery novels. Two verse novels, one of which is not published...yet...and a hefty bunch of nonfiction books for both kids and adults. No adult memoir, or at least no recognizable one, although I have been thinking about it. Several of my pix books include true or semi-true stories about my life, my father's family's life in Ukraine, and my mother's family's life in Virginia. My children's life growing up. Owl Moon is a kind of romanticized and lyrical picture book about my late husband, who used to take our children owling. The child in the book is my daughter, Heidi. I once asked my agent if I should write under a pen name or two. She laughed and wisely said, "Too late!"
In your introduction to How to Fracture a Fairy Tale, you state that one of your awards set your good coat on fire! What happened?
I had just won the Boston (Boskone) science fiction award—the Skylark—for body of work in SF/fantasy. It was a wooden plinth, atop which sat a magnifying glass. Took it home...it was a dismal New England February day...and set it on my large kitchen table, which is pushed up against a large picture window, so I could look at the award again and again. The next morning, coming downstairs, I smelled something burning and thought that I must have left the stove on— but NO!!! It was suddenly a gorgeous February morning, and the sun shone fiercely through the window, through the magnifying glass, and onto my good Scottish woolen coat, which was now smoldering and on fire. After a second's delay, I beat the fire out with wet towels and then called Bruce Coville, who had been the person who handed me the award in Boston. I told him the story and then added, "I am going to put this award where the sun doesn't shine"—and there was a long hollow silence from his end. I began to giggle. "I didn't say that!" I said and hung up, just as my husband came down the stairs to find out what was going on. But I do, indeed, keep that award where the sun doesn't shine. Not stupid here!
How did you settle on the circus theme for this series? What are your plans for this series? Will there be more collections in the future?
I didn't plan more than that book. It won an award. The publisher was interested in a second. It won an award, too. (No magnifying glasses.) So, the series of books just happened. I think that this is the last one.
What's currently on your nightstand?
Someone Else’s Shoes by Ellen Wittlinger, a dear friend who just died way too early. I am rereading all her middle-grade fiction I can get my hands on. She was a member of my critique group and died very suddenly a few weeks ago [in November 2022].
Can you name your top five favorite or most influential authors?
Emily Dickinson, William Butler Yeats, Diana Wynne Jones, Gregory McGuire, Patricia McKillip. I could add a dozen more.
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Alice in Wonderland.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
The horror comics I borrowed from a school friend and read in the bathroom with the doors locked when I was a teen,
Is there a book you've faked reading?
NO! But there are books I did not finish, and books I stopped partway in, and books I will never read again.
Can you name a book you've bought for the cover?
Only if you mean including the cover lap copy!
Is there a book that changed your life?
Possibly my college reading of everything Dostoyevsky wrote.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
Besides Alice in Wonderland? The complete Emily Dickinson poems and the complete Yeats poems? Possibly War and Peace, but be sure to make yourself a list of all the names, surnames, pet names, and family names of the characters—otherwise, getting through the first one hundred pages is almost impossible.
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
Moby Dick.
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, tv, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
My friend Ruth Sanderson’s award-winning scratchboard pictures.
What is your idea of THE perfect day (where you could go anywhere/meet with anyone)?
The start of a new book as I sit in my upstairs office, looking over the slated roof of my barn and garage in Massachusetts. Or a lovely cool summer day, reading a book in the back garden of my Scottish house.
What is the question that you're always hoping you'll be asked, but never have been? What is your answer?
"Are you ever going to stop writing?" My answer: "Are you ever going to stop breathing?"
What are you working on now?
A book of teen/adult wonderland stories and poems (and yes, they have been seen and not taken by Tachyon). A verse novel about the Lowell Mill Girls. A book of poems with my new husband (I am about to turn 84, he's about to turn 86) that's about the aging process, plus several picture books, and the libretto for three different musical projects with three different composers.
Interview with JANE YOLEN
Please welcome the prolific and multi-award-winning novelist, Jane Yolen. When I first read that you had published four hundred books, I had to do a double-take. You read that correctly, 400 books. That is amazing. And in addition to that, she has one some incredibly coveted awards including the Caldecott and Nebula awards. So, without further ado, let’s jump to my first question:
Do you have a secret that makes you so productive?
Want to know my secret? BIC.
That’s right. BIC. Butt in chair. There is no other single thing that will help you more to become a writer.
William Faulkner said: “I write only when I’m inspired. Fortunately I’m inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.”
How do you find the time to write so much?
There is no such thing as the time fairy dropping bits of time for aspiring writers to trip over or find. If you want to be a writer, you find or make or grab or take time from whatever else is going on. Otherwise you really don’t want to be a writer, you just want to have written.
Did you set out to be a romance writer?
I would not have thought of myself as a writer of romance . . . except when I began putting together a series of collections of my many fantasy and science fiction stories. I had done various kinds (adventures, horror, etc.) and was now up to love stories, thinking that I would never have enough to fill a volume. And then, I discovered that I had written a number of classic romance stories along the way for magazines, anthologies, and collections. (I have been publishing since the early 1960s.)
So, the stories in the book are not new, but never all seen together before, and I wrote them each at different times in my life.
But even though they’re stories far apart in settings and the amount of love (good or bad and have either science fiction or fantasy as the bedrock), I think you can still hear my distinctive voice.
What is your writing style?
I tend to write lyrically, since I have been a published poet since High School days and now not only write a poem a day for subscribers, but I also have poetry published in small magazines and have a verse novel out (FINDING BABA YAGA (from Tor). Plus I have about a dozen small books of poetry published, ranging from love poems to political satire to fairy tales. And for a kicker–I write librettos for operas, lyrics for bands.
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Do you draw on your life experience for your writing?
I have been married twice, those two wonderful commitments interrupted by a long widowhood and some truly awful dating years.
So, I realized—only latterly—that some of what I wrote as love stories could just as easily have turned into horror stories, but as I have been told by each of my wonderful husbands, I guess I am a total romantic. Just that the partners in these stories are sometimes fey, sometimes birds, or unworldly creatures. Kings, queens, mermaids, mermen, dragons, shapeshifters . . . and the like. I think of them as polished metaphors from my many years of writing fairy tales!
So, YMMV, as we used to say. Your Mileage May Vary. Mine certainly seems to. And as each story is accompanied in the back matter by an often truly romantic poem, maybe you are getting a goodly amount of romance from a single book here. I only know that it was a surprise to me, so hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise to you.
Do you have any words of wisdom for writers?
No, but I have seven rules:
1. Write every day.
2. Write what interests you.
3. Write for the child inside of you. (Or the adult, if you are writing adult books.)
4. Write with honest emotion.
5. Be careful of being facile.
6. Be wary of preaching.
7. Be prepared for serendipity.
Finally I would remind you of something that Churchill told a group of school boys: “Never give up. Never give up. Never, never, never give up.”
In and Out the Window, An Interview with Author Jane Yolen
March 18, 2024 by Karen Jensen, MLS Leave a Comment
If you asked me to name some of the greats of children’s and YA literature, Jane Yolen would be at the top of that list. Today, it is my honor to share and interview that I got to have with the renowned author.
Briar Rose, published in 1992, just as I was beginning my career as a Teen Librarian
First, let me say this, I am such a huge fan of your writing. I’ve been a youth/teen librarian for 30 years now. One of the most profound reading experiences I had was reading Briar Rose. It’s such hauntingly beautiful writing. It is an honor to get to interview you, truly.
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Question 1: Your new book, In and Out the Window, is a collection of poetry, a combination of new and previously published works. When putting together a large poetry collection like this, how do you go about choosing what gets included? What represents you and what you’re trying to say? How many poems, for example, did you start with and how many ended up getting published in this volume?
JY: My editor, Jill Santopolo came to me with the idea. This isn’t typical, but we writers take what we can get and when an editor brings an idea to you, that is pure gold. (Well—a few sheckles anyway!) She wanted a book of about 150 poems for middle grade readers. I asked, in return, could they be both new and published poems,and when she said yes, I began.
I had been writing a poem a day and sending them to about a thousand readers for eighteen years. Mostly adult poems. But often a poem can work for kids as well as adults. Also, I have had several dozen books of poems for that age already published, and some of my novels have children’s poems in them. So, I set about finding those first, then made lists of subject matter for poems I didn’t have.
And then I stopped. I knew I had to have a plan, not just a bunch of unrelated poems—something to link them together. Just as a novel needs a plot, a book of poems needs an arc that works from beginning to end. I thought about format and kept hearing an old childhood song in my head: “Go in and out the window….” I talked with my editor Jill and she was on board with the idea.
Question 2: What is the significance of the title, In and Out the Window?
JY: The significance to me was, first, the breadth it afforded me. Poems about childhood inside and outside. YES. Poems about families. YES. School and school subjects. YES. Sports. YES. I was head of the girls’ basketball team in high school; I rode Lippizanner horses; I had done fourteen years in George Balanchine’s American School of Ballet. In college I was a fencer. Yeah, I liked sports. But I was also a big reader, an early writer, a poetry lover from elementary school on. This book had everything for me.
So, I began rounding up previously published poems, and making distinctions for the various sections of the book.
Question 3: Do you have a favorite, or a couple of favorites, poems in this collection?
JY: I don’t know the complete answer to that….yet. Though the one about MLK is a favorite. It was first published in an anthology for kids.
Question 4: You are prolific in writing both prose and poetry. For young writers and readers, what is the difference in writing these types of projects? In reading?
JY: Poetry is my emotional go-to place and that includes writing song lyrics (operas, folk songs and pop songs). Longer books are harder…not because they are longer, which is hard enough, but revision takes forever, and I want to move on to another project. I have the soul of a poet, but as an ex-editor myself, I have the heart of a reviser.
Question 5: You write for a wide variety of age ranges, which seems like it must be challenging. Do you sit down with each new project knowing the purpose, scope, topic and age, or does it somehow develop organically?
JY: Both and neither. It depends on the project. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have begun In and Out the Window on my own, but it was handed to me on a golden platter.
I have written all the ways possible: at midnight sitting up in bed with an idea, working on one book that leads to a different one, being asked by an editor for a particular kind of book, being asked to contribute to an anthology on a particular subject (both prose and poetry anthologies, adult and children’s anthologies).
Question 6: When you were a kid, which writers and poets spoke to you?
JY: Lewis Carol’s Alice books, anything about King Arthur, books about ancient days, the Oz books (though later I realized the prose was as flat as Kansas).
Question 7: What poetry is speaking to you now? Is there anything you would recommend to readers who love your work?
JY: My two favorite poets are still Emily Dickinson and William Butler Yeats. No one even comes close. But I do read a lot of poetry and certain poems stick….
Question 8: Let’s talk about feedback from young readers. When kids read your books and talk to you about your poetry, what are they saying? What poems do they mention? What type of feedback do they give you about poetry itself in their lives?
JY: Occasionally, a young reader/writer will send me a poem and very often it is as good or better than some of the adult poems I am sent, because they are real and true to that child and not overloaded with poetry someone has made them learn by heart.
Question 9: If you could be remembered for just one poem, which one would it be?
JY: That’s tough. Let me say it would be a poem from one of three books: In and Out the Window, Kaddish (which is an adult book of adult poems about the Holocaust which won the Sophie Brodie Medal), or the book Owl Moon, which is a picture book but is, itself, a full poem.
Question 10: In a time when parents and legislators are debating the role that books and literature has in the life of kids and we are seeing a lot of book banning happening, what would you like to share with kids/parents/readers about the importance of and power of books in young lives?
JY: We should allow children as well as adults to read the books, the stories, the poems that they want to read and make their own decisions about the worth of those books and poems. The more we read, the broader our worldview gets. That’s as true for children as it is for adults.
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About the author: Jane Yolen was born and raised in New York City and now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts and Mystic, Connecticut. She graduated from Smith College and received her master’s degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. She has six honorary doctorates from New England colleges and universities for her body of work. The distinguished author of well over four hundred books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. Many of Yolen’s stories and poems are rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1968 for its intricate paper-cut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen’s relationship with her late father, who was the international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr’s exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband’s interest in birding. You can visit Jane Yolen online at JaneYolen.com or follow her on Facebook at Facebook.com/JaneYolen.
About the book: For the first time, legendary author Jane Yolen gathers the largest single anthology of her poetry celebrating childhood. At home or at school, playing sports or practicing music, enjoying the holidays or delighting in each season, Jane Yolen’s masterful collection shows just how lively it is to be a kid. With whimsical artwork by Cathrin Peterslund, this collection of more than one hundred poems is a classic that children are sure to return to again and again.
With over 400 books published, Jane Yolen is one of the most acclaimed and prolific authors in children’s literature. From her groundbreaking novella The Devil’s Arithmetic to the picture book classic Owl Moon, Yolen’s works are staples in classrooms of all ages and across the world. Educators and families who enjoy her work will delight in adding this extensive volume to their bookshelves.
The poems in In and Out the Window focus on the big and small moments kids experience day-to-day making this a relatable and accessible introduction to poetry. With delightful black-and-white artwork throughout from Cathrin Peterslund, this anthology from is reminiscent of classic children’s poetry collections, such as those by Shel Silverstein.
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? JANE YOLEN, ILLUS. BY MARK TEAGUE, Scholastic/Blue Sky, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 0-439-24102-2
Echoing the tone and look of How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?, these collaborators' latest guide to dino etiquette offers a jaunty comedy of errors, er, table manners. In the first half, against spare backdrops with a 1950s feel, dinosaurs behave kid-pleasingly naughtily when their human parents serve them meals. As Yolen's rhyming narrative asks questions ("How does a dinosaur eat all his food? Does he burp, does he belch, or make noises quite rude?"), Teague's illustrations provide affirmative answers, comically capturing the dining dinos' antics: one is covered in spaghetti after throwing his plate into the air, another blows bubbles in his milk glass and a third lies on the floor, happily sticking beans up his nose. The tables turn in the second half, when narrative and pictures offer Miss Manners alternatives while revisiting the same prehistoric heroes. One willingly says "Please" and "Thank you" (while wearing a bib) and another "tries every new thing, at least one small bite. He makes no loud noises--that isn't polite." Young dinosaur fans will enjoy encountering novel characters here (all labeled on the endpapers), as Teague has invited an unusual array of species to this tasty feast. Ages 3-5. (Sept.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 PWxyz, LLC
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"How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?" Publishers Weekly, vol. 252, no. 29, 25 July 2005, p. 74. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A134678605/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1d2bb741. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
YOLEN, Jane & HAYDEN, Patrick Nielsen, eds. The year's best science fiction and fantasy for teens. Tor. 288p. c2005. 978-0765-31384-3. $12.95. JSA*
Eleven stories all copyrighted in 2004 (except Rudyard Kipling's "They") are gathered in this collection. It starts well with Kelly Link's "The Faery Handbag," about a girl who inherits (and then loses) her grandmother's handbag, which also forms a magical link to the land of the fairies. The trouble is her boyfriend just recently went through it. Delia Sherman's "CATNYP" is also excellent. In it, the "fairy" version of the New York Public Library has a living card catalog named CATNYP. Rudyard Kipling's inclusion is well introduced and proves that even his old stories are still above average. It ends with a bang with Bradley Denton's "Sergeant Chip," about a canine "officer" during the Vietnam War. Appended is an honor roll of other good 2004 stories, as well as short notes on the contributors.
It is nice to finally have one of these compilations just for teens. It was a long time coming! Just wish the cover art and design better reflected how exciting the stories are. It looks too old-fashioned--but this is a collection that will serve well to introduce students to the best that SF and fantasy have to offer. Sherry Hoy, Media Spec., Tuscarora JHS, Mifflintown, PA
J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.
S--Recommended for senior high school students.
A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.
*--The asterisk highlights exceptional books.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 Kliatt
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Hoy, Sherry. "Yolen, Jane & Hayden, Patrick Nielsen, eds. The year's best science fiction and fantasy for teens." Kliatt, vol. 39, no. 4, July 2005, p. 32. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A134313446/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a9c59388. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
YOLEN, Jane & STEMPLE, Adam. Pay the piper. (A Rock 'n Roll Fairy Tale.) Tor, Starscape. 176p. c2005. 0-765-31158-5. $16.95. J
In this updated retelling of the tale of the Pied Piper, the piper is a rock 'n roll legend named Gringras, who is the lead singer of the band Brass Rat. Gringras is also, it turns out, a Faerie prince, exiled by his father for killing his older brother. As punishment, he is required to pay his father a teind, or tithe, every seven years of "silver, gold, or souls." Seven years are almost up when Brass Rat comes to perform in 14-year-old Callie's hometown. She wrangles a press pass from the student newspaper to hear them play and to meet the band; she also overhears an argument about payment for the concert, which doesn't seem to be forthcoming. The next night, Halloween, Callie is at home working on her newspaper story when she learns that every child in town has mysteriously vanished--including her younger brother. Now it's up to her to figure out how to break the curse of the teind and retrieve the children from the land of Faerie.
This swift and entertaining read, co-authored by a noted fantasy writer and her musician/writer son, skillfully blends ancient magic with music and contemporary teen life. A second book in the series, The Troll Bridge, is promised. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT
J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 Kliatt
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Rohrlick, Paula. "Yolen, Jane & Stemple, Adam. Pay the piper." Kliatt, vol. 39, no. 4, July 2005, p. 17. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A134313378/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=530d6c64. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane & Patrick Nielsen Hayden-Eds. THE YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY FOR TEENS Tot (288 pp.) $17.95 paper $12.95 May 1, 2005 ISBN: 0-765-31383-9 paper: 0-765-31384-7
Opening with the opinion that a separate literature for teens is superfluous, but heigh-ho, here's an addition to it, Yolen proceeds to offer, with Hayden, 11 tales written by a mix of veterans and rising stars. They include five reprints from 2004 anthologies marketed to young adults, and a century-old entry from Rudyard Kipling and feature ghosts, magical creatures, futuristic tech, alternate realities and, usually but not always, young folk. It's not a total wash, as several entries are drawn from paper or online magazines, the intros add spot-on recommendations for further reading (enhanced by an Honor Roll at the end), and contributions do include both a strong, heartbreaking closer narrated by a canine soldier and Delia Sherman's "CATNYP," a romp set in The New York Public Library. However, the Kipling is a serious mistake, as the subtlety of its language and the quality of its storytelling make all of the stories before and after look like journeyman work. Strictly additional. (Short stories. 11-15)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane & Patrick Nielsen Hayden--Eds. The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 73, no. 9, 1 May 2005, p. 549. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A132353813/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4ce0dc41. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep JANE YOLEN AND HEIDI E. Y. STEMPLE, ILLUS. BY BROOKE DYER. HarperCollins, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-081560-8
Dyer (Mama Always Comes Home), herself the daughter of illustrator Jane Dyer, joins the mother-daughter team of Yolen and Stemple (previously paired for The Salem Witch Trials) to celebrate the joys of a long, cozy wintertime snooze. With a sleeping human child as the framing character, the authors visit the homes of 12 hibernating, pleasingly anthropormorphized animals. (The final page reveals that all the animals have a corresponding stuffed toy representative on the child's bed.) Each gets its own lullaby-like verse. For a girly skunk asleep in her boudoir, the authors write, "Snore, little skunk, snore,/ Turn over, snore some more./ The winter winds may howl and wail;/ Your den is closed with snow and hail./ But you know spring will never fail./Snore, little skunk, snore." Dyer's consistently adorable watercolors especially stand out when she finds comic inspiration in the hallmark qualities of her animal cast. A beaver sleeps in a hard hat, surrounded by blueprints for next year's dams; the normally frenetic chipmunk snoozes in a track suit, gripping the shoestrings of his running shoes. Sweet and warmly comforting, this is the picture book equivalent of a cup of hot cocoa. Ages 2-6. (Feb.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2006 PWxyz, LLC
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"Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep." Publishers Weekly, vol. 253, no. 50, 18 Dec. 2006, p. 61. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A156551741/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=76116f78. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane and Stemple, Heidi E. Y. Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters. Illus. by Philippe Beha. 2006. 224p. Interlink, $24.95 (1-56656-543-6). K-Gr. 3.
From prehistoric times, stories and food have been "close companions," say Yolen and her daughter, who contributed the recipes in this creative book, which folds fairy tales into a cookbook of kid-friendly recipes. The stories, with the exception of one original story by Yolen, represent mostly European folktales, and Yolen retells them with her usual verve and ease. The tales are divided into four sections (breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert), and each story is paired with at least one recipe that connects with the story's themes or references. For example, "Cinderella" inspires a recipe for pumpkin tarts, and "The Runaway Pancake" is matched with instructions for, naturally, "Runaway Pancakes." Stemple's recipes require adult supervision, but the resulting dishes, as well as Beha's spare, whimsical spot illustrations, will capture children's fancy. Detailed marginalia greatly enhance both the folktales and the food sections of this charming offering, which the whole family will appreciate. For more about cooking with kids, suggest Molly Katzen's Salad People and More Real Recipes (2005) and the titles featured in the Read-alikes "Kids in the Kitchen," in Booklist's October 15, 2005, issue.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2006 American Library Association
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Engberg, Gillian. "Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters." Booklist, vol. 103, no. 5, 1 Nov. 2006, p. 62. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A154690667/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=03e81bdc. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
YOLEN, Jane & Adam Stemple. Troll bridge; a rock 'n' roll fairy tale. Tor, Starscape. 240p. c2006. 0-765-31426-6. $16.95. J *
Noted fantasy author Yolen and her musician/writer son follow their first updated fairy tale novel, Pay the Piper, with this fast and funny story that combines elements from "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" as well as Scandinavian troll legends. Our heroine is an intrepid 16-year-old harpist named Moira. She has been chosen to be a Dairy Princess in a Minnesota town that has an old state fair tradition of selecting girls to be honored in this fashion and carving their likenesses in butter for display on the Trollholm Bridge. However, when Moira and the other princesses show up to be photographed at the bridge, a huge wall of water rises up, along with a monstrous creature, and they are all transported to a magical realm. At the same time, three teenage brothers who are members of a popular boy band take off for a well-deserved break, only to end up in the same strange place. Moira and the boys must resolve an ancient feud between a devious fox and a terrible troll over ownership of a magical fiddle in order to rescue the other girls and themselves. Suspense and humor will keep fantasy fans turning the pages in this action-packed feminist take on traditional fairy tales--it's great fun. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2006 Kliatt
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Rohrlick, Paula. "Yolen, Jane & Adam Stemple. Troll bridge; a rock 'n' roll fairy tale." Kliatt, vol. 40, no. 4, July 2006, p. 16. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148564141/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c6c437c6. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane DIMITY DUCK Illus. by Sebastien Braun Philomel (32 pp.) $15.99 May 1, 2006 ISBN: 0-399-24532-01
A minor tome from a major author recounts a day of play between duck and frog. In this simple story, perhaps the most imaginative bit is the naming of the characters, pretty little Dimity Duck, named after an old-fashioned fabric, and googly-eyed Frumity Frog, named after a Yuletide dessert of grains and spices. Dimity rises from her cottage in the morning (it looks like it rests on a lily pad) and goes to the pond in search of breakfast and her friend Frumity. She eats, they play, it grows late and she heads back home to tuck herself in and go to bed. The rhyme does occasionally go thunk, and the language slips a bit into the cutesy: "Dimity Duck waddles / she toddles / and she sings. / Giggle-gaggle / goes her / tail / and whoosh! / go her / wings." A lot of play with type goes on as the text mimics the action, dipping, jumping and toddling. Braun, with his gumdrop colors, creates a sweet fluffy duckling and a silly funny frog, as well as flowers, insects, pondscape and ribbons galore. (Picture book 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2006 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: Dimity Duck." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 74, no. 8, 15 Apr. 2006, p. 419. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A145571508/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c5093466. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane. Count Me a Rhyme: Animal Poems by the Numbers. Illus. by Jason Stemple. 2006.32p. Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $17.95 (1-59078-345-X). 811.
Gr. 3-5. This handsome number-themed book of poetry and photography looks to nature for inspiration. Stemple's color photos of animals in the wild represent the numbers from 1 to 10 and the concept "many." Each photo fills a wide, double-page spread, forming the backdrop as well as the inspiration for the poems, which are succinct, sometimes witty, and well suited to reading aloud. Words and symbols and numerals related to the number enrich each spread. For example, "Nine Swallows: A Haiku" ("Nine little swallows, / Like notes on a music staff, / Wait to sing their songs") appears against the Wedgwood-blue sky of a photo of nine birds sitting on a high wire. Printed in light blue and white are the words NONET, novena, and ninth and the numerals 9 and IX. Some of the photographs are notable for their clarity, others for their subtlety, but all represent their subjects with sensitivity and finesse. A worthy companion to the author's Color Me a Rhyme (2000).--Carolyn Phelan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2006 American Library Association
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Phelan, Carolyn. "Yolen, Jane. Count Me a Rhyme: Animal Poems by the Numbers." Booklist, vol. 102, no. 15, 1 Apr. 2006, pp. 38+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A144873361/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1261b25f. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
This Little Piggy. Ed. by Jane Yolen. Illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Musical arrangements by Adam Stemple. Mar. 2006. 80p. Candlewick, $19.99 (0-7636-1348-7). 398.8.
PreS. Collections of children's rhymes and songs, lap games and finger plays, are in no short supply--Marc Brown's compilations of the 1980s and Zita Newcome's Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (2003) represent just a few of the many in print--but this assured presentation by Yolen, who charmingly notes that "the lap is a kind of schoolroom," is likely to emerge as the most authoritative. Many of the entries in Yolen's much briefer Lap Time Song and Play (1989) are duplicated here, but this boasts a broader scope (more than 60 interactive chants, rhymes, and songs) and a gorgeously crafted package, similar to Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells' Mother Goose Library. Annotations about each poem's provenance and instructions to parents appear in smaller type, while the poems themselves, arrayed with Hillenbrand's zestful, pig-themed illustrations, squarely target children. The selections range from the tried-and-true, such as "Eensy Weensy Spider," to the rarely seen, such as "A Gentleman of Wales," although some in the latter category, rich in early English colloquialisms and less-than-infectious rhythms, seem of more historical than practical interest. But given the collection's broad scope, families will inevitably emerge with new playtime standbys, and its many aesthetic rewards offer ample motivation to keep turning the pages. An accompanying CD provides jaunty interpretations of Stemple's piano-and-guitar arrangements for the songs.--Jennifer Mattson
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2006 American Library Association
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Mattson, Jennifer. "This Little Piggy." Booklist, vol. 102, no. 9-10, 1 Jan. 2006, p. 93. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A141752532/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=74c6c0e0. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane BABY BEAR'S CHAIRS Illus. by Melissa Sweet Gulliver/Harcourt (40 pp.) $16.00 Sep. 1, 2005 ISBN: 0-15-205114-7
A wee bruin extols, in sly Goldilocks fashion, the virtues of the various sized chairs in his house. With longing, the little bear describes the perks that go along with being able to fit into the larger seats, from big bears who get to stay up late--without naps--to medium-sized bears who can bound around on their "middling" proportioned furniture with great ease. While Yolen's jaunty tale taps into the universal desire of all tots to grow up quickly, she concludes on a winsome note, gently encouraging little ones to savor being just their size. Snug within the safe harbor of Papa's lap at the end of the day, little bear lays claim to the best chair in the house. Yolen's verses swing along in an easy, playful rhythm that is perfectly suited for read-aloud sessions with small or large groups. Sweet's mixed-media-and-watercolor collages continue the whimsical theme of the tale. Her renderings of the bear family home, cluttered with toys and homemade drawings taped to the walls, will be readily recognizable to young readers. A cozy and comforting send-off to slumber. (Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: Baby Bear's Chairs." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 73, no. 16, 15 Aug. 2005, p. 925. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A135662430/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=163b81f7. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Jane Yolen How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?; illus. by Mark Teague 40 pp. Blue Sky/Scholastic 9/05 ISBN 0-439-24102-2 $15.99 g (Preschool)
Is going to a restaurant with a hyper three-year-old much different from doing so with a giant pterosaur? According to Yolen and Teague's latest addition to their How Do Dinosaurs ... series, the Quetzalcoatlus was also prone to embarrassing its parents by tipping over chairs and getting crumbs everywhere. This amusing lesson in table manners depicts various other prehistoric reptiles spitting out broccoli, making bubbles in milk, and sticking beans in their nostrils, much to the dismay of their human morns and dads. As usual, Teague incorporates the scientific name of each expressively drawn beast into his paintings, and Yolen's series of questions about how a dinosaur should act ("Does he fuss, does he fidget, or squirm in his chair? Does he flip his spaghetti high into the air?") has a pleasing rhyme. The contrast between the human-sized setting and the super-sized main characters is once again strikingly comical, as when the Lambeosaurus, encouraged to take "at least one small bite" of something new, holds a tiny teaspoon of food in front of its massive head. Young dinosaur fans will eat this up and, taking a cue from the polite Spinosaurus, ask for more. C.M.H.
g indicates that the book was read in galley or page proof. The publisher's price is the suggested retail price and does not indicate a possible discount to libraries. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Heppermann, Christine M. "Jane Yolen: How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?" The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 81, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2005, pp. 571+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A135817549/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b777d816. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Pay the Piper: A Rock 'n' Roll Fairy Tale JANE YOLEN AND ADAM STEMPLE. Tor/ Starscape, $16.95 (176p) ISBN 0-765-31158-5
The tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin gets a modern makeover at the hands of this mother-son team. Calcephony McCallan (who goes by Callie, shortening the name given to her by her ex-hippie parents) finds out that the popular band, Brass Rat, is playing a show in her town the night before Halloween. Knowing her now-strict parents won't let her go, the 14-year-old persuades her journalism teacher to let her write an article on the concert. But Callie doesn't count on her parents being Brass Rat fans, and insisting that the whole family attend. While there, Callie gets swept up in the music, but not so much so that she is deaf to a strange comment made by bandleader Alabas when the band does not get paid for the gig: "He must send silver or gold or souls Under the Hill. Human souls. To pay off a blood guilt, a teind. And if he does not, he will grow as old as any who walks upon the earth...." When the children in town, including Callie's younger brother, Nick, disappear on Halloween, she knows that Alabas is behind their disappearance. She must find the band and the children, and then unravel the curse that keeps Alabas in exile from the magical land of Faerie. Yolen and Stemple's respective authorial and musical backgrounds are at their best when describing Alabas's haunting, musical reminiscences about the path that led him to exile. But despite the promise of this modern concept, the narrative occasionally digresses into exposition (e.g., as when Callie explains to readers that "teind" means tithe: "in church to tithe meant 'to give a part of one's income, a kind of tax, for good causes' ") which detracts from this land of enchantment. Ages 10-up.
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"Pay the Piper: A Rock 'n' Roll Fairy Tale." Publishers Weekly, vol. 252, no. 31, 8 Aug. 2005, p. 235. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A135079969/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e04d178e. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SOFT HOUSE Illus. by Wendy Anderson Halperin Candlewick (32 pp.) $15.99 Sep. 1, 2005 ISBN: 0-7636-1697-4
Who better to illustrate a tale with this title than Halperin? Furthermore, Yolen tells it as sweet as summer rain, and as directly, in this beguiling package. A small boy and his older sister are out of sorts on a rainy day. Alison Isabelle suggests Davey's favorite game, to build a nest of pillows and blankets they call Soft House. But Alison hates to go up the dark stairway alone to fetch supplies. Davey takes Mr. Cat and makes the trip, even though Alison has to go after them when they take too long. So they make the house, with a flashlight for illumination and a plate of cookies from Mama. Halperin plays her usual beautiful game of pretty pattern and gentle but never wimpy color: sometimes in full-spread, beautifully detailed pencil and watercolor, sometimes in multiple panels like graphic novels or altarpieces. Not only excellent for sharing such a construction with a whole reading audience, but for its sly lesson about how "you can't be scared when you have a little brother to take care of." (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: Soft House." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 73, no. 14, 15 July 2005, p. 797. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A134680606/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=72f422ae. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Here's a Little Poem. Ed. by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters. Illus. by Polly Dunbar. 2007. 112p. Candlewick, $21.99 (97807636314131). 81. PreS.
With lots of hugs and kisses, as well as messy nonsense and uproarious action, this big, spacious anthology of more than 60 poems is a wonderful first book to read with babies and toddlers over and over again. As with nursery rhymes, the sounds of the words are a big part of the fun ("Oh soggy greens, I hate you / I hate your sloppy slush"), and so are the movements from dawn to bedtime, as in "Getting Dressed" ("You've one trouser leg / And two legs in it"). The clear, active, mixed-media illustrations show very young children outdoors and in; morning to bedtime; loving, teary, absurd, furious. The intense scenarios range from tantrums ("No! No! No! To everything!") and jealousy about the new baby ("What's she want another one for?") to slurpy kisses and lullabies. Many of the best children's poets are included, from Rosemary Wells and Mary Ann Hoberman to Jack Prelutsky; and there are adult poets too--Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, and more. Unlike in Mother Goose, the slapstick here is always child-centered, from "Mud, mud, glorious mud" to the unforgettable parody "Happy Birthday to you / Squashed tomatoes and stew." --Hazel Rochman
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2007 American Library Association
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Rochman, Hazel. "Here's a Little Poem." Booklist, vol. 103, no. 15, 1 Apr. 2007, p. 50. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A170580347/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=48ba9db6. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Jane Yolen How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?; illus. by Mark Teague 32 pp. Blue Sky/Scholastic 7/07 ISBN 978-0-439-02081-7 $16.99 g (Preschool, Primary)
Another winning entry in the series that demonstrates to the preschool and kindergarten set how not to act, via the dreadful behavior of enormous, colorful, and completely incongruous dinos. Here, the outsize beasts head for school (the Centrosaurus carpools, sort of; the Ceratosaurus takes the bus). The narrator's tone is the same as before, calm and considered but definitely not having any of it. "Does he growl / during chalk talks, / or roar out of turn? / Does he make it too hard / for the others to learn?" No, of course not, and the book closes with a quick demonstration of proper school behavior: "A dinosaur carefully / raises his hand. / He helps out his classmates / with projects / they've planned." In the end, as always, the reformed pupils receive the praise they now deserve. "Good work! / Good work, little dinosaur!" Teague's acrylic illustrations play up both the sheer bulk of the dinos and the outrageousness of their behavior in exaggerated tableaux that put humor first and message second. See the Stygimoloch blithely distracting the class with a little song-and-dance, accompanied by a toy drum and tiny xylophone. And ... what exactly was the offending noise during circle time? That's one sheepish-looking Herrerasaurus.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2007 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Parravano, Martha V. "Jane Yolen: How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?" The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 83, no. 4, July-Aug. 2007, pp. 388+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A166777966/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=525d9c95. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
The Scarecrow's Dance.
By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline.
Aug. 2009.32p. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (9781416937708). PreS--Gr. 2.
A scarecrow springs to life in this atmospheric illustrated poem. Rhyming couplets build the suspense as the inanimate figure awakens: "His arms of straw / Were flung about, / His mouth began / A windy shout." Ibatoulline's beautiful, spooky, dimly lit images, rendered in gouache and watercolor, show the slender straw man floating and dancing until he spots a boy, snug in his farmhouse bedroom, and discovers that the child includes him in his bedtime prayers. With a renewed sense of purpose, he returns to his original place: "For anyone can dance/ ... But only I / Can keep fields free." Flashes of an ominous tone jar against the poem's bouncing rhythms, as in a reference to a "barn / As red as blood," and the dreamy autumn moodiness in the pictures, which may startle very young kids, sometimes feels at odds with the lines' singsong quality. Older readers may also puzzle over the story's religious, even Christian, undertones. Still, this thought-provoking offering will make an unusual addition to the ghost-and-mummy canon of Halloween tides.--Gillian Engberg
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 American Library Association
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Engberg, Gillian. "The Scarecrow's Dance." Booklist, vol. 105, no. 71, 1 July 2009, p. 69. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A204920248/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=85eb0cc6. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Jane Yolen My Uncle Emily; illus. by Nancy Carpenter
32 pp. Philomel 5/09 ISBN 978-0-399-24005-8 $17.99
(Primary)
Yolen stitches what's known of Emily Dickinson's family into a story about her close bond with her nephew Gib, who called her "Uncle Emily." Once, she gave him a poem, together with a dead bee, for his teacher. As the six-year-old explains, it's "as if she wants me to see the world one small bee and one small poem at a time"--as indeed Gib does: he and Emily are true kindred spirits. What happens next is Yolen's plausible invention. The teacher reads the poem ("The Bumble Bee's Religion") aloud; the children are mystified but respectful--except for Jonathan, who calls Emily "a peculiar old maid." In defending his aunt, Gib twists his ankle. How to explain his limp without revealing the hurtful insult? Emily--in another poem--has some advice: "Tell all the Truth but tell it slant ..." So Gib does: "I dazzled everyone with the full story, telling the whole truth, but coming around to it slowly" so as to extract the insult's sting. Carpenter's illustrations capture personalities and period in freely sketched portraits that resemble old newspaper engravings, with a soft autumnal palette. Though the book's greatest charm may be the way its outcome arises from Emily's oblique yet penetrating wisdom, the loving family dynamics and pacific defusing of the contretemps with the bully add still more appeal. Fact and fiction are nicely sorted out in a concluding note.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Long, Joanna Rudge. "Jane Yolen: My Uncle Emily." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 85, no. 4, July-Aug. 2009, p. 415. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A205360317/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=16261540. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane DRAGON'S HEART Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Children's) $$17.00 May 1, 2009 ISBN: 978-0-15-205919-4
The Pit Dragon Trilogy (reissued 2004) becomes the Pit Dragon Chronicles with the appearance of a fourth volume that takes up the tale right where number three left off. Yolen sends teenage dragon tenders Jakkin and Akki back to their people after a yearlong ordeal, determined to hide their newfound physical and telepathic powers at first but ultimately to find ways to impart them to others. While the dragons display vivid personalities and agendas, the human cast comes across as pale and sketchy--particularly the two leads who, though supposedly in love and closely bonded by their shared experiences, show far more trust and understanding of their fire-breathing companions than of each other. Leaving Jakkin at a dragon nursery to fight off predatory drakks and subhuman Trogs while Akki departs abruptly for the city, where she's kidnapped by an old nemesis, the author crafts a plot well supplied with danger and action, but readers who aren't fresh from the earlier episodes will flounder, and even confirmed fans are likely to wish that the dragons had been onstage more often. (Science fiction. 12-15)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: DRAGON'S HEART." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2009, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A196581444/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7dae182f. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane A MIRROR TO NATURE Wordsong/Boyds Mills (Children's) $$17.95 Apr. 1, 2009 ISBN: 978-1-59078-624-6
The title of this volume comes from Hamlet's instructions to the players that the "purpose of playing" is to mirror nature. And so is the purpose of the nature photographer and poet here. Stemple has photographed reflections in nature: seven wood storks with seven reflections, an alligator with a reflection that creates the illusion of a double jaw, a solitary cockle made less alone by its reflection. Yolen's brief poems personifying the animals face the full-page photographs like the reflections they describe. A note from the author encourages readers to let the photographs and poems be a cause for reflection, but the intended fun of the poems is, at times, undercut by the forced whimsy: "This perplexing little frog / Has popped up on a thrown-out bottle. / What does this mean? Perhaps a lotle." The pages and photographs are vibrant and lively, the poems best for reading aloud. Italicized captions on each poem's page add information about the pictured animal, making this a good volume--along with other titles by this mother-son team--for teachers wanting to connect science and poetry. (Poetry. 10-12)
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"Yolen, Jane: A MIRROR TO NATURE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2009, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A194497636/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=993c8efa. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth.
By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Jim Burke.
Sept. 2008. 32p. HarperCollins, $16.99
(9780060591359); lib. ed., $17.89
(9780060591366). 634. K-Gr. 3.
In this comely, homespun picture-book biography, Yolen assembles the fact and fiction surrounding America's favorite orchardist into a tale both substantive and lyrical. Successive two-page spreads conform to a careful organizational structure. Set on backgrounds that look like weathered pieces of parchment, each block of text features a stanza of verse that celebrates legend and a segment of history, wherein the author shares the truth beneath the myth. At the bottom of the page, a short note, "THE FACT," elucidates the story, often citing sources and quoting primary material. By strictly maintaining her tight format, Yolen holds together the multiple narratives, offering a product that works both as colorful yarn and biographical study. Similarly, Burke's striking paintings conform to a natural, yarn-dyed palette of apple reds, forest greens, meadow golds, and midnight blues, echoing Yolen's piecework approach to the exposition with a subtle quilt motif. The reader, cradled in the boughs of such careful craftsmanship, is left with a story as sweet and nutritious as the fruit Johnny Appleseed sowed.--Thom Barthelmess
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 American Library Association
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Barthelmess, Thom. "Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth." Booklist, vol. 104, no. 19-20, 1 June 2008, p. 104. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A180696327/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=63e62bc8. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Sea Queens: Women Pirates around the World.
By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Christine Joy Pratt.
July 2008. 32p. Charlesbridge, $18.95 (9781580891318). 910.4. Gr. 4-7.
Much has been discovered about female pirates since Yolen wrote her first book on the subject, Pirates in Petticoats, in 1963. This new volume builds on those revelations in 12 portraits of sword-swinging, seafaring women throughout history, from Artemisia, in 500 B.C.E. Persia, to Madame Ching, an early nineteenth-century Chinese woman and named here as "the most successful pirate in the world." A long bibliography is appended, but there are no chapter notes to separate fact from folklore, and Yolen's conclusion further moves her subjects into the territory of legend: "There is so much storytelling, exaggeration, and just plain lying about the pirating trade that it's hard to say with absolute certainty that all the women pirates on these pages are real." The lack of in-text documentation is a disappointment, and although the scratchboard illustrations work well as portraits, the unlabeled maps fall flat. Still, the book is filled with fascinating, dramatically told stories and sidebars, and this could serve as good starting point for further research, as well as discussions about historical accuracy and bias.--Gillian Engberg
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 American Library Association
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Engberg, Gillian. "Sea Queens: Women Pirates around the World." Booklist, vol. 104, no. 19-20, 1 June 2008, p. 102. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A180696323/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aa5f2905. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Naming Liberty.
By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Jim Burke.
May 2008. 32p. Philomel, $16.99 (9780399242502). Gr. 1-3.
Using parallel narratives, Yolen recounts the tale of a Russian-Jewish family preparing to emigrate to America, and the story of French artist Frederic Auguste Bartholdi's creation of the Statue of Liberty. Mama, Papa, and their four children dream of a life far away from the pogroms. They travel by train and boat to New York Harbor, where they view the recently completed Lady Liberty, which Bartholdi envisioned, promoted, and built over the course of 21 years as a monument to freedom. Burke's luminous paintings, designed on burnt sienna oil-washed boards, convey the landscapes and details of nineteenth-century Europe and New York. q-he generous use of aqua paint throughout serves as a contrast to the statue's original copper color and forecasts its current familiar hue. Most spreads have separate artwork for each story line, but some illustrations are combined when story events intersect. An author's note separates the fiction from fact and offers some additional resources, making this an ideal choice for introducing the concepts of immigration and liberty to young listeners.--Kay Weisman
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 American Library Association
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Weisman, Kay. "Naming Liberty." Booklist, vol. 104, no. 16, 15 Apr. 2008, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A178631373/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8bea851b. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SHAPE ME A RHYME Wordsong/Boyds Mills (Children's) $17.95 Sep. 1, 2007 ISBN: 978-1-59078-450-1
Indefatigable author Yolen and her photographer son make another foray in an extremely engaging series. These titles are beautifully designed, displaying eye-catching photography and inventive use of typography and placement. All of these poems rhyme except for one haiku, and while the photographs are all from the natural world, the shapes are sometimes presented in unorthodox ways. "Square" explains itself fully: "A shadow square / Upon a frond / Resides beside / A quiet pond. / Since nature rarely / Seeds a square, / We must make do / With what is there." Each double-page spread holds the photographic image, the poem, a matte cut-out of the shape and a few words that are synonyms or close in meaning. A pale photograph of the crescent moon floats opposite the azure shape of itself: The words are "sickle . . . semicircle . . . lunate" and the poem ends, "Your shape, like the side / Of a copper cent, / Out of pocket but / Not yet spent." Very enjoyable, and allows for much exploration. (Poetry. 6-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2007 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: SHAPE ME A RHYME." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2007. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A169083280/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=386fd6a5. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE ROGUES Philomel (Children's) $18.99 Sep. 1, 2007 ISBN: 978-0-399-23898-7
Yolen and Harris conclude their planned quartet of Scottish novels with this tale of the 18th-century Highland Clearances. When the Macallans are suddenly harried off their rented farmstead by their new Laird's cruel factor to make way for herds of English sheep, teenaged Roddy sneaks back to the burned-out croft in search of a brooch given to the family generations ago by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Just as he finds it, the Laird happens by, seizes the treasure and orders Roddy's murder--but along comes bootlegger and ex-soldier Alan Dunbar to the rescue. With the help of the old Laird's canny daughter Josie, they contrive to steal the brooch back--killing the factor in the process and setting off a breathless chase over the rugged hills. As in some of the previous volumes, the plot relies heavily on coincidences, and the characters (some of whom are tenuously based on historical figures) often come across as mouthpieces to explain the historical situation or rail at the unjustness of it all. Still, the authors weave strong feelings and a clear sense of setting into a story that gains momentum as it progresses and also ends happily. A good finish to the quartet, with echoes of Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped to savor. (afterword) (Fiction. 11-13)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2007 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: THE ROGUES." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2007, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A169084111/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2a9cca59. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris; Philomel Books: New York, 2000; $19.99
MY DICTIONARY TELLS ME that "history" is a record of significant events in the past. It is a perfectly valid explanation of the word, but it leaves some things out. While poring over our history books in school, we often do not fully grasp that these people were real. They loved and feared and grieved, as we in the twenty-first century do. It takes a truly gifted author to take a piece of history and make it a fascinating tale. Jane Yolen and Robert Harris have won a place among these talented few with their novel, Queen's Own Fool. They have taken the true story of a remarkable young girl who led a daring life when women were considered to be inferior to men in every way. And they have brought this tale, overlooked by the history books, to the present.
This girl, Nicola, is an intelligent, talkative, friendly person, one that we can sympathize with through all her dangers and hardships. Through her own point of view, she tells the story of the famous Mary Queen of Scots.
The supporting characters--not all of them likable--expand the reality of the tale. Madame Jacqueline, Nicola's tutor, is one such character. She is a complete tyrant. Jacqueline demands that Nicola's intelligence be harnessed to the restrictive standards of her society. She also stifles Nicola's originality and innocent wit, trying to force her pupil into a conventional female role.
However, the reason Madame Jacqueline is so interesting is that she can be viewed as the opposite of Queen Mary. For example, in the beginning of the book, Nicola and her uncle's family are lodged in a bleak, gray room, symbolizing their lowly position in society. When the queen arrives, she brings comfort and warmth to the room. Later in the book, Nicola is in a similar position, but this time she is alone in the coldness, without Pierre, Annette, or any of her old friends to comfort her. And worse, it is not the kind, merry queen who enters the bleak room, but the stern, stiff, unsympathetic tutor. Instead of bringing joy and hope to her surroundings, Madame Jacqueline makes a bad situation terrible.
Some likable characters hold interest for the reader as well. One is Davie Riccio, a dwarf who has risen above the place his society demands that he take. Rather than being a jester that everyone laughs at, he has become one of the most important politicians in the royal court. But the price for his defiance of his culture's standards is great when his pride and audacity overcome his caution.
My father owns a garden that I visit often. It is a place of renewal and rebirth, where plants spring up from the seemingly lifeless dirt. Nicola has similar experiences among gardens, but it is she who is renewed. It is at gardens that her life is changed--first, when she meets the queen, who takes Nicola out of her former impoverished life. Later, when she encounters La Renaudie, the Protestant outlaw, her idealized, happily-every-after view of the royal court is destroyed.
The only major flaw I found in Queen's Own Fool was that it presented a misleading image of Queen Mary. In the story, she is portrayed as a kind, courageous, freedom-loving woman. In all probability, this is not the truth. Some historians claim that she plotted against Queen Elizabeth and played an important part in the plan to murder her husband. In addition, I thought the queen was too perfect to be very believable.
But this book is well worth reading. Through authors like Jane Yolen and Robert Harris, history rises from the grave to reenact itself before us!
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2001 Children's Art Foundation
http://www.stonesoup.com/
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Zelman, Julia. "Queen's Own Fool." Stone Soup, vol. 30, no. 1, Sept. 2001, p. 36. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A77930561/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=01e5cc75. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane and Yolen, Heidi Elisabet. The Wolf Girls: An Unsolved Mystery from History. Aug. 2001. 32p. illus. Simon & Schuster, $16 (0-689-81080-6).
Gr. 3-5. As they did in their previous Unsolved Mystery from History picture book about the ghost ship Mary Celeste, the authors look at an incident that raises all sorts of questions. In 1920 two young girls are brought to an orphanage in India. The missionary who runs the orphanage claims they are feral children, raised by wolves. But is that the truth or a hoax? The framework for this tale is unwieldy. A girl whose father is a detective introduces it: "My dad says no mystery is impossible to solve as long as you have enough clues." Her case notes, maps, and word definitions appear on the two-page spreads, but these are sometimes awkwardly placed, leading kids to read them before the blocks of text. What's more, despite several pages of possible conclusions (and the dad's assertion about solving crime), the answer to the girls' origins is "no one knows for sure." Problems with structure aside, the subject is fascinating, one with immediate kid appeal. Roger Roth's well-executed art tends to shy away from pictures of the girls, which is probably just what readers want to see, but it engages nevertheless.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2001 American Library Association
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Cooper, Ilene. "The Wolf Girls: An Unsolved Mystery from History." Booklist, vol. 97, no. 21, July 2001, p. 2007. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A77134943/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=913525c1. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
JANE YOLEN AND ROBERT J. HARRIS. HarperCollins, $14.95 ISBN 0-060-28734-9
The team behind last year's The Queen's Own Fool launches the Young Heroes series with a rollicking adventure starring a 13-year-old Odysseus, prince of Ithaca, who meets his match (and future wife) in Spartan captive Penelope. Drawing on the Iliad, the Odyssey and "what archeologists have told us about the [Greek] civilization," Yolen and Harris imagine the youth's formative quest. No previous knowledge of ancient Greece is necessary, and readers may well be entertained by the fast-paced and sometimes slapstick antics of crafty Odysseus (who develops a crease between his eyebrows when he's "about to come up with an outlandish excuse -- lie, fib, wile -- for doing something he'd already decided to do") and his cautious friend, Mentor. Together they do battle with pirates and inadvertently rescue Penelope and her cousin Helen of Troy; form an alliance with Silenus, the amorous satyr; and organize a perilous rescue mission against Ladon, the serpent with 100 heads in Crete's infamous labyrinth. The authors wea ve in legends, such as Siren and Daedalus, as well as surprising tidbits (e.g., the Greek nobility's illiteracy). The new spin here is that Penelope accompanies Odysseus on his adventures, often acting more heroic than he; by giving this champion a worthy heroine who complements his strengths and even compensates for his weaknesses, the authors may well draw boys and girls in equal numbers -- and send them clamoring for more Greek myths. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2001 PWxyz, LLC
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"ODYSSEUS IN THE SERPENT MAZE." Publishers Weekly, vol. 248, no. 8, 19 Feb. 2001, p. 91. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A70977447/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e3edd102. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
QUEEN'S OWN FOOL
A Novel of Mary
Queen of Scots.
By Jane Yolen and
Robert J. Harris.
390 pp. New York:
Philomel Books. $19.99.
(Ages 12 and up)
The dual title of this historical novel suggests both its strengths and its weaknesses. Nicola, Queen Mary's child jester, narrates the story of the queen's life during the period from her brief reign as queen of France, when she was 16, to her flight from Scotland to the questionable mercies of her Protestant cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, when she was 25.
Nicola observes the power struggles at the courts of France and Scotland, where revolts and religious strife destabilize society. She even participates in Mary's personal melodrama, her disastrous three marriages and the assassination of her licentious second husband, Lord Darnley. Imprisoned following that murder and forced to abdicate the Scottish throne, Mary escapes with Nicola's help. Another fictional story unfolds within this historical plot, as the jester grows up and falls in love, carrying on her own life in the shadow of the queen's. But when Mary appears, the story is hers always.
Although the story bursts with romance and intrigue, the authors, Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris, never overcome the daunting hazards inherent in setting a novel in the maelstrom of dynastic Reformation politics. While acknowledging the folly of Mary's romantic choices, the authors excuse her and simplify history in furthering her legend. It is virtually impossible for a minor character like Nicola the jester to hold her own.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2000 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com
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Thomas, Jane Resh. "Off with her head: a child jester is a true and faithful servant." The New York Times Book Review, vol. 105, no. 47, 19 Nov. 2000, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A67833687/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ae39a216. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
JANE YOLEN. Harcourt, $17 (176p) ISBN 0-15-202557-X
Yolen's (Wizard's Hall) plodding tale reads more like a farce than a fantasy. Narrator Gog, a young troll, is dismayed not to have a ticket to hear his favorite band, Boots and the Seven Leaguers, perform their annual concert in the Kingdom of the Fey. So Gog and his best friend, Pook--a "tricksy" pookah who can change shapes--travel to the site of the concert and disguise themselves as roadies to help the band unload and set up in exchange for tickets. During setup, Magog, Gog's little brother, disappears. The duo's search for Magog takes them deep into the dread New Forest, where Gog loses Pook and encounters a number of characters, including the Weed King, who speaks in rhyme; a "woodwife," a hollow woman who tries to snare him in her "spell of love"; and the Huntsman, who holds captive a bizarre creature known as the Great White Wyrm -- as well as Magog. Young readers may well lose their way -- or interest --trying to follow Gog's meandering, choppy first-person narrative. After rescuing his sibling, Gog says he can't go home yet, "Because, in my slow troll way, I'd finally figured out that there were still too many loose ends." Readers, too, may find that many strands of the plot still dangle at the close of this disjointed tale. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2000 PWxyz, LLC
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"BOOTS AND THE SEVEN LEAGUERS: A Rock-and-Troll Novel." Publishers Weekly, vol. 247, no. 45, 6 Nov. 2000, p. 92. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A67051457/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b22ae854. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Oct. 2000.32p. illus. Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $15.95 (1-56397-892-X). 811.54.
Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. There's a lot of good stuff going on in this imaginatively conceived and elegantly executed collection. On one page of each double-page spread is a poem (in one case, two haiku) evoking a color in nature--gray, orange, blue, brown, yellow. Opposite is a photograph, by freelance photographer Jason Stemple (Yolen's son), set like a cabochon jewel on a pate background of related images and words: sloe, sable, and jet for black; plum, orchid, and amethyst for purple. Each word is printed in its own hue. Somewhere on each spread is a sliver of a quotation about the color, from Mother Goose ("Its fleece was white as snow") to Eugene Field ("Any color so long as it's red"). The book is a visual feast, and a verbal one, too, for the poems are striking: in "Green," "poets know / all the secret words, / some of which they make up, / all of which are / green." In "Pink: A Haiku," "A surge of sunlight / Shocks through stem and thistle hairs / A punk pink hairdo." In her author's note, which precedes the text, Yolen urges readers to use the photographs as inspiration for their own poems, and she closes with "Crayons: A Rainbow Poem."
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2000 American Library Association
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DeCandido, GraceAnne A. "Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People." Booklist, vol. 97, no. 4, 15 Oct. 2000, p. 436. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A67185963/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1bf00e97. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
JANE YOLEN. Tor, $22.95 (240p) ISBN 0-312-87378-6
Although Yalen (The One-Armed Queen) has published a great deal of acclaimed SF and fantasy (and children's fiction), this is her first collection of genre stories for adults-and it has been worth the wait. Three of the 28 entries here are new, and all draw deeply from themes of justice and independence, while typically spurning traditional sentimentality in favor of clear-eyed, sometimes grim realism. Yolen has a particular knack for redaction, finding new resonance by retelling old folk stories from novel points of view. The Nebula-winning "Lost Girls," for example, turns the familiar story of Peter Pan into a feminist revolt. The revisionist Snow White of "Snow in Summer" defeats her wicked, snake-handling stepmother with her own wits--no need for any prince. The ignorance of anti-Semitism brings tragedy to characters in "Granny Rumple" and "Sister Death." Meanwhile, "The Gift of the Magicians, with Apologies to You Know Who" merges O. Henry's Christmas classic with a cautionary tale of Beauty and the Bea st. Feuding mobsters get more than they bargained for in "Under the Hill," which Yolen playfully describes as "Damon Runyon meets the elves." "Blood Sister," "The Traveler and the Tale" and "Speaking to the Wind" echo older themes from Ursula Le Guin's work, but the powerful title story, which also won a Nebula, closes this collection on high notes of originality, creativity and hope. As Yolen writes, "Stories are not just recordings. They are prophecies. They are dreams, And... we humans build the future on such dreams." (July)
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"SISTER EMILY'S LIGHTSHIP: And Other Stories." Publishers Weekly, vol. 247, no. 27, 3 July 2000, p. 54. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A63330809/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=875b58a6. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane & Patrick Nielsen Hayden-Eds. THE YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY FOR TEENS Tot (288 pp.) $17.95 paper $12.95 May 1, 2005 ISBN: 0-765-31383-9 paper: 0-765-31384-7
Opening with the opinion that a separate literature for teens is superfluous, but heigh-ho, here's an addition to it, Yolen proceeds to offer, with Hayden, 11 tales written by a mix of veterans and rising stars. They include five reprints from 2004 anthologies marketed to young adults, and a century-old entry from Rudyard Kipling and feature ghosts, magical creatures, futuristic tech, alternate realities and, usually but not always, young folk. It's not a total wash, as several entries are drawn from paper or online magazines, the intros add spot-on recommendations for further reading (enhanced by an Honor Roll at the end), and contributions do include both a strong, heartbreaking closer narrated by a canine soldier and Delia Sherman's "CATNYP," a romp set in The New York Public Library. However, the Kipling is a serious mistake, as the subtlety of its language and the quality of its storytelling make all of the stories before and after look like journeyman work. Strictly additional. (Short stories. 11-15)
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"Yolen, Jane & Patrick Nielsen Hayden--Eds. The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 73, no. 9, 1 May 2005, p. 549. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A132353813/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4ce0dc41. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
THE PERFECT WIZARD: Hans Christian Andersen JANE YOLEN, ILLUS. BY DENNIS NOLAN. Dutton, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 0-525-46955-9
* Once upon a time, a baby was born on a bed that was made from a coffin platform," begins this illuminating picturebook--biography of Denmark's favorite storyteller, which deftly blends Andersen's real life events with his imagined world. Starting with this probably apocryphal story that Andersen liked to tell about himself, Yolen (Owl Moon) immediately sets up the mingling of fact and fiction that so characterized the writer. The son of a cobbler and washer-woman, Andersen called his life "a beautiful fairy tale," and Yolen selects facts from his history that reveal both the harshness and wonder of the life he led. Each spread contains a full-page sepia-toned painting that illustrates the episode related about his life, opposite; in addition, Yolen selects a relevant quotation from one of Andersen's stories, accompanied by oval spot art. For instance, when Yolen describes the boy as "a gawky, long-legged lad ... a stork among pigeons. A cuckoo in the nest. An ugly cygnet in a hatch of ducks," Nolan (Fairy Wings) portrays the tall boy in his first stage role along with a quotation and spot illustration from Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling." The artist's work seems ideally suited to move fluidly from biographical moments to storybook images. Despite an unfortunate, cluttered design that tends to obscure Yolen's narrative (the quotes often appear in a larger font than the main text), the book intriguingly explores the fusion of an artist's work and life, and leaves readers with much to ponder. Ages 6-up. (Feb.)
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"The Perfect Wizard: Hans Christian Andersen." Publishers Weekly, vol. 252, no. 8, 21 Feb. 2005, p. 175. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A129251468/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d37e0067. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
* Yolen, Jane and Harris, Robert J. Prince across the Water. 2004. 320p. Putnam/Philomel, $18,99 10-399-23897-2).
Gr. 6-10. Yo]en and Harris, who cowrote Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots (2000) and Girl in a Cage (2002), now tell the story of a young highlander who fights for Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden. lust 13 and prone to seizures, Duncan is disappointed when he is not allowed to join his father and the other men of the village in answering their clan chief's call to war, But before the year is out, he has shouldered his father's work, suffered the loss of loved ones, fought in a bloody battle, and helped his prince in an unexpected way. The convincing depictions of people and relationships earlier the of in the story deepen sense despair during the battle, which is realistically depicted as cruel, violent, and gory. Structured in three sections, the novel creates a strong sense of life in the Scottish Highlands in 1745 1746, of the carnage at the battle of Culloden, and of Duncan's growing awareness of the world and his place in it. Combining a sensitive portrayal with dramatic tension, Trina Schart Hyman's sensitive jacket art promises exactly what this novel delivers: a spirited historical adventure and a sympathetic hero--Carolyn Phelan
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Phelan, Carolyn. "Yolen, Jane and Harris, Robert J. Prince across the Water." Booklist, vol. 101, no. 6, 15 Nov. 2004, p. 585. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A125832731/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6038d1af. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane AN EGRET'S DAY Boyds Mills (Children's) $$17.95 Jan. 15, 2010 ISBN: 978-1-59078-650-5
Poetry and short informative paragraphs combine to celebrate both the elegance and the natural history of the American egret. Haiku, free verse, rhyming couplets and even a limerick are just some of the forms Yolen masterfully uses to engage readers on both aesthetic and scientific levels. Gorgeous photography completes this carefully designed literary science piece with scenes of the egret's daily life. Stemple captures the egret's movements as the light of each part of the day, from the yellow-orange glow of sunrise to midday pink to late afternoon sunset blue to evening purple, is reflected on its snow-white feathers. Both the poetry and the brief fact-filled vignettes explain how egrets walk, eat, fly and preen and how their plumes, so lace-like, were once coveted for decorating clothes and hats. A final poem muses on the future of this great wading bird in a country filled with polluted wetlands. A stunning combination of scientific and ecological knowledge offered through a graceful fusion of lyrical and visual media. (Informational picture book/poetry. 8-10)
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"Yolen, Jane: AN EGRET'S DAY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2009, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A214552053/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0cdc8268. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane COME TO THE FAIRIES' BALL Boyds Mills (Children's) $$17.95 Oct. 15, 2009 ISBN: 978-1-59078-646-8
Out go the urgent invitations to a fairy extravaganza: "Don't be late!" The result is a flurry of worry about what to wear. Focus slowly turns to a poor fairy that seems defeated by this perennial dilemma but gets help from some encouraging ants. Beautifully attired yet quite late, the lovely fairy is about to be turned away when the prince gallantly comes to her side. The tale, reminiscent of "Cinderella," is unfortunately light on plot and seems more a vehicle for active wordplay and lush scenes of this fairy world than any real story. Lippincott's richly detailed, earthy-hued watercolor illustrations will impress fairy fans with whimsical depictions of helpful animals and a diverse gathering of fairy folk. Yolen's rhyming text, lively and peppered with words that tickle the tongue--"They trotted and trembled, / They waltzed, waddled, winged, / They hopped and gavotted, / They floated and flingged"--is more appropriate for a read-aloud than as a challenge for new readers. Those satisfied by lavish settings won't mind the ephemeral story. (Picture book. 5-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: COME TO THE FAIRIES' BALL." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2009, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A208123006/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5e3ceaee. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane
Robert J. Harris
HarperCollins (256 pp.)
$15.95
PLB $15.89
Mar. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-028736-5
PLB: 0-06-028737-3
Zena fans take heed: Yolen and Harris draw a minor figure from old Greek tales front and center for an edifying, as well as action-filled, encounter with quarreling gods, monsters, rival Amazons, and--ugh--men. To save her mother's life and throne, teenaged princess Hippolyta spirits her newly born brother off to his father, the arrogant Trojan king Laomedon, in hopes of gathering military aid. Instead, she's lashed to a headland for a sea monster to eat. Enter Laomedon's other son, chatty nine-year-old Tithonus, to free her, and to accompany her on a subsequent mission to the ancient, dead city where the Amazons had originally been forced to become warriors after their men were all slain in a squabble between Artemis and Apollo. The authors energetically carry their irritable, warlike protagonist and her garrulous companion (Tithonus: "I knew we'd have been better off with a chariot. A person doesn't get cranky in a chariot") past one threat after another, as well as Hippolyta's firm conviction that all mal es are hateful. Ultimately, she even defends Tithonus from bloodthirsty Artemis, and learns that her own father is Ares, presented here as a wise, big-brotherly sort who pops up repeatedly in various guises to save Hippolyta's bacon. As in the "Young Heroes" series opener, Odysseus in the Serpent Maze (2001), the level of explicit violence may be low but the action is nonstop, fleshed out with accurate details from both history and myth that will give readers a taste of what the classical stories themselves have to offer. (Fiction. 11-13)
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"Hippolyta and the Curse of the Amazons. (Children's Books)." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 70, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2002, p. 54. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A82065794/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b3db0d1f. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane & Robert J. Harris
Philomel (240 pp.)
$19.99
Sep. 2002
ISBN: 0-399-23627-9
Yolen and Harris (Queen's Own Fool, 2000) once again dish up an intense drama drawn from Scottish history. Just after the turn of the 14th century, King Edward "Longshanks" captured several women of Robert Bruce's household, including his 11-year-old daughter Marjorie, and displayed some of them in cages. Here, Marjorie tells her tale, alternating between her past as a tempestuous young princess forced by the advancing English armies to become a fugitive while her father and uncles are off fighting for Scotland's independence, and the present, in which she sits, filthy, underfed (starved, later on) and caged while jeering locals pelt her with rotten fruit, and wily Edward himself pays daily visits, seeking to break her spirit. Unlike clashes of anus, this is a battle she can fight, and fight she does, using words and silence as weapons, ultimately winning her tormentors' sympathy, and grudging respect from the dying king. Fans of Karen Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdy (1994) and Matilda Bone (2000) will wel come this new tale of a strong-minded young woman coming of age and holding her own in a hostile medieval world. (afterword) (Fiction. 11-13)
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"Girl in a Cage. (Children's Books)." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 70, no. 16, 15 Aug. 2002, p. 1240. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A90868213/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1b6a67c0. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane
Illus. By Vladimir Vagin HarperCollins (32 pp.)
$15.95
PLB $15.89
May 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-028538-9
PLB: 0-06-028539-7
The Firebird is a character in several Russian folktales as well as the title character in the famous ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Stravinsky. Yolen (Wild Wings: Poems for Young People, p. 349, etc.) combines these intertwined story strands to create a dual story of the folktale and the ballet. The design uses the folktale text and accompanying illustrations in the upper three-quarters of the pages, with a narrower segment of illustrations across the bottom quarter showing illustrations of the related story from the ballet Prince Ivan is the hero of the tale, and with the help of the Firebird, he kills Kostchei the Deathless, also called the wizard of darkness, and his demons (scary black creatures with horns, tails, and cloven hooves). Kastchei is a fearsome fellow himself, with red eyes, pointed teeth, and nine-inch nails, and his death frees ten beautiful maidens and handsome young men from an evil spell so they can dance in joy and live happily ever after, of course. Yolen's tale is, as always, professionally and smoothly told, with the polished cadences of an authentic folktale. Highly detailed illustrations capture the Firebird's vibrant feathers, the ornate Russian costumes, and the fearful appearances of the wizard and demons. The double set of illustrations is somewhat detrimental to the folk tale, but will serve well as an introduction to the ballet (author's note, bibliography) (Folktale. 5-8)
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"The Firebird. (Children's Books)." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 70, no. 9, 1 May 2002, p. 670. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A86430291/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6d9d1cda. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
JANE YOLEN. Harcourt, $17 (368p) ISBN 0-15-202527-8
* In Yolen's spellbinding twist on the Round Table legend, Morgause feels that her 17-year-old son Gawaine belongs on the throne of England. As she attempts to install him there, she tangles with both the court wizard and Gawaine himself. The author makes Gawaine the emotional lynchpin of the story; he mistrusts his mother and is wholly devoted to the only slightly older King Arthur. Portrayed here as the North Witch, Morgause detests Arthur (her half-brother, according to Arthurian lore), who she feels has usurped the throne. Morgause sends three of Gawaine's brothers back with him to Arthur's court under a diplomatic pretext, and Merlinnus, learning that one of Morgause's sons intends to assassinate Arthur, manufactures the tale of a sword lodged in a block of stone (which, of course, will prove Arthur's fated place upon the throne to a kingdom that has yet to fully embrace him). Yolen constructs a fascinating history linking Morgause to Merlinnus, and breathes fresh life into well-established characters; t heir encounters crackle with the vitality of overheard conversations. The dynamic between Merlinnus and Arthur is especially well realized: the former a shrewd, resourceful, fatherly man battling the discomforts of age, the latter a restless young king who merely tolerates the mundane responsibilities of monarchy ("Arthur had never met a chair he liked. Or a sport he disliked"). Yolen has explored Arthurian legend before, but her latest foray is a standout in this enormous canon. Ages 12-up (May)
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"Sword of the Rightful King: A Novel of King Arthur. (Fiction)." Publishers Weekly, vol. 250, no. 15, 14 Apr. 2003, p. 72. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A100734836/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f27af735. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane
Illus. by Jim Burke
Little, Brown (32 pp.)
$16.95
Apr. 2003
ISBN: 0-316-97159-6
Though the Wright brothers both credited their sister Katharine as a partner in their grand enterprise, she seldom emerges from the biographical shadows. Here Yolen (Atalanta and the Arcadian Beast, p. 244, etc.) tries, and fails, to redress this, describing from Katharine's point of view how the brothers' early interest in tinkering with machines grew into a nearly full-time, ultimately successful, effort to build ones that flew. But aside from mentioning that she minded the household, and sometimes the store, for Wilbur and Orville, and believed in them, the narrator keeps the spotlight on their achievements, remaining more a reporter than a shaper of events. Burke, too, generally keeps her in the background, or poses her just looking at her brothers or reading a letter from them. Furthermore, though a final scene of Katharine exuberantly spreading her arms on her own first flight in 1909 (over five years after Kitty Hawk--a gap Yolen finds "fascinating," but never explains) gives his debut a rousing finis h, several of his full-page, strong-figured paintings are more individual works than part of a larger whole. In the end, this wastes its unusual angle to tell essentially the same story as Wendie Old's To Fly (2002) and Elizabeth Van Steenwyck's One Fine Day (p. 67) and a half-dozen other similar biographies celebrating the centennial. For a better treatment of Katharine's story, see The Wright Sister, by Richard Maurer (above). (Picture book/biography 7-10)
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"My Brother's Flying Machine: Wilbur, Orville, and Me. (Children's Books)." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 71, no. 6, 15 Mar. 2003, p. 482. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A99013059/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cda246dd. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Mar. 2003.256p. HarperCollins, $15.99 (0-06-029454-X); lib. ed., $16,89 (0-06-029455-8).
Gr. 4-6. The third volume in the Young Heroes series sends 12-year-old Atalanta in pursuit of a giant winged lion after it kills the hunter who raised her. Having spent nearly her entire life in the woods, Atalanta is a strong hunter and a nearly feral child; she is far more comfortable with her huge bear companion than with the glory-seeking humans who join her on the trail. The tale sweeps along at a good clip toward a rousing climax, and the authors have buttressed the action with many details and characters from classical mythology--mighty Orion, a vain, but capable, hunter whose rivalry with Atalanta gradually turns into mutual respect; a petulant Artemis; and mischievous, powerful Pan. Although Atalanta turns out to be a child of royal parents, she elects to return to her old, independent life in the end--at least for the present. Children intrigued by the often sketchy tales surrounding Atalanta will enjoy both this fleshed out version of her youthful adventures and the somewhat different take Stephanie Spinner offers in Quiver [BKL Ja 1 & 15 03]; for other books of interest, see the Read-alike, "Grrrls of the Ancient World," also in the January 03 issue.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2003 American Library Association
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Peters, John. "Yolen, Jane and Harris, Robert J. Atalanta and the Arcadian Beast." Booklist, vol. 99, no. 11, 1 Feb. 2003, p. 996. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A98172395/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ccdd75bf. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
JANE YOLEN, ILLUS BY MARK TEAGUE.
Scholastic/Blue Sky, $15.95 (40p) ISBN 0-439-24100-6
* Those boisterous, larger-than-life stars of How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? are back, but this time they're a little tinder the weather. "What if a dinosaur catches the flu?/ Does he whimper and whine in between each Atchoo?" In a series of rollicking rhymes, Yolen explores a number of possible naughty scenarios for the ailing beasties ("Does he hold his mouth closed when he's told, 'Open wide'?/ Does he scream?/ Is he mean?/ Does he run off and hide?"), before demonstrating how well-behaved they really are ("He drinks lots of juice,/ and he gets lots of rest./ He's good at the doctor's,! 'cause doctors know best"). Teague's droll artwork heightens the humor of Yolen's light verse. As in their first collaboration, he wrings every last drop of comedy from the matter-of-fact presentation of humans with dinosaur off-spring. Harried-looking parents tote steaming bowls of soup to their exotic progeny, who languish in bed with coloring books and crumpled tissues, their enormous tails draped across bedroom floor s littered with absurdly tiny sports shoes, backpacks, hockey jerseys and the like. Endpapers serve tip a rogue's gallery of the tongue-tickling cast, including bedridden Tropeognathus, Tuojiangosaurus and Dilophosaurus. For dinosaur fans of all ages, this inspired silliness is just what the doctor ordered. Ages 2-up. (Feb.)
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"How do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? (Picture Books)." Publishers Weekly, vol. 249, no. 51, 23 Dec. 2002, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A96223623/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bf067c2d. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane
Illus. by Greg Shed Harcourt (32 pp.)
$16.00
Sep. 2002
ISBN: 0-15-201819-0
Yolen (Girl in a Cage, above, etc.) focuses on family, tradition, and the fruit of the earth in her latest effort, illustrated in golden tones by Shed (I Loved You Before You Were Born, not reviewed, etc.). Written in the voice of the girl narrator, the rhythmic chant begins: "Three months just past, I helped to sow, / Bringing the harvest home, / I planted wheat in every row, / Bringing the harvest home. / Each tiny grain was set in earth I To give the wheat a wholesome berth./ A summer's coin, a year's full worth, / Bringing the harvest home." Throughout, Shed's luminous full-bleed portraits, rendered in gouache and gently textured with the grain of canvas and brush, stretch across each double-paged spread, abutting text set against a panel the color of sweet butter. Shed captures Bess, brother Ned, mother, father, and others as they work the field. One stunning portrait, for example, pictures Bess bearing a load of wheat in her arms while her mother and sister work in the distance ("Two rows behind work M a and Jen, / Bringing the harvest home. / They cut more quickly than the men,/ Bringing the harvest home"). Shed's elegant, yet earthy, portraiture and Yolen's dignified language combine to transcendent effect; although the costumes (straw hats, plain pants held up by suspenders, and simple cotton dresses) might seem to indicate a different era, the work could just as easily be set in modem Pennsylvania Dutch country. Back matter contains an author's note; in it, Yolen explains that the verse is based on traditional harvest songs, which are characterized by an evolving narrative followed by a repeated chorus. Instructions for making a harvest doll are also included. (Picture book 5-8)
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"Harvest Home. (Children's Books)." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 70, no. 16, 15 Aug. 2002, p. 1240. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A90868214/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f87eb2a6. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane & Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS: An Unsolved Mystery from History Illus. by Roger Roth Simon & Schuster (32 pp.) $16.95 Sep. 1, 2004 ISBN: 0-689-84620-7
In the fourth offering in the Unsolved Mystery from History series, the curious little girl invites readers to 1692 and Salem, Massachusetts, to examine the hysteria of the witch-hunts. An extremely simple narrative about the Parris family, their slave, Tituba, and the fear and frenzy that surrounded them is augmented by the young sleuth's rather grown-up spiral-notebook asides. Definitions specific to this particular inquiry are offered on multicolored Post-it notes that seem to be laid atop Roth's grim watercolor-and-pencil illustrations. Finally, the authors offer five hypothetical causes for the terror of the Salem Witch Trials (ranging from ridiculous to reasonable), but none is identified as "correct." Rather, they suggest that the reader may have developed a theory of his or her own. Web sites mentioned are viable but aimed at older readers, and the bibliography is meant for adults. While this may have lots of appeal for the nascent investigator, it may be less than satisfying for young historians, who will wonder how Yolen and Stemple know what they say they know. (Picture book. 7-10)
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"Yolen, Jane & Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple: the Salem Witch Trials: an Unsolved Mystery from History." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 72, no. 16, 15 Aug. 2004, p. 815. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A121416543/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8ab4e97d. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Did you know April is National Poetry Month? To celebrate, we yakked with author and poet Jane Yolen about her poetry. Jane is the author of more than 200 books for young people, including picture books, chapter books and many poetry books. During the month, the Children's Book Council recognizes poetry for young people from April 12 to April 18. This year, Jane was named the Young People's Poetry Week poet by the council. Yak's Corner will be sharing your poems beginning with Young People's Poetry Week. Look for them in our daily column on the color comics page.
Here's what Jane had to say about writing poetry.
What do you like about writing poetry as opposed to writing stories?
I love the compression--both of words and emotion. I love the fact that every single word counts.
Is poetry easier for you to write?
Depends. Sometimes I think so, especially when the words burst out of me onto the page. But when I spend an entire day or week looking for a single word, I despair.
What inspires your poetry?
Everything. Looking at my newborn grandchild, the sky writing of a bird in flight, the cold white tops of waves in a Scottish loch, a bad song playing endlessly on the radio, my husband's cancer. Yep--everything.
Where do you like to write your poems?
Normally, I write at the computer. But sometimes I write on the backs of envelopes or napkins or on the pad of paper kept on my bedside table.
When you were growing up, did you read and write a lot of poetry? Were you assigned to write poetry for school assignments? Did you like it or not?
I have always read a lot of poetry. We used to do memorizations in class, which I loved. I was good at it, and it meant I got to OWN the poem in a way simply reading through it quickly did not. In fact most kids today OWN a lot of poetry that way but they don't know it. Song lyrics are poems, rap lyrics are poems. Not necessarily great poems, but they belong to anyone who has memorized them in a very particular way.
Who are your favorite poets?
W. B. Yeats, John Donne, Jane Hirshfield, Marvin Bell, David McCord, Douglas Florian, Myra Cohn Livingston, Mary Ann Hoberman, Lilian Moore. What are you working on right now? Poetry or otherwise?
I'm working on a book of poems with my photographer son Jason, called "Count Me a Rhyme." With my other son, Adam, I'm working on a fantasy novel, "Pay the Piper." With my daughter, Heidi, we have just finished "The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories." And I am three chapters into the fourth book of the Pit Dragon trilogy (yes, I know trilogies only have three books).
We can't wait to read more of the books and poems she's working on. We hope you're inspired this April to pen a poem yourself. Happy Poetry Month!
The Yak liked this poem for April showers! It's from a favorite book of ours of Jane's poetry called "Raining Cats and Dogs." It's illustrated by Janet Street and published by Harcourt Brace & Company.
It's Not Fair [c]
A cat can scratch,
A mouse can squeal,
And babies eat
A messy meal.
A bird can miss
Its paper lining.
Kids can spend
An hour whining.
But do you put them
On a chain
Outside in sleet
Or snow or rain?
No! Only dogs
Are banished there.
It really isn't
Very fair!
Campbell, Janis
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2004 Detroit Free Press, Inc.
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Campbell, Janis. "Yakking with poet Jane Yolen." Yak's Corner [National Magazine], 1 Apr. 2004. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A115246028/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9070afcb. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Oct. 2003. 104p. Algonquin, $14.95 (1-56512-402-2). 811.
Although Donald Hall's without (1998), poems about the illness and death of his wife, the poet lane Kenyon, and hers about his earlier treatment for cancer (in Otherwise, 1996), have more literary cachet, Yolen's poems about her husband's radiation treatment for a brain tumor more nearly approximate the ideal book of consolatory poetry for beleaguered mates. They constitute a sonnet sequence, which like traditional sonnet sequences--love poetry, after all--speaks to the beloved first and then to others. If their occasions are intensely, often painfully private, they are written from the conviction that intimate experiences are, if seldom fittingly public, almost always general. Nearly every long-term couple will endure the sickness and death of one of the partners, and reading of the fears, sufferings, and ultimate triumphs that love allows cannot help but provide solace and inspiration--and the plainer spoken such writing is, the more it will encourage. Prolific and successful children's author Yolen writes with utmost clarity and precision, uses very ordinary vocabulary, and rhymes and measures with casual, unobtrusive grace. If this isn't capital-L literature, it is probably, at the very least, a common, small-c classic.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2003 American Library Association
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Olson, Ray. "* Yolen, Jane. The Radiation Sonnets: for My Love, in Sickness and in Health." Booklist, vol. 100, no. 2, 15 Sept. 2003, p. 195. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A110027045/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0af90cfd. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Harcourt. 159p. c2000. 0-15-202563-4. $5.95. J
Gog and Pook's favorite band is coming home to play. All they want is tickets to the concert, but tickets are hard to come by when you don't have any money. The teen troll and his Pookah friend hatch a plan to get them in--they will be roadies for the band. Never mind that they aren't yet full grown and as strong as they will be as adults; Pook will cast a glamour spell on them to make them look like they are full-grown trolls. The plan is working when they discover that Magog, Gog's kid brother, who has bribed his way into their scheme, has been kidnapped. All thoughts of the concert now pushed aside, they hunt for the little brother, even when the trail leads to the New Forest, where the scary White Wyrm lives. All of their young lives they have been told tales of the Wyrm, how it eats young trolls and pookahs alive. Frightened, but determined, Gog is helped by various citizens of the forest and finds his brother. The Huntsman, who has in his possession the only known pair of seven league boots, stolen from the fairy museum, holds Magog captive. Solving this crime and returning the boots wins the boys acclaim and front row seats to an "unplugged" special concert at the museum.
Jane Yolen has once again written a story that is engaging and timeless. Family loyalty is foremost, even if you are among the troll family. Die-hard rock fans can identify with Gog, as can fans of fantasy. Easily readable and with a different take on trolls, I'd recommend this book to any library. Stacey Conrad, Reading Teacher, Palmyra, MO
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2003 Kliatt
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Conrad, Stacey. "Yolen, Jane. Boots and the seven leaguers; a rock-and-troll novel." Kliatt, vol. 37, no. 5, Sept. 2003, pp. 29+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A108266776/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=db39fb9d. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
JANE YOLEN, ILLUS. BY VLADIMIR VAGIN. HarperCollins, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 0-06-028536-2
Two strong females dominate this Baba Yaga tale from the team behind The Firebird. Faithful to Russian tradition, the Baba Yaga featured here flies about in an enormous mortar and pestle, searching for children to capture and bring home to eat. In Yolen's version, a nameless girl triumphs over the witch, and reforms her in the bargain. After the girl falls off her father's truck on the way to market, Baba Yaga offers her a ride in her strange mode of transport. "Something is not right," the girl thinks, as the witch carries her off in the wrong direction. "But I have two good feet, a fine sense of direction, two strong arms, and a clever mind. I will get away on nay own." Meticulously drafted paintings depict old Russia's onion domes, birch forests and steely gray skies. Traditional motifs and stylized forms infuse the illustrations with a strong folk flavor, as they also incorporate antique tools and peasant costumes. Baba Yaga's black fingernails and scythe-shaped iron nose mark her as a villainess. Yolen's cheerful outcome emphasizes the girl's sound judgment and friendly reconciliation with the witch, while Vagin's illustrations provide an undercurrent of ever-present danger. Ages 3-6. (Aug.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2003 PWxyz, LLC
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"The Flying Witch." Publishers Weekly, vol. 250, no. 31, 4 Aug. 2003, pp. 78+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A106733011/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=233ffe31. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane & Heidi Elizabet Yolen Stemple
Illus. by Roger Roth
Simon & Schuster (32 pp.)
$16.95
Jul. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-82321-5
A gimmicky "mystery from history" is presented with the true detective work leached out of it and replaced with a phony framework meant to simulate clue-tracking. A frame story presents a girl who turns her enjoyment of the detective work of history to the lost colony of Roanoke. The subsequent narrative tells the story of the colonists, accompanied by full-bleed illustrations overlaid with mock notepaper explaining details and faux sticky-notes that randomly define terms--"destination" and "vicinity," for instance, but not the much more difficult "politics." The true shame of this effort, however, is that there is no attempt to reveal what is really exciting about history: how we know about the few details we have. This narrative is followed by a listing of five hypotheses varying from plausible to mystical, inviting readers to form their own. If the reader does, however, it is not because the preceding work has given her any idea how to formulate such a speculation. As an account of the lost colony, this is adequate; as a true mystery from history, it misses the boat. (bibliography, Web sites) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2003 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Roanoke, The Lost Colony: An Unsolved Mystery from History." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 71, no. 12, 15 June 2003, p. 865. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A103562734/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4815c718. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS EAT COOKIES? Cartwheel/Scholastic (Children's Picture Books) $7.99 1, 1 ISBN: 978-0-545-38253-3
This familiar dinosaur series takes a look at a favorite treat. From the trip to the grocery store through consumption, these cookies present a satisfying crunch. There's male and female supervision (of both baking and the dinos themselves); one lady works in the kitchen in dress and pearls. Yolen's now-familiar rhythm loses some of its lightness in occasionally forced rhymes. "Does a dinosaur grab for a cookie that's hot? / No, that's something that he does decidedly NOT!" Scratch-and-sniff elements add sweet smells. For budding pastry chefs old enough to mix the ingredients, the addition of two recipes may provide inspiration ("Ask an adult to help you bake"). In the spirit of the series, there is a heavy focus on manners (and sweets in moderation) as the dinos devour their goodies; they drink milk daintily and hold the bag of chocolate chips in the supermarket instead of ripping it open. Despite some glitches in the scansion and lack of originality, this outing goes down pretty easily. (Board book. 1-3)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS EAT COOKIES?" Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2012. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A294689865/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1dfb2fc1. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs. By J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen. Illus. by Jeffrey Stewart Timmins. 2012. 32p. Charlesbridge, $16.95 (9781580892605); e-book, $9.99 (9781607344537). 818. Gr. 2-4.
Welcome, boys and ghouls, to the pet cemetery. "Here at Amen / Creature Corners, / beasties weep / like misty mourners, / but when they read / an epitaph, / it always brings them / one last laugh." So begins terminally terse poetry covering the sudden--and often quite grim--demises of 30 unlucky animals. Take, for instance, the hen that has just been hammered to death by three chicks: "The end of her day / was in fowl play." Or how about the collection of milk cans stacked alongside an urn: "This grave is peaceful, / the tombstone shaded, / but I'm not here--/ I've been cream-ated. "Yes, this is a picture book, and heavens no, it is not appropriate for everyone. Timmins' brown-and-black-heavy Photoshop, ink, and gouache illustrations embellish each morbid rhyme with macabre images (warning: there will be blood) and facial details that turn each animal into a nightmare beast. Squeamish? Then stay away. But those itching to move beyond the positive messages and bright colors so ubiquitous in picture books will find this just the thing to elicit appreciative playground groans. Gallows humor at its finest.--Julie Cummins
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 American Library Association
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Cummins, Julie. "Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs." Booklist, vol. 109, no. 2, 15 Sept. 2012, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A304307117/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e6f86eee. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane WAKING DRAGONS Simon & Schuster (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 10, 16 ISBN: 978-1-4169-9032-1
Normally you don't want to wake the dragon- But even sleepy dragons need a little bit of prodding to open their eyes in the morning. An eager young knight and his faithful squire-puppy run around the bed, desperately tugging on blankets, dodging fiery yawns and heaving these great beasts off the mattress. Yolen is an expert on dinosaurs' daily activities (How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, illustrated by Mark Teague, 2000, etc.) and can put monsters to bed (Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters, illustrated by Kelly Murphy, 2011), but what about dragons? Starting simply, with only a few words per page: "Dragons wake up. // Dragons rise. // Dragons open / dragon eyes." Yolen then plays with the scansion, but she keeps the energetic beat throughout. Some rhymes may cause eye-rolling at first ("syrup" and "cheer up," for example) but in the end come across as quite charming. The drippy, syrupy waffles catapulted into the dragons' mouths are too darn adorable to resist. Anderson's bright acrylic illustrations round out the spare text with many added details and guffaws. Tooth brushing, breakfast and other cranky morning chores may have readers guessing that these dragons are off to school, but they have another very important reason for waking up. Morning-routine stories abound, but for the very young this one bounces with exuberance. (Picture book. 2-4)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: WAKING DRAGONS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2012, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A303620349/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e0508f3a. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE EMILY SONNETS Creative Editions/Creative Company (Children's Picture Books) $19.99 12, 15 ISBN: 978-1-56846-215-8
A sonnet sequence encapsulates the biography of one of America's most intriguing poets, Emily Dickinson. Loosely following Shakespearean and the occasional Petrarchan rhyme schemes, Yolen cleverly adopts personae of important figures in Dickinson's life--including the voice of the poet herself--to reveal key elements of her biography. Aiming to "tell the truth" of Dickinson's life, Yolen effectively conveys the importance of family and nature, privacy, imagination and independence in Dickinson's famously unconventional existence. Averse to traditional schooling and organized religion, the poet reveals: "I learned the spelling of the bee, / The mathematics of the rose / - / I found more in the books of air; / My higher education won / From every bird found flying there." Yolen also offers a sympathetic portrait of Dickinson's reclusiveness--"What need for me an open door / When in myself is so much more?"--and idiosyncratic dress: "sometimes a white dress is only that, / It keeps the daily choices few." Accompanying the sonnets, Kelley's dark and chunky pastels underscore Dickinson's interior life. Occasionally, attempts to echo Dickinson's poetic surprises yield muddled results, as in "Hedges," where Yolen's Dickinson depicts her shrubs as: "My soldiers, steady in a row, / Their helmets verdigrised by God, / Wearing epaulettes of crow." Overall, though, these poems, illustrations and substantial notes combine well to lend a rounded portrait of this American poet every young reader needs to discover. (Picture book/poetry. 10-14)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: THE EMILY SONNETS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2012, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A308117206/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ed588b80. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane BAD GIRLS Charlesbridge (Children's Fiction) $18.95 2, 1 ISBN: 978-1-58089-185-1
Brief, breezy profiles of women who committed crimes, from Delilah to Catherine the Great to gangster moll Virginia Hill, with comic-strip commentary from the authors. With a conversational style, the mother-daughter team of Yolen and Stemple recap the crimes and misdeeds of 26 women and a few girls in this jaunty collective biography. After each two-to-four-page biographical sketch and accompanying illustration of the woman, a one-page comic strip shows the authors arguing about the woman's guilt. The comic-strip Stemple typically comes down on the side of "guilty" or, in the case of Cleopatra marrying her brother, "icky." Yolen tends toward moral relativism, suggesting the women acted according to the norms of their times or that they were driven to crime by circumstances such as poverty or lack of women's rights. Thus, strip-teasing Salome, who may have been only 10, was manipulated by her mother into asking for John the Baptist's head on a platter. Outlaw Belle Starr was "a good Southern girl raised during difficult times." While the comic strips grow repetitive, the narrative portraits, arranged chronologically, offer intriguing facts--and in some cases, speculation--about an array of colorful figures, many of whom won't be known to readers. Entertaining and eye-opening. (bibliography, index) (Collective biography. 12-15)
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"Yolen, Jane: BAD GIRLS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2013, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A314620751/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=af049d88. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane CENTAUR RISING Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (Children's Fiction) $15.99 10, 21 ISBN: 978-0-8050-9664-4
Fantasy master Yolen here offers a tale of a half-foal, half-boy. Not quite a year after the appearance of a mysterious white light, an old pony at a boarding stable gives birth to a baby centaur. With only 13-year-old Arianne, her mother, a friendly veterinarian, the stable manager and Arianne's disabled, 6-year-old brother, Robbie, on site, they hatch a plan to keep the baby out of public view. Soon, however, the whole world knows, drawing even Arianne's estranged rock-star father, who comes to cash in. Unfortunately, this intriguing premise doesn't lead to a successful novel. The characters all feel like stereotypes, especially the father and chirpy Robbie, and the humans seem to accept an actual live centaur extraordinarily readily. One rule of adding fantasy elements to a story set in an otherwise real world is that the real-world details must ring true, and that is ultimately the greatest flaw here: Yolen doesn't get the horse details right. Whether it's incorrect vocabulary or flubbing the usual routine of a boarding stable, Yolen's real horses are never real enough for her fantasy centaur to come to life. The story is set in 1965, apparently as an excuse for Robbie's thalidomide-induced birth defects, but the setting is mostly just shown through mentions of contemporary television shows; the veterinarian's service in Vietnam seems impossible, given the timeline.This book stumbles right out of the gate. (Fantasy. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: CENTAUR RISING." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A378247340/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2152e2e6. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY I'M MAD? Blue Sky/Scholastic (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 10, 1 ISBN: 978-0-545-14315-8
Yolen and Teague continue their best-selling series with a comic look at what dinosaurs might and then should do when they are angry. Whether a Barapasaurus sticks his sizable tongue out or a Scaphognathus pouts or a Sauropelta throws things, tantrums and bad behavior come to an end through counting to 10 or having a timeout or breathing calmly. Messes are then cleaned up, apologies are given, and hugs are exchanged. The preschool set will recognize the full spectrum of antics that result from pent-up anger and the occasions that provoke such stormy emotions. The text follows the familiar series format, posing questions to readers: "When he's told to sit still, does he kick at a chair? / Does he act as if Mother and Father aren't there?" This invitation to participate will have readers offering their own opinions on appropriate behavior. On full-bleed, double-page spreads, Teague delivers oversized creatures whose sizes and silly expressions make their actions appear all the more outrageous. Although no new concepts are introduced, not only will this title be a favorite at storytime, it may also serve as a discussion starter about feelings and how best to express and cope with them. (Picture book. 2-5)
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY I'M MAD?" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2013, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A342657817/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aa662b88. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Grumbles Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist
Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich, authors
Matt Mahurin, illustrator
WordSong, and imprint of Highlights, Honesdale, PA
Boyd Mills Press
P.O. Box 164419, Columbus, OH 43216
9781590788677, $16.95, www.boydsmillspress.com
Here is an unusual, creative collection of fairy-tale poems written from a slightly altered perspective on the traditional fairy tale. Here are original poems by two well known children's authors inspired by Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White, the Little Mermaid, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, and more. Each pair of eye opening fairy tale reflections is accompanied by a lovely two page illustration of fantastic proportions and darkened color tones. Here's a favorite poem titled The Three Bears, Three Bears, Five Voices: HOT,/ Cold,/ Just right./ WALK,/ Talk,/ Home for a bite?/ Taste,/ Touch,/ Stop to play./ Eat,/ Sit,/ Snore away./ BACK,/ Now!/ Baby howl./ UP ... / Stairs,/ Little growl./ Uh-oh,/ Better/ Run./ JUST/ Call/ 911./ Officer Bruin/ To view/ The ruin./ We'll/ Get her/ Fast,/ She/ Has/ A past./" ""Grumbles Forest" is a delightful fresh take on ancient fairy tales with new peeks into beloved characters for kids age 4 and up.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Midwest Book Review
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"Grumbles Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist." Children's Bookwatch, Sept. 2013, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A344210480/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8444e35c. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters
by Jane Yolen; illus. by Kelly Murphy
Preschool Candlewick 32 pp.
7/13 978-0-7636-5727-7 $14.99 g
A whole passel of googly-eyed creatures (some with two eyes, others with one, three, four, or more) cavort around a park, to the rhythm of Yolen's spare, easy-to-follow rhyming text: "Monsters hopscotch. / Monsters slide. / Monsters swing and piggy-back ride." A story line emerges from Murphy's multi-hued (but, happily, in subdued shades) oil, acrylic, and gel illustrations: a mother monster and her children--one is red with spots, the other is yellow with stripy arms and legs--are having a blast until a tussle at the water fountain leads to hurt feelings. No worries: an apology and balloons make everything "all better," and the siblings toodle off out of the park, furry-hand in furry-hand.
Most of the books are recommended; all of them are subject to the qualifications in the reviews. g indicates that the book was read in galley or page proof. The publisher's price is the suggested retail price and does not indicate a possible discount to libraries. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. * indicates a book that the editors believe to be an outstanding example of its genre, of books of this particular publishing season, or of the author's body of work. For a complete key to the review abbreviations as well as for bios of our reviewers, please visit hbook.com/horn-book-magazine.
Gershowitz, Elissa
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Gershowitz, Elissa. "Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 89, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2013, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A345774150/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=799e41d5. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Wee Rhymes: Baby's First Poetry Book.
By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Jane Dyer.
2013. 112p. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman, $19.99 (9781416948988). 398.8. PreS.
Two well-known names combine their considerable talents for this book of baby's first poems. There are a few well-known chestnuts here, "Rock-a-bye Baby" and "Mulberry Bush," for example, but most are Yolen's own creations. The audience she has in mind is the very youngest, for whom language is new, and these short poems are great for the age group. Not only do they roll off the tongue, but they are mostly eight lines long, so no one is getting bored--neither the speaker nor the listener. Built around a child's everyday activities, the rhymes tend to the practical ("Here comes the engine. / Open wide. / The train choo-chews / The food inside"); "Street Rules" explains what to do when the traffic light turns red or green. Dyer's signature soft-edged watercolors give the events a happy glow. Children of every ethnicity will see themselves in the art, and Dyer includes images of the items that make up their day: dolls, toothbrushes, teddy bears, and wheelies of all kinds. A charming addition to shelves for preschoolers.
Cooper, Ilene
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 American Library Association
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Cooper, Ilene. "Wee Rhymes: Baby's First Poetry Book." Booklist, vol. 109, no. 18, 15 May 2013, p. 51. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A333064622/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6612f651. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE HOSTAGE PRINCE Viking (Children's Fiction) $16.99 6, 13 ISBN: 978-0-670-01434-7
Two standard character types--a spunky lower-class girl and a prince without a kingdom--reluctantly bond in a series opener that features colorful aspects mortared together with tired tropes. Snail is a midwife's apprentice in the Unseelie Court, which occupies a harsh, chaotic castle brimming with many kinds of fey. Snail's midwifery role is strictly prescribed, but she's clumsy and tends to stumble into trouble. Elsewhere in the castle lives Prince Aspen, called the Hostage Prince since he doesn't belong to the royal Unseelie family--he belongs to their enemies. By birth, he's the third successor to the faraway Seelie throne. Seven years ago, each court sent a son to their enemy's home as a hostage against the possibility of war. When a drow's lie and a queen's hostility send Snail and Aspen tumbling into a frantic escape from execution, they grudgingly work together to cross changing landscapes and reach his Seelie family--which doesn't offer the safety they expect. A comical troll birthing scene, an ending twist and an intriguing riddle that Aspen's charged to carry balance out the uneven creativity and the fact that Snail's plucky impudence--a central aspect of her characterization--receives only the thinnest justification. This isn't the absolute freshest fantasy for this age group, but the prince's boldly impossible plan will carry readers forward to the next installment. (Fantasy. 8-11)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: THE HOSTAGE PRINCE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2013. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A328141760/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ab3ab132. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane. Curse of the Thirteenth Fey: The True Tale of Sleeping Beauty. Philomel/Penguin, 2012. 256p. $16.99. 978-0-399-25664-6.
The youngest child of a mixed marriage between an elf and a member of the Shouting Fey, thirteen-year-old Gorse has been allowed to enjoy childhood longer than her twelve siblings. Angry at learning she and her family are tied to the land by an oath and required to do the king's bidding, regardless of how shortsighted, Gorse falls ill and is left behind when her family is summoned to the christening of the newborn princess, Talia. Worried that her absence will be considered an oath-breaking for her family, punishable by instant transformation into thousands of stars, Gorse takes a shortcut to the castle, only to fall into a magical trap that lands her in an underground cave. There she meets the self-centered, nasty Prince Orybon. Between Orybon's manipulations, Gorse's clumsiness, and the ancient magic of the gate that bars escape from the underground caves, Gorse fears she will never make it to the christening on time.
The book's rather slow, whimsical, and meandering (a bit like Gorse herself) pace is offset by the more imaginative and fun details, such as Gorse's father's magical library with books from the past, present, and future and the underground McGargles--hairy creatures who like cooking but not cleaning. All is wrapped up neatly, as fairy tales are, in a most satisfying manner, explaining, at last, the subtitle of the book. Die-hard Jane Yolen fans and younger readers who enjoy the telling more than the tale will appreciate this prequel to Sleeping Beauty.--Kim Carter.
This book is good, though not amazing. Certain parts, like the beginning, are fairly slow. This book is definitely for the younger reader who likes fantasy with fairies and elves. 3Q, 2P.--Ruth Cowan, Teen Reviewer.
Carter, Kim^Cowan, Ruth
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
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Carter, Kim, and Ruth Cowan. "Yolen, Jane. Curse of the Thirteenth Fey: The True Tale of Sleeping Beauty." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 36, no. 1, Apr. 2013, p. 685. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A342468555/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4c84e057. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane JEWISH FAIRY TALE FEASTS Crocodile/Interlink (Children's Nonfiction) $25.00 3, 1 ISBN: 978-1-56656-909-5
Veteran storyteller Yolen and her daughter Stemple combine Jewish folklore with culinary tradition in this selection of tales and correlating recipes sure to enhance a Jewish family's celebrations. These 18 stories reflect a wide representation of Jewish beliefs and oral history, springing not just from Eastern European Yiddish-speaking lands, but also from the Middle East. "The Pomegranate Seed" (misspelled in the table of contents) is originally from Morocco, and "Rifka and the Magic Pitcher," a "Red Riding Hood"-type story comes from Iraq. Yolen carefully documents her research and her rationale for retelling each chosen tale. A combination of fabric collage art and paint creates bold, almost abstract figures for both story characters and recipe ingredients. The oversized, glossy-paged volume is divided into four sections: Brunch, Soup, Main Courses and Dessert. Two Israeli recipes, shakshuka (an egg-and-tomato breakfast dish) and pomegranate couscous, give a little Middle Eastern zing to the more familiar offerings, such as challah, noodle kugel and matzo balls. Several of the holidays are also represented: Purim with hamantaschen, Shavuot with blintzes and Hanukkah with latkes. Recipes are kid friendly. More valuable as an entr�e to Jewish literature than as a cookbook, but the recipes are a nice bonus. (Folklore/cookbook. 7-10)
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"Yolen, Jane: JEWISH FAIRY TALE FEASTS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2013, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A322002940/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9734c08b. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
B.U.G. (Big Ugly Guy)
by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple
Intermediate, Middle School Dutton 344 pp.
3/13 978-0-525-42238-9 $16.99 g
Twelve-year-old Sammy Greenburg is a victim. School bullies make his days miserable--dunking him headfirst into the toilet, tripping him in the hallway, spitting on his food. But things begin to look up when he befriends a new student named Skink, and they start a "klezmer jazz boogie pop fusion rock" band with fellow student Julia Nathanson. Skink even attends Sammy's Hebrew lessons with Rabbi Chaim, who, upon hearing of the bullying, introduces the boys to the story of Reb Judah Loew, who, in sixteenth-century Prague, created a golem, "made of clay, animated by the name of God, to stand as protector of the Jews when death threatened them all." When Skink is severely beaten by the same bullies who make Sammy's school life a nightmare, Sammy creates his own golem to protect him and Skink. Somehow, Sammy is able to make a being so lifelike that he attends school, comes over to spend the night, and plays drums in the band, and no one wonders too much who he is or where he came from. Though utterly far-fetched, this is a likable tale with a clear and laudable message about friendship and learning to fight your own battles.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Schneider, Dean. "B.U.G. (Big Ugly Guy)." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 89, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2013, p. 125. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A321578638/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4f8b695f. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Curses! Foiled Again
by Jane Yolen; illus. by Mike Cavallaro
Middle School First Second/Roaring Brook 164 pp.
1/13 Paper ed. 978-1-59643-619-0 $15.99
Foiled's (rev. 7/10) feisty heroine, Aliera Carstairs, makes a return appearance, ready to "save Faerie from the big bad guys. The really big bad guys. You know, ogres and witches and trolls. Oh, my!" But, of course, there's also high school and fencing class, and "balancing the mundane world with the mystical" isn't exactly easy-breezy. To make matters more complicated, Aliera's got an unwanted bodyguard: Avery Castle. He's a high school hottie in daylight, but as darkness falls, he morphs into a troll. And although Avery has pledged to protect her, how can Aliera, Defender of Faerie, bring herself to trust a troll, especially when her cousin Caroline's life may be on the line? As Aliera quarrels with Avery about, well, everything, their back-and-forth thrust and parry is a clever verbal analog to actual fencing. Yolen repeats this comparison and even winks at its appearance in movies like The Princess Bride during Aliera's showdown with the Dark Lord, who is not only the leader of the trolls but, in an unexpected twist, the real betrayer of Aliera's trust. Throughout the graphic novel, Cavallaro plays with contrast, interrupting his muted gray palette (Aliera is colorblind) with bursts of bright color whenever fantastical creatures or objects appear on the scene.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Auger, Tanya D. "Curses! Foiled Again." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 89, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2013, pp. 125+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A321578639/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=865f8e13. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane NOT ALL PRINCESSES DRESS IN PINK Simon & Schuster (Children's) $15.99 Jun. 15, 2010 ISBN: 978-1-4169-8018-6
Mother-daughter team Yolen and Stemple get right to the point: "Not all princesses dress in pink. / Some play in bright red socks that stink, // blue team jerseys that don't quite fit, / accessorized with a baseball mitt / and a sparkly crown." In upbeat rhyme, they proceed to describe other princesses who roll in the mud, use power tools, play sports, plant flowers and drive dump trucks, all dressed in myriad colorful outfits (but none of them pink!) and sparkly crowns (always rendered in a cursive typeface). At day's end, the princesses gather at a ball where they "waltz in red, fox trot in blue, / they reel in plaid and polka dots, too. / And in those grand and fancy halls, / one even hip-hops in her overalls // and a very sparkly princess crown. " Lanquetin's digitally rendered illustrations depict girls of all shapes, sizes and colors; they are mischievous, exuberant, dirty, exhausted, serious and, most of all, authentic. A joyful and much-needed antidote to the precious pink pestilence that has infested picture books aimed at girls. (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: NOT ALL PRINCESSES DRESS IN PINK." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2010, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A232989674/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=73cb89c2. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Foiled
Jane Yolen and Mike Cavallaro. Roaring Brook/First Second, $15.99 (160p) ISBN 9781-59643279-6
Aliera Carstairs attends a small high school in New York City and feels like an outcast in its crowds of cliques, jocks, goths, nerds, and preps. She's always been a loner and doesn't know where she belongs. The only control she has is fencing and the role-playing games she plays with her disabled cousin. Then the gorgeous and flirtatious Avery Castle becomes her lab partner, and a crush quickly ensues. Plus there's her mysterious practice sword with the irremovable ruby in the hilt. Famed YA author Yolen weaves a familiar tale of the heroine's journey, while addressing Aliera's helplessness before Avery's glamour. But Avery has some secrets of his own---cutting up frogs in lab class is his idea of fun--and all the threads converge at Grand Central Station in a botched first date that turns into a high fantasy adventure. Cavallaro's art is rounded and cartoony, handling action and the fantasy elements well while skimping a bit on characterization--his Avery is just a sorta cute cartoon boy, not a devastating heartbreaker, but Aliera is a strong and likable protagonist. Yolen weaves her knowledge of fencing vividly throughout the plot, powerfully creating romance, mystery, adventure, fantasy, and drama, all rolled into a strong narrative. Ages 11-up. (Apr.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 PWxyz, LLC
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"Foiled." Publishers Weekly, vol. 257, no. 14, 5 Apr. 2010, p. 64. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A223749429/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=543f9fd0. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane LOST BOY Dutton (Adult Picture Books) $17.99 8, 1 ISBN: 978-0-525-47886-7
A sturdy picture biography of J.M. Barrie shines light before and beyond the wild success of Peter Pan. The narrative captures Barrie's child persona through deftly chosen details: "Whenever his favorite magazine, Sunshine, didn't arrive on time, he would write stories himself. Up in the top floor of the house, he scribbled away." His mother's intense grief over the death of a favored older brother left six-year-old Jamie doubly bereft. The author disproves Barrie's characterization of an impoverished childhood, preferring her own scholarship to his romantic embroidery. She lists 13 titles as "a few of the many books" consulted, yet some quotations lack context for modern child readers. Barrie tells his young friends, "that the Peter Pan character was based on them. 'I always knew that I made Peter by rubbing the five of you violently together, as savages with two sticks produce a flame.' " Adams's distinctive acrylic-on-board pictures juxtapose full-page scenes from Barrie's life with facing spots that fancifully illustrate snippets from the books and plays. A bit opaque, yet handsome and useful. (selected works by Barrie, selected list of actresses that played Peter) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)
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"Yolen, Jane: LOST BOY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2010. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A256560527/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6f6f35b5. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SWITCHING ON THE MOON Candlewick (Adult Poetry) $21.99 9, 1 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4249-5
From the traditional "Man in the Moon" and Vachel Lindsay's "The Moon's the North Wind's Cooky (What the Little Girl Said)" to Roger McGough's "First Rub of Dawn," this properly soporific companion to Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry (2007, illustrated by Polly Dunbar) pairs 60 short, murmurous, night-themed poems or extracted verses to full-bleed, usually full-spread paintings awash in soft moonlight and gentle, dreamlike images. Printed in generously spaced lines of good-sized type well suited to reading in low light, the selections are artfully arranged in a thematic progression that moves from moonrise to bedtime rituals ("My name is Captain Soapsuds- / A mighty ship I sail...."), on to a set of lullabies and then through the wee hours to dawn. There is a lullaby with a Caribbean inflection ("Rack-a-bye, Baby") and one from the Iroquois, and a Scottish quatrain appears against Langston Hughes's "The Dream Keeper." To suit these and others, Karas provides a gently multicultural cast of characters. Best of all, the poetry's mild, steady rhythms will close little eyelids anywhere. (Poetry collection. Birth-5)
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"Yolen, Jane: SWITCHING ON THE MOON." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2010, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A256561098/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4d96e122. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HUSH, LITTLE HORSIE Random (Adult Picture Books) $19.99 9, 28 ISBN: 978-0-375-95853-3
The opening stanza-"Hush little horsie, / Asleep on the farm. / Your mama is near / And will keep you from harm"-sets the tone for a soothing bedtime hymn featuring horses. A variety of different mother horses and ponies in different settings (plain, islands, moor, stable) protectively watch fuzzy foals run, play and sleep. The text emphasizes the idea of the all-protective parent who will always provide support and a safe place to dream. At the end, the narrative switches to a human "mama" putting her daughter (who holds a stuffed horse) to bed. This functions as a nice point of interest for little ones to connect themselves to the book. The theme is as sweet as sugar, and it's hard to imagine this not being a source of comfort for any young child, but it's still not as fresh as one would expect from such an established writer as Yolen. Sanderson's lush, incredibly precise portraits of the horses are also high in glucose. Simple and cuddly, but we've seen this before. (Picture book. 2-5)
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"Yolen, Jane: HUSH, LITTLE HORSIE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2010, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A256561268/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=77e143a0. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Elsie's Bird
by Jane Yolen; illus. by David Small
Preschool, Primary Philomel 40 pp.
9/10 978-0-399-25292-1 $17.99 g
What, after great loss, brings solace? Despite Mama's death years ago, Elsie has "a comfortable childhood" in her beloved Boston, where she can play street games with friends, listen to birdsong, and visit her grandparents. Papa, however, remains unconsoled; so when Elsie is eight, the two move to the Nebraska frontier. Now it's Elsie who's bereft. The sod-roofed house seems lonely and desolate, and her ear isn't tuned to the unfamiliar new voices--the plains' birds, wind, water; she hears only her own weeping and the'singing of her canary, Timmy Tune. Then Timmy escapes, and Elsie--frantically following him into the tall grass--loses her way, a potentially tragic mishap. However, Timmy finds her, and in that joyful moment she begins at last to listen to the voices of the plains. Finally, hearing Papa's frightened call, she follows it home to find a happy surprise: their menage now includes chickens and, best of all, a dog. Small's signature multimedia art is rendered here with impressionistic freedom: a melange of expressive broad strokes, delicate line, free-flowing color, expansive vistas, and subtle characterizations that reinforce and enhance the gentle, lyrical story's emotional impact.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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Long, Joanna Rudge. "Elsie's Bird." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 86, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2010, p. 69. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A236568195/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ca5ef066. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE BAREFOOT BOOK OF DANCE STORIES Barefoot (Adult Picture Books) $21.99 11, 1 ISBN: 978-1-84686-219-9
Princesses, birds celestial and enchanted, trickster gods, sheep, birch fairies, goddesses and witches from Europe, the British Isles, Japan, Africa, the West Indies and ancient Egypt all dance in this attractive collection of eight tales. They perform waltzes, polkas and reels, the limbo, flamenco and belly dancing, stylized Noh and Malian funeral ceremonial dancing. Stories range from the familiar "Twelve Dancing Princesses" from Germany to "When the Goddess Danced" from ancient Egypt. Each story is introduced with a couple of paragraphs incorporated into the multipage table of contents, and at the end of the book, there's a how-to on the dances and information on what costumes are worn. The accompanying CD, read beautifully by British actress Juliet Stevenson, has a brief musical introduction to each story that helps set the mood. The watercolor illustrations swirl about in appropriately Terpsichorean fashion. A useful collection for reading aloud and for adding flavor to musical programs and national studies. The bibliography includes many websites. Step lively! (Folktales. 7-12)
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"Yolen, Jane: THE BAREFOOT BOOK OF DANCE STORIES." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2010, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A256562149/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9baad4c3. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Switching On the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems.
Ed. by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters. Illus. by G. Brian Karas.
2010. 96p. Candlewick, $21.99 (9780763642495). 398.6. PreS-Gr. 1.
Just right for reading aloud with preschoolers, the 60 poems in this lively anthology play with magical images of the night sky as well as with rituals of bath and bed. Arthur Guiterman's "Starlighter" includes luminous images of nature and mystery: "When the bat's on the wing and the bird's in the tree / Comes the old Starlighter, whom none may see." Then there is Judith Nicholls' "Bathtime!" ("I've rubbed, I've scrubbed"). Karas' generously sized illustrations in gouache, acrylic, and pencil, many in subdued shades of brown and blue, show a child admiring the moon from many places: a city street, a window, and the side of a pond. Then he marches up the stairs (naming each step as he goes), splashes in the bathtub, and brushes his teeth with the whole family together ("Scrub them, rub them"). Along with the gentle, familiar scenes, many kids will relate to the rebellious voice in Jo Ellen Bogart's poem: "I am dirty today. I'll get dirty again / So why bother to wash in between?" A fun companion to Mother Goose.--Hazel Rochman
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 American Library Association
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Rochman, Hazel. "Switching On the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems." Booklist, vol. 107, no. 3, 1 Oct. 2010, p. 45. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A239266720/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6ac03cb5. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane BIRDS OF A FEATHER Wordsong/Boyds Mills (Adult Poetry) $17.95 4, 1 ISBN: 978-1-59078-830-1
Striking photographs of birds that might be seen in the eastern United States illustrate this new collection of 14 poems in varied forms. From bald eagle to marbled godwit, the range is wide. It includes familiar feeder birds like chickadees, birds of ponds and shores like wood ducks, hooded mergansers and sandpipers, as well as less-common birds like the great horned owl, rufous-sided towhee and cedar waxwings. Semple's splendid photographs show birds in the wild-flying, perched in trees or on slender reeds, running along the sand and even bunched on a boardwalk. The colors are true, and the details sharp; careful focus and composition make the birds the center of attention. Yolen's poems comment on these birds' appearances and their curious actions. An eastern kingbird is "a ninja of the air," and "...oystercatchers, unafraid, / Continue on their stiff parade." The mockingbird's "Threesome Haiku" matches his triple repetition of the tune he mocks. Some of the poetry limps, making an easy point rather than enlarging the reader's understanding, but some is memorable. Perhaps most effective is the rhythmic "Terns Galore": "Turning terns are all returning / There upon the shore." Short sidebars add interesting, informative details about each species and Donald Kroodsma, a well-known ornithologist, has added a short foreword. This is a welcome companion to A Mirror to Nature and An Egret's Day (both 2009). (Informational poetry. 8-11)
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"Yolen, Jane: BIRDS OF A FEATHER." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2011, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A256558483/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=610881cc. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane CREEPY MONSTERS, SLEEPY MONSTERS Candlewick (Adult Picture Books) $14.99 7, 12 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4201-3
This brief lullaby-story provides just-right toddler-sized chills.
The action begins at 3:00 as school lets out. Yolen describes it all in rhyme with spare sentences and phrases: "Monsters creep, / Monsters crawl // Over the meadow / And up the wall." Murphy chooses a muted palette to illustrate the motley bunch of innocuous creatures sporting a horn or two, various numbers of eyes, an occasional tail or tufts of fur. Preschool monster fans are sure to pore over and giggle at Murphy's droll, detailed paintings executed in a mix of oil, acrylic and gel. They will also easily relate to the depicted routine of coming home, eating dinner, taking a bath and getting into bed, and they will be charmed rather than spooked as the text's gentle cadence begins to work a calming magic. But the monsters show a last burst of energy-of course-as they "toss and turn and bounce" before finally snuggling in for the night. Silly going-to-sleep sounds such as "Growl / Gurgle / Burp" gently bring this soon-to-be popular book to an end.
There's plenty in this scary-sweet book to please children all year round. (Picture book. 2-4)
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"Yolen, Jane: CREEPY MONSTERS, SLEEPY MONSTERS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2011. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A262821460/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f2358d9a. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Take Two! A Celebration of Twins.
By J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen. Illus. by Sophie Blackall.
2012. 72p. Candlewick, $17.99 (9780763637026). 811. Gr. 3-6.
Although this handsome offering has the look of a picture book, both the poems and sly art are better suited for middle-graders, and if they happen to be twins, so much the better. Lewis, the Children's Poet Laureate, and prolific Yolen present more than 40 poems dedicated to the ups and downs, pros and cons, of being a "womb mate" (as one poem is titled). Like most poetry books, this has its share of clever verse and other poems that fall flat. Repetition of sentiment is also a bit of a problem here. There may be only so many ways to say we are part of each other--or perhaps the number of poems should have been culled. But when the poetry is good, it's very good, and in some cases, hilarious or touching, as in "Mirror Twin": "I wave, you wave. / I smile, you laugh. / I wink, you blink. You leave--I'm half." Heavily illustrated with full-page and spot art from the always delightful BlackaU, this looks like much thought has been put into the design. A charmer.--Ilene Cooper
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 American Library Association
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Cooper, Ilene. "Take Two! A Celebration of Twins." Booklist, vol. 108, no. 15, 1 Apr. 2012, p. 43. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A286390637/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=036825f9. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane BUG OFF! Wordsong/Boyds Mills (Children's Picture Books) $16.95 4, 1 ISBN: 978-1-59078-862-2
Mother and son collaborate once more (Birds of a Feather, 2011, etc.), creating a group of poems and photographs that celebrate some well-known creepy crawlies. Fly, praying mantis, butterfly, ants, honey bee, lovebug, daddy longlegs, spider, dragonfly, tick, ladybug and grasshopper each take a spread, the photo opposite a page of text that includes the poem and a paragraph of facts. Most of Yolen's poems rhyme, and an author's note encourages readers to create their own poems, with a caution that they choose their words wisely, using the lightning-versus-lightning bug quote from Mark Twain to support this. But some nature-minded readers may see Yolen as not taking her own advice. There is sometimes a disconnect between the beauty of the photographs and the more joking tone and anthropomorphizing of some of the poems. A spider's tired joke about the World Wide Web is a stark contrast to these lovely lines, for instance: "A flittering cloud, / a crowd / of creeps. / And then, as if / an unseen broom / sweeps / skimmingly / across the sky, / the swarm is gone / in a blink / of an eye." Stemple's photographs are the true stars of this book. His macro views show such details as the rainbow colorations on a fly's wings, the serrations on a grasshopper's rear legs and the many units that make up the lovebug's compound eyes. A bug-themed companion to their previous collaborations. (Poetry. 5-10)
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"Yolen, Jane: BUG OFF!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2012. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A282761553/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f9335c1c. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
The Last Dragon , by Jane Yolen & Rebecca Guay, Dark Horse Books, 2011, $29.99.
WHEN readers fall in love with a book, they usually fall hard. And often they'll be interested in other interpretations of the material--especially movies--but will then complain that the movie isn't as good as the book.
There is a good reason for this that has nothing to do with how faithful the adaptation is, how well the characters are cast, or even when favorite scenes get cut. The real problem is that the movie on the screen doesn't match the one in their heads.
If there's a secret to writing, it's probably this: the best writers meet their readers halfway. They don't give them too much or too little information, and they're adept at manipulating the reader to have a certain response to how events play out. When they do it right, the reader feels involved in the creative process. In other words, they meet the writer at that halfway point, filling in details, motives, characterization, etc., which has been alluded to in the book.
So it's no wonder that the movie on the screen doesn't match the one in their head.
Some writers are so good at this that their work really doesn't need to be adapted. It's already perfect on the page. (Which writers those are will differ for each reader--and that's how it should be.)
For me, one of those writers is Jane Yolen. Her work has all the criteria mentioned above, but added to that is her ability to write a timeless story--a story that feels like a fairy tale, like it's been around forever, even as it tells its own unique narrative.
So it was with a little trepidation that I approached this adaptation of her 1985 short story "Dragonfield." I wasn't put off by the art. For The Last Dragon , Rebecca Guay delivers gorgeous paintings that look like a comic book illustrated by one of the Pre-Raphaelite artists, with a touch of Art Nouveau thrown in for good measure. The visuals are wonderful, as is the narrative flow.
But Jane Yolen doesn't need art to help her tell a story--and before you correct me, I know she's the author of innumerable picture books. When she puts her talent to a prose novel or story (as when "The Last Dragon" originally appeared as the titular entry in the Dragonfield anthology), her words do all the magic that's required. The movie in the reader's head unreels just as it should without the necessity of visual direction.
Still, just because a story doesn't require a visual adaptation to be successful, that doesn't mean it shouldn't get one. You need only put the question to the multitude of fans of books like The Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter series -yearning for more of their favorite stories in other formats--to be given a resounding "yes." And in the best of worlds, the result is ... not necessarily something better, but something different that is just as entrancing in its own right.
That's certainly the case here. The mix of Yolen's prose and dialogue with Guay's expressive art deliver a collaboration that is an absolute delight from start to finish.
What's it about? Oh, there are three sisters, a dragon, a reluctant hero, a village in peril ... really, you need to read it to experience the magic for yourself. It's lovely, lovely stuff, and you won't be disappointed. Not even if you enjoy the original story as much as I do.
De Lint, Charles
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Spilogale, Inc.
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De Lint, Charles. "The Last Dragon." The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, vol. 122, no. 3-4, Mar.-Apr. 2012, pp. 38+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A282823398/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=302488e9. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Snow in Summer
by Jane Yolen
Middle School, High School Philomel 243 pp.
11/11 978-0-399-25663-9 $16.99
Snow in Summer, born with a caul in Depression-era West Virginia, is seven when her mama dies birthing her baby brother and her papa goes into a decline from grief. For four years Summer has no mama but Cousin Nancy; then Summer's papa, "besot" by a haint he meets on the mountain, abruptly takes a new wife, driving warm Cousin Nancy away. Summer at first laps up her stepmother's calculated affection, but soon that affection is bounded by rules and conditions that Snow (so re-nicknamed by Stepmama) can't possibly meet. Vignettes from other characters' perspectives reveal a more sinister plot--Stepmama is slowly killing off Papa for his land, with plans to take seven years of Snow's life for her own when she inducts the girl into her own dark craft. Yes, there is a magic mirror, a hunter tasked with cutting out Snow's heart and roasting it, and "six small men who mine" (the seventh is away at university). But in Yolen's retelling of "Snow White," the magic is tilted toward Pentecostal snake handling, herbal wisdom, and country beliefs like the protective powers of the caul. The details of Appalachia that pervade the tale, including narrative language both poetic and specifically mountain, are so authentic and true that, far from being a wizened offshoot of a European rootstock, this story branches out into its own full, American inflorescence.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Burkam, Anita L. "Snow in Summer." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 88, no. 1, Jan.-Feb. 2012, p. 106. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A275576034/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=12c35293. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SELF PORTRAIT WITH SEVEN FINGERS Creative Editions/Creative Company (Children's Picture Books) $18.99 12, 15 ISBN: 978-1-56846-211-0
U.S. Children's Poet Laureate Lewis and the prolific Yolen team up for a celebratory picture-book biography in verse of the 20th century painter and designer Marc Chagall (1887-1985) that may quickly become a favorite of art-loving families and museum docents. This handsome book is amply illustrated with archival photos, spot art from Chagall's oeuvre and, most importantly, 14 full-color reproductions of Chagall's affecting, mystical, sometimes surreal re-imaginings of his Jewish childhood in Eastern Europe, paintings that swell with touching imagery of joy, loss and beauty. Most of the book's two-page spreads include an evocative poem (by either Lewis or Yolen) inspired by or reflecting upon the painting on the facing page. These spreads also feature informative, telling biographical briefs that anchor the art and beautifully crafted poetry to Chagall's long, incident-rich life and artistic career. Details about each painting's size, medium, date and provenance also add interest. Chagall's work is represented in over 40 museums in North America, and teachers and parents often find his work particularly accessible and appealing to children who readily and eagerly decode his imagery, making this book useful as well is beautiful. This inspired collaboration adds a heightened poetic dimension to readers' understanding of Chagall's life and art. (Picture book/poetry/biography. 11 & up)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: SELF PORTRAIT WITH SEVEN FINGERS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2011, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A272381299/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6ac9118b. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Things to Say to a Dead Man: Poems at the End of a Marriage and After.
By Jane Yolen.
Oct. 2011. 70p. Holy Cow!, paper, $15.95 (9780983325406). 811.
This is the sequel to The Radiation Sonnets (2003), Yolen's outstanding venture into the poetry of consolation, occasioned by her husband's surgery and treatment for cancer. Unfortunately, it's a sad sequel, for the cancer came back, and he died. Yolen wrote these poems while he was dying and days, weeks, months, and years afterward. Its four sections present them accordingly, first the poems of just before, then those of just after, the death, succeeded by first-year-after poems and later poems, concluding with "Fifth Year Anniversary." Yolen doesn't continue the formal discipline of the sonnet sequence, which gave the preceding book such sustained intensity of feeling. There's more formal variety here, including two triolets, much modestly deployed anaphora (stanzas rather than lines open with the same phrase), and some internal rhyming, though exceedingly natural free verse predominates. The common language, clarity, and precision that made The Radiation Sonnets so useful also distinguish these poems. As long as there are grievers, these poems will have a grateful readership.--Ray Olson
Olson, Ray
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 American Library Association
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Olson, Ray. "Things to Say to a Dead Man: Poems at the End of a Marriage and After." Booklist, vol. 108, no. 1, 1 Sept. 2011, p. 30. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A267201697/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8e6f5db8. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SISTER BEAR Marshall Cavendish (Children's Picture Books) $17.99 9, 1 ISBN: 978-0-7614-5958-3
Yolen's clever retelling of an old Norse folktale changes the main character from a boy to a brave, smart girl named Halva, a welcome addition to the roster of clever folk heroines who solve their own problems.
Halva finds an adorable, white bear cub in the woods and takes her home to raise as her pet, despite parental misgivings. The bear becomes so well-trained and beloved that she earns the name of Sister Bear. When Halva decides to take Sister Bear to meet the king, they stop on Christmas Eve to stay with a family along their route. Her new friends are about to evacuate in fear of the annual Christmastime visit of a pack of evil trolls, so Halva and Sister Bear decide to take on the trolls. Together they fend off the troll attack with a combination of wits and Sister Bear's brawn and then continue their journey to visit the king. Appealing illustrations in pastel, colored pencil and watercolor create delightful personalities for Halva and Sister Bear along with intricately detailed Scandinavian costumes and interior scenes. The troupe of trolls is suitably horrid ("[t]en feet high, green teeth, terrible manners") though not truly terrifying.
This satisfying tale from a consummate storyteller will be popular with those who like Scandinavian settings, and many readers will wish for a companion like Sister Bear. (author's note) (Picture book/folktale. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: SISTER BEAR." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2011, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A265504465/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bef40a95. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye.
By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Jim LaMarche.
2011. 32p. Random, $16.99 (9780375866630); lib. ed., $19.99
(9780375966637). PreS-Gr. 3.
On at sunny day in spring, an elderly named Tiger Rose knows that her death is near. Tired and slow, she has been troubled by pains in her legs and a ringing in her ears. She walks around her home in the country, saying good-bye to the parents and children, their sleeping dog, and a scolding blue jay. After greeting the moles, voles, and other animals with unaccustomed gentleness, Tiger Rose lies down beneath the rosebushes and, leaving her body behind, "she was gone, now part of the earth, the air, the sky, the sun--and all." Approaching a subject that many prefer to avoid, Yolen writes with precision and tenderness. The calm tone of the text is just right: matter-of-fact but compassionate. Reflecting the delicate beauty of the writing, LaMarche's mixed-media illustrations show equal finesse in line, color, texture, and composition. Nearly every picture seems suffused with soft, golden light. The endpapers bracket the story in a fitting way, depicting a bird's-eye view of the farm, first at dawn and then in the evening. A quiet tribute to the passage from life into death and, potentially, a comfort to children facing the death of a pet.--Carolyn Phelan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 American Library Association
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Phelan, Carolyn. "The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye." Booklist, vol. 107, no. 21, 1 July 2011, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A261950632/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=925834c0. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS STAY SAFE? Blue Sky/Scholastic (Children's Picture Books) $17.99 2, 24 ISBN: 978-0-439-24104-5
Officer Buckle had Gloria, his police canine, to help his audience see the value of his safety lessons; Yolen and Teague have their dinos. Addressing such perennial topics as jumping on the bed, climbing too high and stair safety, Yolen and Teague first present the dinos doing the wrong things, their faces plainly showing that they are surprised and scared by the world of hurt about to come their ways while caring (and dwarfed) loved ones freak out in the backgrounds. "Does he climb up too high? // Or jump on his bed? // Does he race on his bike with no helmet on head?" (Scansion is a bit of an issue.) Of course not! And though the text says that it will tell readers why, it doesn't, instead just explaining what the dinos do to stay safe. Among other things, Cearadactylus holds Mama's hand and crosses with the light, Majungasaurus swims where his papa can see him, Agustinia wears his bike helmet, and Concavenator brings water to drink on long hikes. As in previous outings, Teague's artwork steals the show, the realism of the scenes and human figures juxtaposed with the giant, though childish, dinos. Labels in the illustrations and endpapers will help dino mavens identify their favorites. Don'ts and Do's in a familiar formula go down easily for fans and will provide a good conversation starter for parents. (Picture book. 3-6)
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS STAY SAFE?" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A391851555/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=66e8d53a. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane A PLAGUE OF UNICORNS Zonderkidz (Children's Fiction) $15.99 12, 23 ISBN: 978-0-310-74648-5
A whimsical fairy tale is stretched rather thin in this low-key novella. James, heir to the duchy of Callanshire, has spent most of his 8 1/2 years asking nonstop questions, until his loving but exasperated family ships him off to Cranford Abbey to be educated. But the monks are otherwise preoccupied with driving off the unicorns that feast upon their apple orchard. Countless heroes have tried and failed to stop the annual raids; how can one clever and homesick little boy come up with the perfect solution? Yolen (who simply cannot write a graceless sentence) displays her strengths here: poking fun at heroic stereotypes, celebrating curiosity and imagination, and revealing both the homely everydayness of the magical and the wondrous beauty of the ordinary. Each individual vignette--charming, witty, poignant and dreamlike--is perfect in itself; yet stitched together, the awkward shifts in viewpoint and tone betray the narrative's origin as an expanded short story. It is difficult to identify a target audience: The sophisticated prose and subtle themes are suited for middle-graders, but few are likely to identify with such a young protagonist; this might work best as a classroom (or bedtime) read-aloud. The handsome design complements Yolen's prose. Sweet and engaging but less than the sum of its parts. (Fantasy. 8-12)
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"Yolen, Jane: A PLAGUE OF UNICORNS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A385540049/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8f013e05. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS STAY FRIENDS? Blue Sky/Scholastic (Children's Picture Books) $17.99 2, 23 ISBN: 978-0-545-82934-2
The 10th dinosaur outing for Yolen and Teague playfully addresses the minefield of school friendships, as always cleverly subbing in outsized dinosaur antics for the gigantic feelings in every little kid's body. Beginning with the question, "How does a dinosaur keep his best friend / when a terrible fight just might signal the end?" more than half the book is made up of dinosaurs behaving badly (and comically). They egg doors, throw lunchboxes into lakes, lie to teachers, and even "write on the blackboard a very bad name" ("DILONG IS STUPID": truly not nice). The scenes of hostility are writ large in two-page spreads, each labeled dinosaur (Leptoceratops, Masiakasaurus, etc.) breathing again in skillfully textured detail and with humorously angry or hurt expressions. Human kids and teachers look on, mortified that dinosaurs could behave so...well, human. The resolution, of course, occurs when the dinosaurs instead put their best claws forward, exchanging notes of apology, sharing toys, and making special cookie deliveries. Even giant beasts who get into fights learn, "There is always a way to make everything right." If that isn't enough to convey the message, the endpapers feature dinosaur duos having the best time since prehistoric days as they ride bikes, fly kites, or share pizza, among other activities. If the formula is pat by now, it's still effective; who can resist when dinosaur buddies share a sincere, well-earned hug? (Picture book. 3-6)
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS STAY FRIENDS?" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2015. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A435818809/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d183b448. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SING A SEASON SONG Creative Editions/Creative Company (Children's Picture Books) $18.99 10, 1 ISBN: 978-1-56846-255-4
A rhyming picture book about the cycle of nature's seasons. The prolific Yolen uses spare, poetic words to weave a story of the seasonal changes in the natural world. As the lilting narrative unspools in a playful, delicate way, the creation of mood is paramount: "Snow, snow, / shiver and blow. / Icicle popsicles / drip, drop, and dropsicles." Illustrator Ashlock matches Yolen in poetic atmosphere with her watercolor-and-pencil double-page spreads, which present a lush and decorative natural world. Don't expect scientific accuracy with these--a flattened perspective often means that fawns are the size of baby robins, and animals and plants are piled higgledy-piggledy together in stylized vignettes. But a scientific presentation of the natural world is not the point. Instead, readers are invited to enter into a communion with nature--encouraged visually by the small humans present in many of the illustrations that are otherwise dominated by flora and fauna. The meter sometimes stumbles--"Turn the heat on, / then winter is gone"--but the overall sentiment succeeds. The well-designed book has notably thick, richly printed pages and exceptionally pleasing proportions. While many nature books for children are anthropomorphic or didactic, this one celebrates nature and its ability to inspire awe and appreciation. This lovely book introduces young readers to the poetry of words, art, and nature--it's a welcome addition. (Picture book. 3-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: SING A SEASON SONG." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2015. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A421459760/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1e719e45. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE STRANDED WHALE Candlewick (Children's Picture Books) $15.99 8, 4 ISBN: 978-0-7636-6953-9
A whale stranding becomes the occasion for a sad life lesson. Discovering a beached whale on the shore near their Maine home, Sally and her brothers, aided by the Coast Guard, do all they can to save it, without success. Yolen wisely sets her story in 1971, a time uncomplicated by cellphones or hovering parents. Sally's straightforward account is set in short lines on the double-page spreads. Through her voice, readers hear the surprise of their first encounter, the desperation of their efforts, their disappointment, and her anger and regret. Using digital and oil paints and pencil, debut illustrator Cataldo provides expansive seashore views and close-ups showing just a portion of the massive whale at a time. At one point readers see the whole scene in the distance as the children first did; another angle, high in the sky, shows a small Sally running toward the waves in an effort to get water to the drying whale. The darkness of the end is echoed in the dimly lit walk home, a sad family dinner, and the blue background of Sally's dream sea, which almost drowns the words of her going-to-sleep wish to have seen it "heading out to deep water, / lifting its tail, and diving deep, / and free." A moving, memorable addition to the nature collection. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-9)
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"Yolen, Jane: THE STRANDED WHALE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2015. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A413234198/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ec7bf3a7. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
You Nest Here with Me.
By Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Illus. by Melissa Sweet.
Mar. 2015. 40p. Boyds Mills, $16.95 (9781590789230). PreS-K.
Do we need another good-night book? The answer is unequivocally yes when it is as imaginative and original as this one. Yolen, Stemple, and Sweet have created a bedtime book rooted in the natural order of things, here the life of birds. The text alternates between two and three lines of rhyme, providing a rhythm to the telling, but returning to end each stanza with "you nest here with me," gives the young listener comfort as well as encouragement to participate in the story. Background information is given in the endpapers to identify and add general information to Sweet's gloriously illustrated birds, but throughout, her pictures capture the essence and the joy of the natural world. Beginning in the child's bedroom, where tree branches form the bedstead and birds are in windows and a sketchbook, we move outdoors to experience birds and their families on ledges, in hedges, soaring, and snuggling. Greens and blues dominate many of the pages, providing a sense of liveliness and well-being in a world that birds share with other creatures, flowers, leaves, and buildings. Informative as well as lovely, this delights the eye, mind, and heart. --Edie Ching
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 American Library Association
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Ching, Edie. "You Nest Here with Me." Booklist, vol. 111, no. 14, 15 Mar. 2015, p. 82. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A409422185/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c4fa3675. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane STONE ANGEL Philomel (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 3, 3 ISBN: 978-0-399-16741-6
A young Jewish girl and her family must flee when the Nazis march into Paris.Before the Nazis came, life was good. But when the "bad men came / in their brown shirts, guns in hands," everything changed. All Jews must wear yellow stars, Papa can no longer work, the family is forced from their home, and they are cursed in the streets. They leave the city to live in the woods, enduring hunger, cold and fear of capture. They embark on a long, arduous journey over the mountains to Spain and then across to England and loving relatives. The little girl is aware of the dangers and her parents' courage, and she remains steadfastly sure that a guardian angel is watching over them. When they return to Paris at the end of the war, there is a beautiful, monumental angel, surely the very one who had kept them safe, holding up the roof of their new apartment building. The girl narrates in an oddly dispassionate free-verse voice, so sure is she of the happy outcome for her family. Though an author's note provides additional information about the war and the Holocaust and the staggering number of deaths, it will be difficult for young readers to make the connection between the narrator's experience and the grim reality of the millions who perished. Green's mixed-media illustrations are appropriately dark and menacing. A different take on a difficult subject. (Picture book. 8-10)
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"Yolen, Jane: STONE ANGEL." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2015, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A395222401/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=47c69966. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
What to Do with a Box. By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Chris Sheban. Mar. 2016. 32p. Creative Editions, $17.99 (9781568462899). PreS-Gr. 1.
Beginning with Sheban's trompe l'oeil cover illustration, Yolen's latest picture book charmingly captures both real life and imaginary adventures. Starring a bespectacled girl, a red-haired boy, and, at center stage, a big cardboard box, the book is written in spare but appealing rhymes and illustrated with great skill and cleverness. Using watercolor, colored pencil, and white acrylic paint, Sheban created all of the pictures on actual cardboard, effectively immersing young readers into the experience. Yolen's text suggests a variety of ways that kids can use such a container: it can be a place to read books, to play with a friend, and to make art ("You can paint a landscape with sun, sand and sky / or crayon an egret that's flying right by"). It can also be a vehicle for make-believe ("You can drive in that box all around a dirt track. / You can sail in that box off to Paris and back"). Tagging along on these escapades is a watchful but sweet-looking dog, and Sheban's use of unusual perspectives makes the interactions between the kids, the box, and the dog entertaining to examine. The book's final page, featuring the familiar words this end up turned into the end, is another nice touch of thinking outside the box.--Abby Nolan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
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Nolan, Abby. "What to Do with a Box." Booklist, vol. 112, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2016, p. 78. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A446933317/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3a2ebee7. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane WHAT TO DO WITH A BOX Creative Editions/Creative Company (Children's Picture Books) $17.99 3, 8 ISBN: 978-1-56846-289-9
An ode to cardboard, four sides, and flaps both honors and alerts children to the pleasures it houses. Jolly rhymes sing praise, perhaps prompting readers to look near their recycling bins for a fresh box. What else can be "a library, / palace, / or nook"? Add some dolls, and you've got a tea party. Paint a backdrop, and you're basking at the beach or sitting by a forest stream. Put simply, "A box! A box / is a wonder / indeed. / The only / such magic / that you'll / ever need." The succinct, straightforward simplicity of Yolen's singsong-y verse suits its subject: the everyday, plain-old, big-brown box. Sheban's inviting artwork, painted and drawn atop real corrugated and flat cardboard, makes clear the magic that happens when introducing imagination to an ordinary packing box. Warmth, depth, expanse, and humor all reside in his paintings, which show a red-haired white boy and dark-haired, slightly darker-skinned girl playing inside a box, their own illustrations and creativity at work. Sheban imbues the cardboard-box brown that covers and constitutes so much of these pictures with a honeyed amber that almost glows, especially alongside strokes of white acrylic paint that highlight each spread. Intuitive, inspired executions of art and verse perfectly capture the unending fun of time spent inside a box. (Picture book. 3-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: WHAT TO DO WITH A BOX." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A541695566/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=975dfc2e. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane MEET ME AT THE WELL Charlesbridge (Children's Traditional Literature) $18.99 1, 16 ISBN: 978-1-58089-374-9
Two award-winning children's-book authors team up for a more modern, feminist take on stories of girls and women in the Hebrew Bible.
In biblical times, wells were the centers of social life for teenage girls--where future husbands and thirsty animals might appear and news and gossip are traded. Via 14 stories that range from Eve, the first woman and mother, to Esther, who becomes savior and queen of her people, readers learn about these and other complicated subjects including marriage, motherhood, infertility, widowhood, and inheritance as well as female roles and experiences as judge, prophet, and leader. Each chapter offers a story overview identifying female heroism, as well as annotated sidebars anticipating readers' questions, followed by an "Imagine" segment in the character's voice by Goldin and a poem by Yolen. The authors demystify the concept of midrash--noncanonical exploration of or commentary on a story or text--empowering readers to consider their own searching examinations of the subjects presented. Most of the commentary is from Jewish sources, but some include commonalities with other faiths, particularly Christianity and Islam. While the presentation is a little staid, this book is solid, well-researched, well-organized, and especially appropriate for young people preparing for or celebrating coming-of-age rituals.
A much-needed, thoughtful updating of Bible stories about women that functions as both storytelling experience and classic reference tome. (Religion. 10-14)
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"Yolen, Jane: MEET ME AT THE WELL." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A516024524/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=107eb877. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
The Emerald Circus. By Jane Yolen. Nov. 2017. 288p. Tachyon, paper, $15.95 (9781616962739); e-book, $9.99 (9781616962753).
Ever the wordsmith, Yolen dazzles with her first short story collection for adults in years. In these fairy-tale retellings, she cites popular tales as well as obscure myths, uniting them with strangeness and whimsy. Some entries are dark, some optimistic, but all delve into real-life sensations and emotions. In "Tough Alice," Alice defeats the Jabberwocky in the most unexpected, Wonderlandian of ways. Then, as an elderly woman in "Rabbit Hole," she takes a final, nostalgic trip through her favorite tunnel. "Beauty and the Beast" meets "The Gift of the Magi" with grisly results, and Dorothy never visits Oz. She does, however, return to Kansas as a gymnast, along with Toto, her stuffed dog on wheels. Yolen's lively, character-driven style immediately engages the imagination. Readers may even wonder if she, like Hans Christian Andersen in "Andersen's Witch," cut a deal with the Ice Maiden to deliver such enchanting results. Even though Yolen subverts the folklore that made the original stories famous in the first place, she stays true to why they matter and why we continue to revisit them.--Biz Hyzy
YA: With plenty of youth fantasies in her repertoire, Yolen and her take on classic stories will draw in young fairytale fans. BH.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
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Hyzy, Biz. "The Emerald Circus." Booklist, vol. 114, no. 4, 15 Oct. 2017, p. 31. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A512776127/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7f4f5159. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Mapping the Bones
by Jane Yolen
Middle School, High School Philomel 417 pp. g
3/18 978-0-399-25778-0 $17.99
Yolen (The Devil's Arithmetic; Briar Rose) returns to the horrors of the Holocaust in this "Hansel and Gretel"-inspired story of cruelty, survival, and love. It begins in the Lodz ghetto, to which Jewish fourteen-year-old twins Chaim and Gittel Abromowitz have been forcibly relocated with their parents. Every knock on the door brings fear and uncertainty, and one day it means opening their tiny apartment to another family--Dr. and Mrs. Norenberg and their children, kindhearted Sophie and "bulldoggish" Bruno. Then Dr. Norenberg disappears, Mrs. Norenberg's mental health deteriorates, and the Abromowitzes receive warning of their imminent "wedding invitation" (i.e., transport to a camp). The two families plan an escape, but the Abromowitz and Norenberg children become separated from their parents. The children find themselves first with a band of Partisans in the Lagiewniki Forest and then, to their horror, in the (fictional) Sobanek forced labor camp, where they are made to build munitions for the German and Polish armies and where the twins are subjected to gruesome medical experiments. Yolen's prose is stark and accessible, with Chaim's interspersed, lyrical poetry serving as a reminder that art can be a means of resistance and survival. The "Gittel Remembers" sections, narrated by the character as an adult, provide some relief in foreshadowing survival and hope for the twins' eventual futures. An appended author's note tells more about the real-life history and about Yolen's research.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Gershowitz, Elissa. "Mapping the Bones." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 94, no. 3, May-June 2018, p. 144. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A543899899/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=90d07282. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane ON GULL BEACH Cornell Lab Publishing (Children's Fiction) $16.95 7, 1 ISBN: 978-1-943645-18-3
Interrupting his walk on a sandy beach, a child runs after gulls playing catch with a starfish, intercepts their victim, and places it gently back into the water.
In previous titles in this series, young people have encountered birds first On Bird Hill (2016) and then On Duck Pond (2017). Here, readers visit a New England beach where a shorts-and-T-shirt-clad child with dark hair and sand-colored skin has been collecting "sticks and stones, / ...shells and bleached small ends of bones." The story is told in deftly constructed rhyming couplets whose pace seems to quicken with the chase, becoming transformed at the end. Veteran nature illustrator Marstall sets the story in Cape Cod (according to the cover copy), with accurate birds and believable scenery gently portrayed in watercolor. No reader will have difficulty recognizing herring gulls in real life; he shows them from every angle. The backmatter provides further description of other beach inhabitants seen in the illustrations: sanderlings and willets; sea stars; horseshoe crabs; hermit, Jonah, and fiddler crabs. There are also a few suggestions for protecting beaches by reducing the use of plastic, saving energy, and not letting dogs run after birds who might be nesting there.
An excellent addition to the nature shelf. (Informational picture book. 4-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: ON GULL BEACH." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A536571067/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0d7a3266. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane FLY WITH ME National Geographic Kids (Children's Informational) $24.99 10, 16 ISBN: 978-1-4263-3181-7
Yolen and her three children celebrate birds with a lavishly illustrated compendium of facts, photographs, and poetry.
This lovingly compiled collection begins with a lengthy section of articles describing birds, their anatomy, and their nests, and it ends with suggestions for attracting birds to your backyard. In between are chapters about prehistoric birds (dinosaurs), birds in history, state birds (each with a full-page photograph and two fast facts), listening to birds, looking at birds, bird migration, saving species, bird records, birds in the arts and in story, and citizen science. The authors of each text piece, song, and poem are identified in the backmatter; photo credits show that these splendid images come from around the world. There's even a list of the scientific names of the birds in order of their appearance in the text. Dedicated to Yolen's husband and the Stemples' father, David Stemple, an ardent birder and bird-song recordist, this oversized volume is a treat to look at and to read. It includes a list of films to watch ("Birds are notoriously difficult to train to perform on stage or screen"), nicely retold myths and fables from around the world (with a map), two Audubon paintings, and carefully crafted poems including one about flock names. As is characteristic of National Geographic publications, the plentiful photographs are well-chosen and beautifully reproduced.
A treasure for browsers and bird lovers everywhere. (authors' notes, acknowledgements, find out more, index) (Nonfiction. 8-adult)
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"Yolen, Jane: FLY WITH ME." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2018, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A549923845/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a2d82e9b. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane MONSTER ACADEMY Blue Sky/Scholastic (Children's Fiction) $16.99 8, 28 ISBN: 978-1-338-09881-5
A new student at Monster Academy turns out to be more than she seems.
The students at this school are definitely different from the norm, although the things they do will seem familiar. For instance, Miss Mummy makes a chart of the number of teeth each student has lost. (She speaks only in rhyme due to a curse, making the read-aloud switch between her dialogue and the rest of the text, which is in prose, a bit of a challenge.) Poor Vic, a vampire, is distraught to have lost no teeth, and he spends the day working at his wiggly fang. New student Tornado Jo, meanwhile, isn't fitting in. The other monsters want her to behave. In the end, it's revealed that she's a human! And her behavior does start to change, but for no real discernible reason. Troubling messages hide within this rather slight tale: Vic is anxious to lose a tooth so he won't be "a ZERO anymore," and Jo is said to be "scary" and a "monster, too," seemingly because of her behavior. But her obstinacy, peremptory ways, and dizzying energy can seem like the actions of children with oppositional defiant disorder or ADHD--in other words, not monstrous. McKinley's illustrations play up the goofiness of the various monster students and their school, which is rather monsterlike in its own right.
Skip; there is little good that kids will learn at Monster Academy. (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: MONSTER ACADEMY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A548137890/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2eda5b8c. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane CROW NOT CROW Cornell Lab Publishing (Children's Fiction) $16.95 8, 28 ISBN: 978-1-943645-31-2
A father and daughter go out birding.
At first she feels intimidated: Her brothers all go birding with their father, and they can easily tell birds apart. To the girl, however, they all look similar: "wings, beak, and legs." Supplied with a pair of binoculars, she starts to find it easier to notice their characteristics. First to be spotted is the crow, "as black as a night without any moon or stars." Once she has identified and "owned" the crow, she can see a red-winged blackbird and know that it is not a crow. She becomes more attuned to the shape, size, and markings of different birds by this method of "Crow Not Crow." According to the jacket flap, co-author Stemple claims to have originated this unusual method of bird identification "in order to teach his city-bred wife to bird." While it is clear that the method can inspire confidence in those who have no background in birding, it might be frustrating for readers not to know the names of other well-known birds featured in the illustrations until the end of the book. The birds are accurately rendered in Dulemba's soft, colored-pencil illustrations, which also depict the birding pair as Asian. Descriptions and photos of all the birds illustrated are included in two spreads at the end, with QR codes for listening to their songs.
A solid choice for introducing the hobby to younger readers. (Picture book. 5-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: CROW NOT CROW." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A544637950/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4d677464. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
How to Fracture a Fairy Tale. By Jane Yolen. Nov. 2018. 320p. Tachyon, paper, $16.95 (9781616963064); e-book, $9.95 (9781616963071).
Award-winner Yolen follows The Emerald Circus (2017) with an omnibus of 28 previously released short stories. Her well-honed talent for creating subtle twists to, or full-bore fracturing of, folk and fairy tales from across the globe is on full display here. "Happy Dens; or, A Day in the Old Wolves' Home" offers a commentary on retirement and bad press, told from the point of view of three famous (or infamous) fairy-tale wolves. Tapping into Asian lore, "One Ox, Two Ox, Three Ox, and the Dragon King" follows three dutiful brothers who take on dragons and a troll to save their ailing mother. In "The Undine," a prince seeks distraction before the arrival of his bride and entices a mermaid with promises of loving devotion. A Cinderella variation, "Cinder Elephant" celebrates being plump over being thin, big feet over small, and grass slippers over those made of glass. "Mama Gone" offers a sad vampire tale told by a brave and loving daughter. Fans will be delighted with the story notes and poems that cap off her fantastic collection of fairy-tale retellings and fractured legends.--Lucy Lockley
YA: Teen fairy-tale fans will be enchanted to discover so many of Yolen's reenvisioned fables complied into one collection. LL.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
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Lockley, Lucy. "How to Fracture a Fairy Tale." Booklist, vol. 115, no. 3, 1 Oct. 2018, p. 31. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A557838029/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f30b1d8a. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE LAST TSAR'S DRAGONS Tachyon (Adult Fiction) $14.95 6, 19 ISBN: 978-1-61696-287-6
Master fantasist Yolen (How To Fracture a Fairy Tale, 2018, etc.) and her son Stemple collaborate on a novella that merges dragons with the Russian Revolution.
Cycling among the points of view of the last tsar, Nicholas II, his wife, the tsarina Alexandra, the notorious Grigori Rasputin, Leon Trotsky, and an unnamed court official, the story tells of the downfall of tsarist Russia and the rise of the revolution--but if you think you know the story, think again. Because in this Russia, the tsar sends out flights of black-scaled, fire-breathing dragons to harass his enemies, especially the Jews, and Leon Trotsky (known in the book by his birth name, Bronstein) has managed to secretly raise an army of his own dragons--these are red and fighting for the revolution. Despite the high stakes, the story feels quite intimate as it leads us to gaze on each player in turn: the tsarina, a foreigner to her husband's country, plagued with worry over her ill son and believing that only Rasputin can save him; Rasputin himself, driven by his madness, lusts, and ambition; Bronstein, who struggles to keep hold of the weapon he has given to the revolution;
and our nameless court dignitary, whose hatred of Rasputin drives much of the action. The dragons themselves are never afterthoughts--their effect on the characters, even when they are not present, worms its way into nearly every scene--but they are also not the players of the drama. Like the impending revolution, their presence simply hangs over the characters with the shadow of brutal, impersonal violence.
Where the characters end up is not surprising--we know the history, after all--but getting there is delightful, carried along by crisp, tight prose and the authors' marvelous imaginations.
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"Yolen, Jane: THE LAST TSAR'S DRAGONS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A582144200/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ad936fcf. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane BREAKING OUT THE DEVIL Graphic Universe (Young Adult Fiction) $8.99 11, 5 ISBN: 978-1-5415-7288-1
A boy and a gargoyle are pitted against the devil.
In 1930s Edinburgh, Scotland, street urchin Craig works with Silex, a fearsome, fanged demon imprisoned in a gargoyle's form affixed high upon a church ledge. Silex knows that hellions from the underworld walk among humans and, with Craig's assistance, seeks to keep the mortal world free from their impious intentions. After an argument in which Silex mentions his previous young helper, Craig decides to seek him out to learn about their disunion. He finds the boy in an asylum and, to his surprise, discovers that he is possessed by the Prince of Darkness himself. Soon, Silex and Craig are fighting the ultimate battle between good and evil; will Silex finally be able to triumph over the devil? With a hearty dose of Christian influence and a well-wrought gothic atmosphere all set against the background of a continual Scottish burr, this trilogy closer manages to be expressive in its depiction of Scotland, however rushed in its action and weak in character development. The black-and-white art is downright moody and dark; its visual intricacy vacillates between terrifying renderings of demons and shadowy and indistinct scenes of Scotland, making for an ambiance that seems intentionally disconcerting. All characters appear to be white and, for the most part, male.
An ambitious conclusion that does not quite hit its mark. (Graphic historical thriller. 12-adult)
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"Yolen, Jane: BREAKING OUT THE DEVIL." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A597739450/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7557bdcb. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane EEK, YOU REEK! Millbrook/Lerner (Children's Poetry) $19.99 10, 1 ISBN: 978-1-5124-8201-0
What is that pong? These critters smell wrong!
"Eek, you reek, / You made a funk. / Where you have been / Things stink, stank, stunk." Yolen and daughter Stemple (Monster Academy, 2018, etc.) team up again for a collection of poems that…um, celebrate those animals large and small that make the world a smellier place. The requisite skunk and stinkbug are joined by their lesser-known putrid pals. There are the stinkpot turtle, or Sternotherus odoratus ("There you are, oh odoratus, / With your musky turtle status. / Small mud-loving omnivore / That raccoons equally adore. / You pump out bad perfumes galore / When chased down by a predator"), and the hoatzin, a very smelly bird that digests like a cow and smells so foul no animal will eat it. A trio of haiku about icky insects adds to the fun (and info), as do longer poems on ferrets, musk oxen, wolverines, Tasmanian devils, and more. Nobati's green-tinged, digitally painted pencil drawings depict the reeking wretches and virtually make the stink visible. A paragraph of information on each creature graces the close, as does a glossary of smelly words and a fetid further reading list. The tone is fresh, however, and the foolish foulness may just hook those who think poetry stinks.
Rancid rhymes and syncopated stank and plenty of eeeew just for you. (Informational picture book/poetry. 6-12)
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"Yolen, Jane: EEK, YOU REEK!" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A594857376/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=114f8244. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
FINDING BABA YAGA
JANE YOLEN
MacMillan Books
My favourite childhood book was Ruth Manning-Sanders' Folk and Fairy Tales, a collection of stories from around the world. It was in "Vasilissa Most Lovely" that I first discovered Baba Yaga, a witch who lives in a hut and walks about on chicken feet. A witch who doesn't ride a boring broom, but who travels the skies in a giant mortar and pestle! This was stuff that excited my imagination.
So, coming across Jane Yolen's mythic novel-in-verse, Finding Baba Yaga, was like renewing an old acquaintance. Granted, this 21st-century Baba Yaga prefers microwaves to cauldrons and spends her days writing an advice column to the lovelorn rather than wreaking havoc. She likes girls (the sassier, the better) to keep her company and to keep her house. Boys, she likes for dinner (literally).
As in "Vasilissa," this story is more about the girl than the witch. In Finding Baba Yaga, Natasha is a runaway who's escaped an abusive home environment. Life on the road is tough, but Natasha proves tougher. Once she enters the woods, she's already on the way to finding herself:
The longer I am in these woods,
I learn words.
I become cornucopic
with language...
There's no one to caution my tongue,
no one to soap my mouth,
no one to bridle my brain.
Under Baba Yaga's tutelage, Natasha grows to accept herself. She learns to express her truth using words she was taught to fear. In the witch's chicken-footed hut, Natasha gets her first taste of independence and feels the first hopeless pangs of attraction when the beautiful Vasilissa briefly joins the household.
Finding Baba Yaga is categorized as young adult fiction, though it will appeal to readers of any age with an interest in fairy and folk tales. This is a novella told in verse, with each chapter comprised of several poems. Yolen writes with skilful economy, the poems by turns haunting and playful. This lovely little book is more a tasting menu than a feast. Those readers seeking unusual fare will find it easy to savour these poetic morsels.
REVIE W BY SYLVIA SANTIAGO
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Herizons Magazine, Inc.
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Santiago, Sylvia. "FINDING BABA YAGA." Herizons, vol. 33, no. 2, summer 2019, p. 32. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A593802810/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c156887d. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane MERBABY'S LULLABY Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $9.99 6, 18 ISBN: 978-1-5344-4317-4
A mermother sings her merbaby to sleep in the age-old tradition of mothers and babies.
A wealth of words and phrases related to sleep characterizes this gentle bedtime song: "hush," "sleep," "close your eyes and dream," "peace," "nap," "rock," "shush." The ocean-themed vocabulary is just as rich: "foam rocker," "wave maker," "tide breaker," "sea talker," "pond wader," "deep diver," "shell keeper." In furthering the enticement to sleep, promises are made: "Waves will rock you"; "Whales will sing you"; "Sea stars a soft light will bring you." The full-bleed illustrations, done in what appears to be colored pencil, have a gentleness to them that goes hand in hand with the text, the palette employing plenty of blues as befits an ocean theme. Merbaby can be seen playing with a dolphin, swimming with an otter, racing waves with fish, enjoying a coral reef, observing a tide pool, and just swimming with its mother. In the end, goal achieved and merbaby's eyes closed, mermother plants a kiss on ocean-tussled hair "Be your finny mother's sleeper." Mermother and baby have pale skin, wavy blue/black hair, and golden, fish-scale tails.
A soothing lullaby for a merbaby--or a human one. (Board book. 1-2)
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"Yolen, Jane: MERBABY'S LULLABY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A588726913/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4f7bd743. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
A Kite for Moon
Jane Yolen, author
Heidi E. Y. Stemple, author
Matt Phelan, illustrator
Zonderkidz
c/oHarperCollins Children's Books
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
9780310756422, $17.99, HC, 32pp, www.amazon.com
What would it be like if the moon was your friend? In the pages of "A Kite for Moon', children ages 4-8 will find out as they walk alongside a little boy who journeys through life to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut. The story begins when a little boy, who is flying his kite, notices a sad Moon. He sends up kites to her, writing notes promising he will come see her someday. This promise propels him through years of studying, learning, and training to become an astronaut. Until he finally goes up, up, up in a big rocket ship with a fiery tail! Beautifully illustrated by Matt Phelan, "A Kite for Moon" is a collaborative picture book written by the team of Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple. While certain to be an enduringly popular and appreciated addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library picture book collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "A Kite for Moon" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Dreamscape Media, 9781974969197, $14.99, CD).
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Midwest Book Review
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"A Kite for Moon." Children's Bookwatch, June 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A593028979/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d14615bc. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane MIRIAM AT THE RIVER Kar-Ben (Children's Traditional Literature) $17.99 2, 4 ISBN: 978-1-5415-4400-0
Miriam is pivotal in the story of Moses and the Exodus.
A 7-year-old girl narrates the details of the day that she heeds "God's voice," places her baby brother in a basket, sets him adrift in the Nile River to save him from "Pharoah's men," and then watches as Pharoah's daughter rescues him. That baby boy will grow up to be Moses, and his sister is the prophet Miriam. In her author's note, Yolen explains that she has taken this story from Exodus and from the Midrash, tales that interpret the Torah. Miriam's story is interwoven with miracles associated with water, ranging from that basket on the Nile to the parting of the Red Sea and the life-giving water flowing from a rock that sustains the Jews wandering in the desert, but there are relatively few children's books that place her at their center. Many celebrants of the Passover Seder sing a song honoring Miriam and will welcome a book that celebrates her childhood. It is Le's illustrations that truly shine, however. The vibrant blues and oranges reflect both calm and swirling waters dotted with a multitude of plant life. Elegant storks wade in the water as hippos and crocodiles swim nearby.
This biblical tale is filled with wonder, hope, and beauty. (Picture book/religion. 4-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: MIRIAM AT THE RIVER." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A612619063/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e9147181. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane EMILY WRITES Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (Children's Informational) $18.99 2, 4 ISBN: 978-1-250-12808-9
The imagined events of one day in the early life of Emily Dickinson foreshadow her future creations.
Yolen sets the stage with an opening caption announcing it's "spring 1834, Amherst, Massachusetts." Young Emily, a smiling, round-headed child, takes scraps of paper from beneath her father's desk, scribbles on them, and tries to share the results. Largely ignored by her father, she finds Mrs. Mack, a friendly woman busy in the kitchen, to be more receptive. Mrs. Mack listens to Emily's poem "Frog and bog!" and pronounces it "A very good rhyme indeed." After a trip upstairs to see her mother and baby sister, Emily ventures outside to share her words with the flowers and revel in the beauties of nature. Re-entering the house, Emily finds an envelope that prompts her to start thinking of rhymes again. Line breaks in most sentences and the way the text blocks are placed on the pages give the appearance of poetry. Although relatively lengthy, the text moves along smoothly with plenty of appealing turns of phrase and engaging images. Davenier's lively illustrations, created with watercolor ink, vary in size and placement. Lightly sketched settings and period details offer some context. The author's note fills in a few details while acknowledging that little is known about Dickinson's childhood. The appended poems relate to words and ideas that appear in the story.
A warm portrait that even those unfamiliar with the iconic poet will likely enjoy. (bibliography) (Picture book. 6-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: EMILY WRITES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A609999019/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4cb17d4a. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane KNOWING THE NAME OF A BIRD Creative Editions/Creative Company (Children's None) $18.99 8, 18 ISBN: 978-1-56846-349-0
What’s in a name? The characteristics of a bird cannot be conveyed by the names we give them—or by words in general.
According to Yolen, birds are given both scientific and popular names, such as robin, hawk, peacock, or swan, but neither name captures anything about what the bird is really like. The individuality of a bird, such as its color, or more tactile qualities, such as “The dinosaur feet, / crooked and brown, / or the talons with / nails as hard as / an old man’s,” are not conveyed by the name we give it. A bird’s name can’t convey its movement in space or the drama of a peacock’s outspread tail or the nature of its flight or even if it flies at all. (Picture the emu or the ostrich.) A concluding quote from noted physicist Richard Feynman sums it up: “You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing about the bird.” The idea is interesting, and van der Linde’s illustrations are clean, clear, and attractive, but in exploring negation the text offers little for curious, concrete-thinking young readers. It’s thematically consistent but also maddening that the book doesn’t consistently identify the birds pictured. The closing note discusses recording bird song but then shrugs away the value of those recordings. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.8-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 54.3% of actual size.)
An interesting thought experiment, but it doesn’t quite take off. (Picture book. 4-6)
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"Yolen, Jane: KNOWING THE NAME OF A BIRD." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2020, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A627920227/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=48e7bab8. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane ON EAGLE COVE Cornell Lab Publishing Group (Children's Fiction) $16.95 9, 5 ISBN: 978-1-943645-48-0
A bird-loving child walks to a lake with Mom and their dog and gets a special view of two eagles and their nest.
In rhyming, first-person verse, the enthusiastic narrator tells about trips to Eagle Cove, a remote area near a nearby lake. In winter, the child sees two large birds in flight grasp each other’s talons and “cartwheel” through the sky: “They chased each other to and fro, / Then parted—quite an aerial show.” One eagle flies up to the nest, and the other grabs a fish from the water with its sharp talons. Two months later, the child returns with Mom. They “climbed a big hill, found a cliff, / Both sat down and wondered if / We’d see into the eagle’s nest.” Indeed, they see a parent eagle feeding two fuzzy gray eaglets—a magical sight, though the illustration on this spread fails to clarify how they can see it, since the perspective is a bit off. Yolen expertly keeps her text within the young child’s fresh observations of nature, inviting readers to share in amazement at the majestic eagle, its habits and life cycle. Dulemba’s illustrations resemble watercolor and pencil, and the mix of close-ups, panoramic views, and varying perspectives keeps interest fresh on each page. Informational backmatter shares photographs and fascinating details about the bald eagle as well as tips on how to see one in real life. Both Mom and child have brown skin and long, straight hair.
A memorable adventure. (Picture book. 3-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: ON EAGLE COVE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A623602723/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=44d34d88. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane INTERRUPTING COW Simon Spotlight (Children's None) $17.99 8, 25 ISBN: 978-1-5344-5424-8
A cow comedian seeks out a willing audience for her signature knock-knock joke.
While the other cows in the barn graze on hay for breakfast, Daisy—known to the others as Interrupting Cow—begins her routine. “Knock, knock,” she says. “Who’s there?” they reply. And so the back-and-forth goes until Interrupting Cow interrupts “Interrupting Cow wh—” with a loud “MOO!” She falls “onto the barn floor in helpless giggles” while the other cows run away. She follows them, but the cows ignore her and refuse to play. So Interrupting Cow gives up and visits the duck pond instead. She tells her joke from start to finish, falling “backward into the water with helpless laughter” when she reaches the punchline “MOO!” But when Interrupting Cow recovers, the ducks are gone. The same thing happens with the horses, the chickens, the pigs, the goats, and even the lone donkey. What gives? Her joke isn’t that bad, is it? Yolen’s sidesplitting early-reader series opener cleverly personifies the misunderstood subject of the classic joke. (Interrupting Cow and the Chicken Crossing the Road is due out in December 2020.) Dreidemy’s full-color illustrations add to the hilarity with expressive cartoon character designs. With a total vocabulary of fewer than 200 words—including lots of synonyms—and at most nine lines per page, the text stays accessible to emerging readers. The most difficult word, “interrupting,” is even spelled out phonetically. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-12-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
A barrel—or, rather, a barn—of laughs. (Early reader. 5-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: INTERRUPTING COW." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2020, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A629261276/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1e6e4313. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane INTERRUPTING COW AND THE CHICKEN CROSSING THE ROAD Simon Spotlight (Children's None) $17.99 12, 8 ISBN: 978-1-5344-8160-2
A cow searches for a new audience and finds a friend.
In this sequel to Interrupting Cow (2020), the eponymous bovine’s chickens have come home to roost, so to speak, as none of the other cows want to hear her tired, interruption-filled joke anymore. The cows almost immediately race away, “kicking up dirt and irritation.” Their departure warns the other barnyard animals, who quickly follow before Interrupting Cow gets too close. Even Owl, who is usually kind, skirts around the cow’s punchline. Lonely and a little sad, Interrupting Cow walks and walks until she comes to an “endless gray road.” On the other side of the road, Rooster keeps trying to cross, but cars, trucks, and tractors scare him off. Interrupting Cow brazenly crosses to Rooster’s side and butts into his situation. As she helps him cross, the two bond over their sense of humor, falling down into helpless giggles. Yolen tackles yet another classic inane joke and infuses its subject with heart and humor. With a total vocabulary of around 250 words and their variants, this sequel is slightly more advanced than its predecessor. But, with at most 19 lines per double-page spread, the text remains accessible to emerging readers. Dreidemy’s full-color cartoon illustrations add context clues. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-12-inch double-page spreads viewed at 76% actual size.)
Sure to “beak” readers’ interest. (Early reader. 5-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: INTERRUPTING COW AND THE CHICKEN CROSSING THE ROAD." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A643410558/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c2360e6e. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane PLYMOUTH ROCKS! Charlesbridge (Children's None) $17.99 9, 8 ISBN: 978-1-58089-685-6
Plymouth Rock is a great big liar.
Fortunately, the googly-eyed, sentient hunk of granite has a fact checker, a bespectacled brown-skinned person with a very active red pen. Rock narrates in verse, informing readers of its glacial origins, the local wildlife, its Native neighbors, the arrival of English settlers, and the myths that gradually arose around it. As the rock versifies, the fact checker busily marks up Streed’s cartoon spreads. “Hold on a minute!” reads one note on a fulsome description of how “the tribes” met the settlers “with a great burst of friendship, food, community.” Another vigorously circled note reads, “Native people did greet the colonists and later shared food with them, but that is NOT the whole story.” It’s a clever device, allowing Rock to pontificate with corrective annotations to set the record straight, but unfortunately, Rock’s story (as opposed to the story of the humans around it) is not interesting enough to sustain 32 pages. In fact, it’s something of a snooze (it was moved, dropped, broken, chipped away at, be-plaqued, and literally enshrined). It’s critical that readers learn that “settlers didn’t just ‘find’ a new world, they colonized it” and that “the Native people…did not consider their world new,” but this may not be the best vehicle.
The narrative isn’t substantial enough to sustain the needed counternarrative. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 5-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: PLYMOUTH ROCKS!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A635239899/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=774bfbff. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS SHOW GOOD MANNERS? Blue Sky/Scholastic (Children's None) $17.99 10, 20 ISBN: 978-1-338-36334-0
A guide to better behavior—at home, on the playground, in class, and in the library.
Serving as a sort of overview for the series’ 12 previous exercises in behavior modeling, this latest outing opens with a set of badly behaving dinos, identified in an endpaper key and also inconspicuously in situ. Per series formula, these are paired to leading questions like “Does she spit out her broccoli onto the floor? / Does he shout ‘I hate meat loaf!’ while slamming the door?” (Choruses of “NO!” from young audiences are welcome.) Midway through, the tone changes (“No, dinosaurs don’t”), and good examples follow to the tune of positive declarative sentences: “They wipe up the tables and vacuum the floors. / They share all the books and they never slam doors,” etc. Teague’s customary, humongous prehistoric crew, all depicted in exact detail and with wildly flashy coloration, fill both their spreads and their human-scale scenes as their human parents—no same-sex couples but some are racially mixed, and in one the man’s the cook—join a similarly diverse set of sibs and other children in either disapprobation or approving smiles. All in all, it’s a well-tested mix of oblique and prescriptive approaches to proper behavior as well as a lighthearted way to play up the use of “please,” “thank you,” and even “I’ll help when you’re hurt.”
Formulaic but not stale…even if it does mine previous topical material rather than expand it. (Picture book. 6-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS SHOW GOOD MANNERS?" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A634467543/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=36ca2e41. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane I AM THE STORM Rise x Penguin Workshop (Children's None) $17.99 10, 27 ISBN: 978-0-593-22275-1
Storms can be frightening, but they can also create memorable family times.
Four children describe how they experienced a tornado, a blizzard, a wildfire, and a hurricane with comforting family members. Words and pictures work together to show joyful moments in what might be scary times. The children come from different parts of the country and may have different family structures, but their grown-ups are thoughtful and supportive. During a tornado, a brown-skinned family reads and plays games in the basement with their grandmother. An Asian-American family cooks on a campfire in the fireplace during a blizzard. White children camp with their dad in a field of wildflowers as a fire ranges beyond the mountains across a river. And Black children escape to their cousins’ house and pretend to be in boats during a hurricane. Flashlights are evident. After each storm, a different pleasant activity is recounted—maybe even dancing. “It’s okay to be scared,” one narrator tells readers. “Nature is strong and powerful. / But, I am strong and powerful, too,” adds another. This comforting title is part of a new line of picture books explicitly aimed at helping children feel capable and supported, and it does so perfectly. The repetitive storytelling shows that some things can be predictable amid the unpredictable. Aftermatter adds a paragraph of further information about each of the four storms. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 85.5% of actual size.)
Child-centered, reassuring, and welcome. (Picture book. 3-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: I AM THE STORM." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A632285638/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cd923311. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Harrison, David L. RUM PUM PUM Holiday House (Children's None) $18.99 9, 15 ISBN: 978-0-8234-4100-6
Deep in an Indian jungle, a lonely tiger longs for friends.
Although he claims to be friendly, Tiger’s sharp claws, huge teeth, and fearsome growl scare off his fellow creatures. All this changes when Tiger discovers a drum left beneath a sal tree. Tiger doesn’t know what the drum is—it’s a human invention, after all—but notices that when he taps it with his tail, it makes a delightful rum pum pum sound. Carrying his new, rhythmic “friend” with him, Tiger wanders through the forest. Before long, the drum’s rum pum pum attracts a monkey, a rhinoceros, a parrot, a chameleon, and an elephant, all of whom layer their own, distinctive sounds over the beat of Tiger’s drum. The group walks along happily for a time, but the company threatens to disintegrate when the animals fight over Tiger’s drum. Luckily, at just the right moment, a young boy steps into the fray and, with the help of some drumming, saves the day. The book’s earth-toned illustrations are stunning: Each page is packed with movement and atmosphere, and the characters’ faces are wonderfully expressive. The text is poetic, rhythmic, and, at times, humorous. While the story arc feels underdeveloped—it is not clear how the animals walking together created the deep friendship referenced on the book’s final page or how the Tiger’s drumming cured the animals’ fear of him—the language is a pleasure to read aloud. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8-by-21-inch double-page spreads viewed at 71% of actual size.)
Illustrations make this lyrical tale of the Indian jungle really shine. (authors’ note, websites) (Picture book. 2-5)
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"Harrison, David L.: RUM PUM PUM." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A630892125/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e12db6e1. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE LEATHER APRON CLUB Charlesbridge (Children's None) $17.99 9, 28 ISBN: 978-1-58089-719-8
Explore the beginnings of America’s first circulating library with Ben and Billy Franklin.
In 1739, William “Billy” Franklin, son of printer (and future statesman) Benjamin Franklin, starts his studies in earnest with a tutor. Joining Billy’s (somewhat reluctant) academic endeavors is his cousin James. While James is bored with the tutor’s stories, Billy’s imagination goes wild picturing the tales from long ago. Seeing his son’s delight, Ben introduces Billy to the Leather Apron Club library, a library founded by 12 tradesmen like Ben who value education and learning. It’s through this story that readers are introduced to what eventually grew into the first library open to members of the public (provided those members could pay the subscription fee, as the backmatter points out). Billy narrates the meandering story, which may be of more interest to adults than the intended audience. “The men debate Politics and History and Books. / They drink Cider, eat Cake, and debate more— / Mathematics and Geography and Finance. / Though the discussion is above me, / I feel as if I am in Heaven,” he rhapsodizes. The static watercolor illustrations of the virtually all-White cast do little to entice readers. The backmatter does an admirable job summarizing Franklin’s fraught relationship with an adult Billy and addresses his complex relationship with slavery.
Perfect for gift shops across Philadelphia. Less so for readers. (bibliography) (Picture book. 8-10)
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"Yolen, Jane: THE LEATHER APRON CLUB." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A671783224/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=84f51262. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SOMETHING NEW FOR ROSH HASHANAH Kar-Ben (Children's None) $17.99 8, 1 ISBN: 978-1-72840-339-7
A holiday celebrating a new year should include some new foods, shouldn’t it?
Becca, 5 years old, has straight red hair, pink cheeks, and a determined way of saying “NO!” Her parents are getting ready for the Jewish new year and want Becca to try something new to eat. Papa will have a new look, now sans moustache. Mama will have a new hobby, knitting. Becca should try new foods, perhaps some greens or brisket or chicken soup. Her response is steadfastly negative until, “the biggest green bean ever seen” appears in solitary splendor on her plate. Becca is happy at last, though why this makes a difference when nothing else has goes unexplained. The text centers on Ashkenazic food traditions along with the custom of having or doing something new for the new year. There is no mention, until the brief author’s note, of any religious observances or significance. Families who celebrate the holiday will find little of substance to share. Others will likely come away with no relevant understanding. The cartoon illustrations are colorful and depict an array of traditional foods including apples, but no jar of honey is visible. There is also a marmalade cat who mimics Becca’s facial expressions. The text is in rhythmic quatrains with a second line of repeats that are sometimes awkward to read aloud. “Becca doesn’t eat things green, / never green, ever green. / Not a lettuce leaf or bean. / Especially if they’re new.”
Not a necessary addition to holiday shelves. (Picture book. 3-5)
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"Yolen, Jane: SOMETHING NEW FOR ROSH HASHANAH." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A667042216/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=50602a7c. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane BEAR OUTSIDE Neal Porter/Holiday House (Children's None) $18.99 3, 2 ISBN: 978-0-8234-4613-1
A young girl narrates her daily experiences inside a life-size, diligently protective bear.
Referring to the inner lions and tigers of others, she avows: “I wear my bear on the outside. / It’s like wearing a suit of armor. / She keeps out the howls, / the growls. / She keeps me safe.” In school or a treehouse, at the grocery store or on a trampoline, Bear appears to both shield the narrator from harm and eagerly engage in activities. While they don’t always agree, their divergences are mild and equable: “When we do art projects, / Bear paints blue. / I use red. / Sometimes we make / purple instead.” Yolen’s quiet text, seasoned with occasional rhyme, suits this tale of resilience. She gently celebrates how children build their own competencies by adopting imaginary friends and imbuing stuffed toys with their own increasing social-emotional fitness. Corace’s illustrations depict Bear as a huge stuffie, claw-free and benign; she seems more enveloping than protective—hardly armorlike. The narrator has pale skin and wears her hair in a black pageboy. Background characters are diverse, but all have identically simple, stylized features: round dots for eyes, D-shaped smiles, and rosy circles on their cheeks. Children are depicted skateboarding, cycling, and roller-skating without helmets—a casual omission that contradicts the theme of safety and well-being.
The art doesn’t rise to meet the worthy concept. (Picture book. 3-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: BEAR OUTSIDE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A648127157/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fd8d7b8b. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODBYE? Scholastic (Children's None) $17.99 9, 28 ISBN: 978-1-338-36335-7
Parting—of the temporary rather than permanent kind—is the latest topic to be dino-sorted in this venerable series’ 14th outing.
Nobody dies and the series is showing no signs of flagging, so reading anything ominous into the title is overthinking it. Instead, Teague and Yolen once again treat readers to a succession of outsized, gaily patterned dinosaurs throwing tantrums or acting out, this time as dad packs up for a business trip or even just sets off to work, grandparents pause at the door for goodbyes, mom drops her offspring off at school on a first day, parents take a date night, or a moving van pulls up to the house. Per series formula, the tone switches partway through when bad behavior gives way to (suggested) better: “They tell all the grown-ups / just how they are feeling. / It helps right away / for fast dinosaur healing.” Hugs, kisses, and a paper heart might also be more constructive responses than weeping, clinging, and making mayhem. Dinosaurian pronouns mostly alternate between he and she until switching to the generic their in the last part. In the art, the human cast mixes figures with different racial presentations and the date-night parents are an interracial couple, but there is no evident sign of same-gender or other nonnormative domestic situations.
Tried and true, both in content and formula. (Picture book. 6-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODBYE?" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A671783115/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0804ea9f. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane WHAT TO DO WITH A STICK Creative Editions/Creative Company (Children's None) $16.99 3, 14 ISBN: 978-1-56846-365-0
With an active imagination, the sky (er the stick) is the limit!
When an expressive young child with straight brown hair and pale skin--and their equally expressive dog--finds a stick in the yard, the child recognizes it as a "remarkable toy" that can be used for a variety of purposes, from battling nighttime closet monsters to pretending to be a seal balancing it on their nose to using it as a magic wand. The story is a love letter to both creativity and the childhood exuberance of imaginative play. Yolen's verse is pithy and direct: "A stick is a sword / to tame monsters of dread. / Or bend it to use as a / large bow instead. // It can anchor a ship. // It can hold down a pulley. // A stick draws the line / between you and a bully." The real stars of the show, however, are the illustrations, which capture the actions and joys of the child, although at times their excitement is overshadowed by the expressions of the black-and-white dog, who skirts the line between realism and caricature. Readers, both solo and in large groups, will love the rhymes, the big, bold illustrative choices, and the message that imagination is the best playmate of them all. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Stick with this story--it's a winner. (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: WHAT TO DO WITH A STICK." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729072762/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=259207aa. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS LEARN TO BE KIND? Scholastic (Children's None) $18.99 1, 3 ISBN: 978-1-338-82720-0
A crash course in dino-manners.
Running along accustomed tracks, the latest in this long-running series opens with a set of rhymed rhetorical questions--"How does a dinosaur / learn to be kind? // Does he roar / about everything / that's on his mind? // Does he ride his bike fast, / making other bikes fall? / Does he then turn around / and just laugh at them all?"--and then switches midcourse with a big "NO!!!" to take a prescriptive tack: "A dinosaur knows / how to be very kind, / and always keeps other / folks firmly in mind." Teague as usual supplies a cast of specifically identified but wildly outsized and dramatically patterned dinosaurs modeling both mischievous and proper behavior with a multiracial and multigenerational cast of diminutive humans. By specifically highlighting the good feelings that consideration for others brings, this outing sets itself apart, if only by a hair, from previous entries with the same drift, such as How Do Dinosaurs Show Good Manners? (2020), How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? (2006), and so on. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Evergreen of message, for all its formulaic presentation being set in stone. (Picture book. 3-6)
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS LEARN TO BE KIND?" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A726309434/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=19d17dc7. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane LOVE BIRDS Cameron Kids (Children's None) $17.99 11, 8 ISBN: 978-1-951836-40-5
When birds are easier to speak to than people, what do you do when you meet another bird lover?
It's been a month, and Jon still hasn't spoken to another kid his age since he moved to town. Still, while he may not talk much, he's an excellent listener. He listens particularly to birds of all sorts, in the fields and the skies. One evening he hears a barred owl and imitates its song. Yet when he follows its response, he instead finds a girl and fellow bird lover named Janet. Together they talk and listen together, "for days and weeks, / and into the years." While Yolen's author's note states that this book is a partner to her Caldecott Award winner Owl Moon (1987), illustrated by John Schoenherr, it might be more accurate to say it exists in the same universe. The story sets up a nice series of contrasts (Jon's mother's chattiness versus her son's silence versus the give and take of Jon and Janet's conversations). Meanwhile Wilson weaves images of birds into an array of panels. Delicious details also hide in the cracks of these pictures, like the images on a page opposite the author's note depicting photographs of Jon and Janet growing older, marrying, and having children to bird with. Jon and his mother are light-skinned, and Janet presents Black. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Feathers and friendship make for a good pairing in this gentle ode to appreciating both. (Picture book. 4-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: LOVE BIRDS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A715352916/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4092c67a. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL ME Magination/American Psychological Association (Children's None) $16.99 10, 25 ISBN: 978-1-4338-3864-4
Children celebrate their abundant bodies, from their hair to their feet.
Prolific author Yolen joins forces with her grandchild Stemple-Piatt to create a simple, rhyming picture book about the beauty and power of large bodies. Depicting kids with a variety of skin tones, the story employs a gentle formula to uplift physical features that children may feel self-conscious of, including wide feet, thick thighs, and long arms. Each child describes a body part that often attracts attention (a Black youth notes, "Some friends mention my very broad shoulders / Say I'd make small work of mighty big boulders"), followed by a positive framing of the part in question ("But I pull my shoulders back, and I walk with pride"). Each segment concludes with the titular affirmation: "Then I look in the mirror--and what do I see? / BIG and BOLD and BEAUTIFUL me!" As each child repeats the celebratory refrain, Burgett's cheerful illustrations portray them alongside kids from previous spreads, emphasizing connection and belonging. Disability isn't discussed in the text, though characters with disabilities (including a child with a limb difference and another child who uses a hearing aid) are depicted. In a growing landscape of body-positive children's literature, this book's overworked rhymes keep it from shining, but those looking for a gentle introduction to body acceptance will find it a solid option.(This book was reviewed digitally.)
An upbeat, uncomplicated ode to bodies that are big, thick, broad, and boundless. (Picture book. 4-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL ME." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A713722658/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=26082525. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane YUCK, YOU SUCK! Millbrook/Lerner (Children's None) $20.99 10, 4 ISBN: 978-1-72841-566-6
Introductions to 13 creatures you (mostly) wouldn't want on your leg.
In a not-exactly-unexpected follow-up to 2019's Eek! You Reek! Poems About Animals That Stink, Stank, Stunk, the veteran mother-daughter team works up a series of short animal poems (16, counting one on the rear cover), supplemented by quick nature notes in the backmatter, on an equally crowd-pleasing theme. As the roster includes butterflies, honeybees, elephants, and glancing mention but no picture of unweaned human infants, not all the creatures here will dial the gross-o-meter up to 11--but there are still sufficient suckers and lappers of blood, ranging from fleas and mosquitoes to vampire bats, lampreys, and leeches, to gleefully put anyone off their lunch. The creepiest critter here may well be the erebid moth: "Oh, / tear drinker, / bird's eye / your / cup. / With your long / proboscis, / you slurp / tears / up!" And if those eyes are dry, the supplementary comment notes, "the moth will scratch its host's eyes until there is a weepy feast." Eww. Nobati leaves out the gore but otherwise does her part to crank up the jollity by, for instance, giving many of the comically caricatured creatures on view googly popped eyes, depicting a lamprey bringing its own ketchup to a group suck, and showing a light-skinned human leg in thigh-deep water positively swathed in leeches. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not quite as riotously entertaining as the previous outing, but it does the job. (glossary, reading list) (Informational picture book/poetry. 6-12)
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"Yolen, Jane: YUCK, YOU SUCK!" Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A708487006/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6d68e5fa. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane GIANT ISLAND Flashlight Press (Children's None) $18.95 8, 1 ISBN: 978-1-947277-18-2
The wonder of childhood comes alive literally.
When Ava and Mason and their dog, Cooper, visit Giant Island with their Grandpa, they can't figure out how it got its name; it's a tiny island where no giant could possibly live. But Grandpa says it's always been called that, even back when he came there to fish with his own grandpa. As he fishes from the shore, the two children and their dog explore, finding a cave teeming with ocean life, stones "shiny as mirrors," and a great spot for swimming. As the kids round the island, observant readers will start to see what they haven't noticed yet: The whole island is a giant: the trees, hair; the cave, an ear; and the stones, eyes. Yolen and Keith could have stopped there--lots of islands are named after what they appear to be. But no, the magic of Giant Island is that this giant is alive and moving, their arms and fingers pointing, grasping, their facial expressions changing. And while Grandpa may pretend not to know what's going on, he and the giant share parting words and a wave: "Always good to see you, old friend." Keith's gouache and colored pencil illustrations wonderfully suit the seaweed tufts and tightly packed rocks of the island and the ocean life that surrounds it. Grandpa and Mason have light skin; Ava's is slightly darker. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Childhood magic shared with a new generation. (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: GIANT ISLAND." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A705356184/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=06142d7a. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane ELEFANTASTIC! Chronicle Books (Children's None) $17.99 5, 17 ISBN: 978-1-4521-7681-9
A look into a bygone era of the circus through the life of an elephant.
Told mostly through the art, this tale follows a young elephant who is unceremoniously taken from their home and sold to the circus. They forge an unlikely friendship with a magician, who finds a way to put things right. Each page has one word that begins with ele--"ELEPHANT": the young animal with their parent. "ELEPH-ATE": The elephant is lured into a trap by bananas. "ELE-FATE": the elephant is ensnared. The story does not shy away from the harsher aspects, such as the terror of the kidnapping, but readers also see the elephant's joy as they befriend the magician and love and trust grow. The words are written in a beautiful script that evokes circus signs, and the text flows well when read aloud, though at times some of the invented words feel a bit clunky. The images are the stars of the show; rendered in gouache, they fill the pages, depicting both the drama of the circus acts and quieter moments as the elephant longs to return to their past life. The magician is light-skinned; circus performers and attendees are diverse. In an author's note, Yolen describes the true story that inspired this book--in 1982, Broadway producer David Balding bought an orphaned baby elephant from Zimbabwe and created a circus for her. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A simple tale that will have readers cheering. (Picture book. 4-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: ELEFANTASTIC!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A703413817/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9c233bb8. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Mrs. Noah's Doves
Jane Yolen, illus. by Alida Massari. Kar-Ben, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 9784-72842-426-2
"Before there was rain,/ Mrs. Noah kept injured birds," writes Yolen (Elefantastk!), immediately drawing readers into this poetic and visually striking variation on the ark story. Portrayed with light brown skin and flowing white hair, Mrs. Noah exudes serenity as she nurses her feathered patients, and they, in turn, know "she would keep them safe/ until they were well enough, or old enough,/ to go off on their own." But she loves the doves best of all: "They reminded her of her grandmother/cooing over the newest grandchild/or, at night, bending over to pray/ in her soft, gray clothing." When the rains come and the waters rise (the story reverses the traditional chronology of building and storm), Mrs. Noah urges her husband to save her beloved birds, soon learning that God, through Mr. Noah, has much bigger plans in mind--and an important role for her doves. With flowing lines, soft rich tones, and patterning reminiscent of decorative art (the doves' wings seem almost bejeweled), Massari (Goddess Power) conveys a time and place that feels both of its time and deeply familiar, and the creators render Mrs. Noah as the epitome of selfless love and enduring hope. Ages 5-9. (May)
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"Mrs. Noah's Doves." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 13, 28 Mar. 2022, p. 63. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A700236070/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a281938c. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Elefantastic! A Story of Magic in 5 Acts
Jane Yolen, illus. by Brett Helquist. Chronicle, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4521-7681-9
Yolen (Eeny Up Above) writes in an afterword of learning about a Broadway producer who bought an elephant, orphaned in Zimbabwe in 1982, and built a circus around it ("Because I have always wanted an elephant," reads a quote). This variation on that story, told in five acts, unfolds in solitary, rhyming "ele" words, each painted in circus-style lettering. The tale starts with dismaying scenes as a baby elephant wanders away from its herd and toward a trap filled with bananas ("Elephate"), then is captured ("Ele-vated// Elefate") and trundled onto an airplane ("Ele-fastened// Ele-bound// Ele-flown") by a tan-skinned trapper. On the journey's other side, Helquist (Just Being Dalt) reassures readers about the elephant's subsequent quality of life in dapper gouache spreads that show a tall, kindly whiteskinned magician who kneels and pats the elephant ("Ele-found"). Inset panels show their growing relationship as the magician bottle-feeds the baby and teaches it circus tricks. Pretty soon, the two are performing together, and spreads show the aging duo's routine, which involves painting and washing the creature. After years of tours that, per images of posters, cross the U.S., the magician sees that the elephant has had enough, arranges a showy farewell, and finds it a sanctuary with other elephants. If the "ele" conceit at times feels at odds with the story's subject matter, including elephant trade and exploitation, the artwork successfully centers a magician's love for a creature in this nostalgic piece of Americana. Ages 3-5. Author's agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown, Illustrator's agent: Steven Ma Ik, Writers House. (May)
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"Elefantastic! A Story of Magic in 5 Acts." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 9, 28 Feb. 2022, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A696341894/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e471a312. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Jane Yolen, illus. by Kathryn Brown. Crocodile, $ 17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-62371-865-7
Eeny, a small, winsome mole, lives with older sisters Meeny and Miney in a cozy underground dwelling. Meeny and Miney are content with the home's "deep darkness" and "familiar ridiness," playing chamber music and bathing Eeny in a tea cup, but Eeny loves the world Up Above: "It was full of things both complicated and new." In graceful prose, Yolen (Owl Moon) describes Meeny and Miney's warnings about the dangers of Up Above, including eagles, cats, and humans, while the young mole's friends flesh our these descriptions. Centipede describes the frightening appearance of a cat with "tickly whisklers and sharp claws." Humans? "I have nearly been hoed by one and almost tractored by another," Snake tells her. But Eeny, always ready to embrace what is complicated and new, ventures upward, and finds her encounter with a human a very different experience. Brown (The House That Jane Built) draws the plants and animals that sweetly pinafore-clad Eeny meets in lively, delicate detail, and makes the apparently white human who surprises Eeny manifestly nonthreatening in this morsel of a bedtime adventure. Ages 3-8. (Nov.)
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"Eeny Up Above!" Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 40, 4 Oct. 2021, p. 154. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A679294112/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=034b6d87. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane ARCH OF BONE Tachyon (Children's None) $17.95 11, 9 ISBN: 978-1-61696-350-7
Fourteen-year-old Josiah Starbuck of Nantucket becomes marooned on an island with his dog, Zeke.
Extemporizing on Moby-Dick (a work with which the target audience is highly unlikely to be familiar), this story opens with a man who tells Josiah to "Call me Ishmael" showing up at the Starbucks' house early one morning to deliver the news to Josiah and his mother that the whaler Pequod, on which Josiah's father shipped out as first mate, went down with all hands except Ishmael. Josiah is understandably upset, but his grief turns (unconvincingly) to anger at Ishmael and his mother. Needing to clear his head, Josiah sets off in his catboat with Zeke and is caught by a storm. Knocked unconscious by the boom, Josiah wakes up to find himself shipwrecked on a tiny, unfamiliar island. He and Zeke eke out their survival on the scrubby island, on which sits a coffin-shaped fisherman's shack and an arch made of a whalebone's jaw--which delivers disturbing dreams to Josiah (the strongest portions of the story) whenever he falls asleep against it. The story's inconsistencies (whether it's early or late spring, wouldn't a boy whose mother makes blueberry jam recognize a blueberry bush out of season? How does Josiah know that Ishmael floated on a coffin when Ishmael did not relate that part of the story?) undermine it, and the two narrative sections--the dreams and Josiah's survival activities--don't transmute into a whole. The exquisite black-and-white illustrations, however, deliver a rich resonance.
A beautifully illustrated patchwork. (Historical fantasy/fiction. 10-14)
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"Yolen, Jane: ARCH OF BONE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673649858/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0cd98657. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE SCARLET CIRCUS Tachyon (Teen None) $17.95 2, 14 ISBN: 978-1-61696-386-6
Surprising, entertaining, romantic stories in the tradition of folktales and legends reimagined.
As skillful as The Emerald Circus (2017), thematically warmer than The Midnight Circus (2020), this volume's central thread is love. Featuring an introduction by Brandon Sanderson, it collects more of Yolen's reimagined narratives, many of them previously published. But fairy-tale endings are not guaranteed: Characters choose badly, and death and other sadness enters in. Julie appears from her grave, mourning Roman, in a wry rewrite of Romeo and Juliet narrated by an elf. Several tales are about the power--for good or ill--of belief; merfolk, djinn, and ghosts play major roles. There is time travel and some real history as well as appearances by Merlin and Arthur, Alice Liddell, and many brave and independent young women. The rich and varied plots and tones are matched by advanced but suitable vocabulary--fortuitously, lambent, incorporeal, slatterns, sepulchral, and legerdemain, for example--much of which young readers will be able to decipher from the context. Occasional poems are interspersed among the stories. The fully realized details bring to life both this-worldly and otherworldly settings. Yolen enthusiasts will be rapt, and new fans will be won.
Endlessly imaginative, superbly crafted tales that stir the heart. (story notes and poems) (Fantasy. 14-adult)
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"Yolen, Jane: THE SCARLET CIRCUS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729072581/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7018c41d. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE HORSEBACK LIBRARIANS Whitman (Children's None) $18.99 4, 1 ISBN: 9780807562918
Literacy by any means possible!
As soon as the sun rises, a young, White-presenting woman is off on horseback to fulfill her mission: getting books into the hands of readers in the Kentucky backwoods. The rider, Anna Mary ("rhymes with library"), travels long distances with her horse, Sand, sleeping under the stars on fair nights and (hopefully) in a barn or spare room on wet ones. For Adam, a light-skinned boy whose father is away at war, she brings books about brave men. For Alice, a light-skinned girl recovering from measles, Anna Mary brings Millions of Cats and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. And for a small, diverse school, a book for everyone, including the teacher. An author's note explains that although Anna Mary is fictional, her work was not. The Pack Horse Library Project began in 1935 as part of the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression and provided work for the unemployed. Yolen knows her way around a picture book, and here she has penned a story that's both approachable and inspiring, accompanied by Badiu's bright illustrations. Educators will love reading it aloud to groups, and young readers will be fascinated to learn more. If there are any quibbles to be had, it's the lack of citations for further explanation, but this is a small issue in an otherwise strong work. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An inviting peek into a fascinating chapter of U.S. history. (Picture book. 6-9)
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"Yolen, Jane: THE HORSEBACK LIBRARIANS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A733021499/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8baf6397. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane IN AND OUT THE WINDOW Philomel (Children's None) $18.99 3, 12 ISBN: 9780593622513
A hefty collection of short poems, mostly new, on themes related to home, school, sports, seasons, and animals.
Alternately writing (as the title implies) from both "inside" and "outside" points of view, Yolen generally keeps the tone light and the language playfully conversational: "Never mind that ticks need grooming, / blooming flowers give you sneezes. / Never mind that heat is rising, / as are stings from flying bees is. / Everything good or bad you find / Can be balanced with a Never Mind." If some entries read more like starters than finished works ("Potbellied Pig": "Little or big, / It's still a pig"), there are still insights and neat turns of phrase aplenty to enjoy--and even a few poems written for multiple voices to encourage reading aloud. Peterslund's pictures, too sparse and sparely drawn to have much visual impact, add an assortment of mostly young human figures (with skin the white of the page) or animals, along with occasional decorative spot motifs and borders. The collection concludes on an elegiac note: If all nature "can pause, think, pray, / say thank you for this time, / this day, this beat of heart, / this chance to bring forth / something good into the world / before leaving it, I can say it, / you can, too. / Thank you." Thank you, prolific one, for the literary bounty present and past.
A heaping helping of characteristically readable verse from a veteran writer and storyteller. (index) (Poetry. 5-9)
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"Yolen, Jane: IN AND OUT THE WINDOW." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A772515457/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=634d774e. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane BODY MUSIC Moonshower/Bushel & Peck Books (Children's None) $18.99 9, 5 ISBN: 9781638192015
Rhymes and reflections on body noises, from groans and giggles to sneezes, wheezes, and snores.
"Cough heads north, / fart goes south. / One by bottom, / the other by mouth." Though the authors will no doubt be slapping their foreheads for neglecting to mention that there's a word for tummy growls ("borborygmus"), they otherwise definitely deserve claps on the shoulder for this effervescent set of verses on sounds we produce awake and asleep, voluntarily or otherwise. San Vicente's rubbery figures, mostly a light- or dark-skinned array of young folk, blast or blow in theatrical accompaniment, and prose notes in the margins expand on each knee-slapping topic with explanations of biological causes ("sniffles and snuffles" are symptoms of a head cold) and chortle-worthy sidelight facts ("20% of people regularly crack their knuckles. Are you a frequent snap, crackle, and pop-er?"). Gagging, humming, and a few other sounds don't make the cut, while yawning gets in without quite fitting the sonic premise. Still, the notion that bodies can become whole percussive orchestras for a rhythmic "dance party" gets airings fore and aft--offering readers an invitation to crack their knuckles and clap out musical explorations of their own.
The crowd-pleasing premise makes this a snap for reading solo or to virtually any audience. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: BODY MUSIC." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766904352/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f626a2aa. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SMOUT & THE LIGHTHOUSE Whitman (Children's None) $18.99 9, 7 ISBN: 9780807574843
A father and son come to terms with their differences in this biographical anecdote.
His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather have been builders of lighthouses, but young Robert--affectionately nicknamed "Smout"--has no interest in taking up the Stevenson family trade. An aspiring writer, he dreams of "giants and knights in armor, hidden treasure, and pirates. Definitely pirates!" Struggling to keep up on an inspection tour along the coastal moors of Fife, he asks for a pirate yarn. His father stops posing leading questions about geology and engineering and obliges with a rousing tale of buccaneers dashed to bits on a rock because they stole its warning bell. As Yolen affirms in her afterword, that child indeed went on, with his family's grudging support, to become a famous writer. But she also commends the Stevenson lighthouses, many of which, as shown on an appended map, are still active around Scotland's rugged coast (and, she notes, the world). Using layers of cut paper, Rayne effectively alternates nautical scenes of castaways and corsairs with depictions of a small child and his cloaked father, both white like all the figures here, climbing lighthouse steps, crossing expanses of choppy water and rocky, windswept shores, and at last going off amicably together, hand in hand. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A glimpse of warm ties between a child who sees pirates and a parent who sees the light. (reading list) (Picture-book biography. 6-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: SMOUT & THE LIGHTHOUSE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A760508414/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7a302e29. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SCHLEMIEL COMES TO AMERICA Reycraft Books (Children's None) $14.95 4, 1 ISBN: 9781478876113
Don't count all your fools in one place.
Schlemiel the tailor lives in Chelm, a town in Jewish folklore famous for fools. He fancies himself wise and a shrewd arbiter, and he just might be at least, compared with the other Chelm residents. Look what happens when the mayor is frightened that a rock on the mountain looming over Chelm might fall. Some citizens carry the rock down to the village, and Schlemiel remarks they could have rolled it down instead. The villagers haul it back up to where they found it--then roll it down, crushing several buildings. Schlemiel decides they're so foolish, he's going to America. On the way, he settles a dispute between two people about where a bridge leads, confounds an immigration official, and earns big money when he solves a problem at a construction site involving piles of dirt and holes. Young readers will likely find the stories in this early chapter book mildly amusing--if they get them. However, the artwork is ill-suited to the text. Characters look stiff and bland, and their eyes don't focus. Scenes and people appear staged, as if posed for a tableau. Characters are light-skinned except for one brown-skinned person on the immigration line. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A disappointing effort. (about Chelm) (Chapter book. 6-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: SCHLEMIEL COMES TO AMERICA." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735117933/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ec6c8fde. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane TOO MANY GOLEMS Chronicle Books (Children's None) $18.99 4, 23 ISBN: 9781797212142
A well-meaning troublemaker gets unexpected help.
Abi, the rabbi's son, may make mischief, but it's always inadvertent. He once stole a bagel from the deli, but he was engrossed in his comic book and forgot to pay. He once said a bad word to his Hebrew teacher--but he didn't know it was wrong. Abi does intentionally steal an old, tattered scroll from the synagogue basement. He needs it for Hebrew practice and figures nobody will miss it. Although he doesn't know the meaning of the words on the scroll, he reads them repeatedly; he doesn't realize that they summon monsters! When Abi hears house-shaking knocks on the door, he opens and sees 10 golems, the gigantic legendary clay men of Jewish folklore, ready to fight. (Abi knows about golems, but usually only one arrives.) Abi explains that his only battle is with the Hebrew language. So the golems tutor him each week and teach him golem songs and stories. At his bar mitzvah seven years later, Abi's Hebrew is perfect. The golems attend, dance afterward, and vanish the next day. Featuring an endearing, relatable protagonist, this tongue-in-cheek story turns a familiar legend on its ear. The lively illustrations, often appearing as vignettes, were created with pastel pencils and wax crayons. Abi is redheaded and bespectacled, with skin the white of the page; the golems are more bloblike than fearsome.
You can never have too many golems when they provide this much entertaining reading fun. (information on Rabbi Loew and his golem) (Picture book. 5-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: TOO MANY GOLEMS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A780841016/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=13f3ee0c. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
See This Little Dot
Jane Yolen, author
Laetitia Devernay, illustrator
Creative Editions
c/o The Creative Company
www.thecreativecompany.us
9781568463827, $16.99, HC, 24pp
https://www.amazon.com/See-This-Little-Jane-Yolen/dp/1568463820
Synopsis: When is a dot "not just a blot on a page"? In Jane Yolen's characteristically imaginative, free-verse explanation, the humble dot can take on many functions, from a spot of food to an animal's eye, from a marble to a moon. As Yolen extolls the dot's satisfying shape and innate neatness, illustrator Laetitia Devernay brings it to life in the pages of "See This Little Dot", a read-aloud picture book and sends it bouncing, rolling, and teetering off the edge of the page--only to reel it back to fulfill its best and truest purpose: marking The End.
Critique: Fun, special, and thoroughly 'kid friendly', "See This Little Dot" by veteran children's author Jane Yolen, and the illustrations by gifted artist Laetitia Devernay is a unique and to-be-treasured pick for family, elementary school, and community library picture book collections for children ages 5-7.
Editorial Note #1: Jane Yolen is an award-winning author, poet, and teacher. She has written more than 365 books, including What to Do with a Box, illustrated by Chris Sheban, and the Caldecott Medal winning Owl Moon, illustrated by John Schoenherr. The Educational Book & Media Association honored her significant contributions with its 2018 Jeremiah Ludington Award.
Editorial Note #2: French 'illustratrice' Laetitia Devernay has been named as the winner of this year's V&A Illustration Awards for her book, The Conductor.
(https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/v-and-a-illustration-award-winners)
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
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"See This Little Dot." Children's Bookwatch, Jan. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A783034089/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e4d09e94. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane EENY AND HER SISTERS Crocodile/Interlink (Children's None) $17.95 2, 6 ISBN: 9781623717056
Hot chocolate wins over strong opposition.
Eeny, the youngest of three mole sisters who live in a hole deep underground, is the only one of her siblings who dares venture "Up Above." Eeny loves the newness and surprises of the world outside. Her sisters distrust anything different and warn her about dangers, especially humans, but she remains undeterred. Her description of something new and unimaginable--hot chocolate--makes her siblings swoon with horror. When Eeny can't rouse them, she resorts to drastic measures: She travels Up Above, pours hot chocolate into acorn cups given to her by a human she's befriended known only as "the Boy," and returns home. (Only the Boy's light-skinned hand is seen.) The beverage's delectable aroma awakens the sisters, who bravely taste it, albeit not from their familiar hole. (They do appreciate that it's dark like their hole.) When Eeny explains where it's from, the sisters faint again, though they love it and want more. Eeny performs a sneaky maneuver that proves hot chocolate--or anything new and different--can move anyone out of their comfort zone. This thin but cute story and the colorful, lively illustrations are as sweet and cozy as a chocolate drink. Kids will admire Eeny's pluck and be glad her sisters learn to broaden their horizons somewhat, demonstrating the importance of accepting change and becoming more open-minded.
A reminder that happiness derives from adapting to what might once have seemed strange. (Picture book. 4-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: EENY AND HER SISTERS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A774415251/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ffb71d3f. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane TEA WITH AN OLD GIANT Reycraft Books (Children's None) $18.95 11, 10 ISBN: 9781478868569
A lonely giant and a small girl forge an unlikely friendship.
On top of a rocky hill, a nameless giant with lightly tanned skin and a white beard and hair leads a solitary life. Although he's chosen to live on the hill because it's "far away from anyone else," he starts to feel lonely as he gets older; he's tired of playing checkers by himself and making his own tea. So the giant makes the perilous trip down the hill to a nearby town. The inhabitants flee in terror--except for a light-skinned, redheaded girl named Arabella who doesn't run away because "her legs were too short and her heart was too brave." Arabella's parents are too busy to play with her, so she's eager for a friend. She and the giant spend the day playing checkers, reading books to each other, and having a tea party with mud cookies and pretend tea made from water, prompting the giant to offer to bring real tea next time. The folksy flow of the unrhyming yet rhythmic text lends itself well to reading out loud, but the breathtaking, painterly illustrations are the true stars of this book, creating a landscape to explore in each two-page spread and lending expressiveness even to the animal characters.
A simple, old-fashioned tale brought to life by stunning visuals. (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: TEA WITH AN OLD GIANT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A772515366/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=31783354. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT Rise x Penguin Workshop (Children's None) $18.99 10, 8 ISBN: 9780593752296
Yolen and Stemple honor the ways many cultures spread light, literally and figuratively, during the darkest days of the year.
Lyrical verse reflects on the commonalities shared by many traditions, while the illustrations highlight a diverse array of winter holidays. The juxtaposition of the universal and the specific embodies the book's profound message: The ways we are different can unify us, and both our differences and our similarities are worth celebrating. Various groupings of family and friends observe Diwali, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, and Lunar New Year; amid the glow of rangolis, kinaras, lighted trees, menorahs, lanterns, and moonlight, they spend time with loved ones, decorate, sing, eat, and remember deceased ancestors. Unobtrusive footnotes provide a brief definition of each holiday, with longer descriptions in the backmatter explaining a few of the symbols and rituals. Rife with details for observant readers, the artwork sets a cozy tone, whether portraying families crowded round the kitchen table or outside by a roaring fire. The celebrants include people of many different ethnicities, abilities, and ages, and they gather in groups of various sizes and compositions. With its emphasis on inclusivity, this is an excellent choice for classrooms or libraries looking to discuss winter holidays.
Luminous.(Informational picture book. 4-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A808343098/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d275c2fe. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE MANY PROBLEMS OF ROCHEL-LEAH Apples & Honey Press (Children's None) $19.95 9, 3 ISBN: 9781681156392
A young Jewish girl longs to learn to read.
Rochel-Leah's problem? She lives in a shtetl in the 1830s, a time when girls aren't permitted to read. Only boys learn to read Hebrew in the Jewish school so they can study the Torah, a tradition going back generations; they also learn languages such as Yiddish and Russian. Her three brothers teach her a few letters, then chase her away so they can study. Rochel-Leah appeals to the rabbi: "Rules can be broken or changed." Fiercely persistent, she peeks through the school window, observing the lessons, even sitting on her father's ladder for a better view. The rabbi notices her--and, amazingly, allows her to enter, admitting that rules "can be bent a little." He accepts that it must be divine will for a girl to want "to read this much." Rochel-Leah eventually learns to read and becomes a teacher. Yolen reveals in an author's note that this "true(ish)" tale about one of her relatives, passed down through generations, is part of her family's lore. This warm offering about a determined young person demonstrates how families are enriched by stories from their past; it's a testament to the importance of preserving the memories of those who have preceded us, for our identities are determined by our histories. The earthy digital illustrations, made by combining paper texture and digital brushes, expertly capture the setting.
An empowering tale about a resolute young person and how our present is shaped by our past. (glossary)(Picture book. 5-8)
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"Yolen, Jane: THE MANY PROBLEMS OF ROCHEL-LEAH." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A802865281/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ac5cddf9. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane REBECCA'S PRAYER FOR PRESIDENT LINCOLN Kar-Ben (Children's None) $19.99 9, 10 ISBN: 9798765602997
A Jewish girl living on New York City's Lower East Side reels in the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
When Rebecca's father left to fight in the Civil War, he said, "We Jews, who were once slaves in Egypt, we, especially, should never let a human being be held in slavery." Though he lost a hand, he's still firmly supportive of Lincoln but realizes that some people are nursing feelings of anger. "Anger from those who still believe that they ought to own their fellow humans. And anger from those who were left so long in slavery." On Friday night, April 14, 1865, while Lincoln attends a play at Ford's Theatre, Rebecca's family observes the Sabbath. Rebecca has a strange feeling as she watches the candles flicker. The next morning, she and her family go to Temple Emanu-El. Suddenly, the rabbi arrives and says something to the cantor, who begins to sing the prayer for the dead, the Kaddish. The rabbi announces that Lincoln is dead, and the whole congregation begins to recite the prayer. This tale is rooted in historical events; as reported by the New York Times, those at Temple Emanu-El did indeed say the Kaddish. The choice to frame the events as a work of fiction narrated by a young girl directly touched by the war provides emotional resonance to the straightforward text. Rebecca's family presents white in realistic, though static, illustrations.
Highlights an intriguing aspect of Jewish American history through a child's eyes. (author's note, archival photographs, information on the Kaddish, English translation of the Kaddish) (Picture book. 7-9)
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"Yolen, Jane: REBECCA'S PRAYER FOR PRESIDENT LINCOLN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A799332778/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b6c57a9f. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Mighty Micah
Jane Yolen, author
Steliyana Doneva, illustrator
Apples & Honey Press
c/o Behrman House Inc.
www.behrmanhouse.com
9781681156293, $18.95, HC, 32pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Micah-Jane-Yolen/dp/1681156296
Synopsis: Micah loved the noise maker, called a gragger, that he used at his family's Purim party. With it they celebrated the defeat of the wicked Haman, a bully from biblical times who tried to get rid of the Jews. The gragger made him feel mighty! But on his way home, the gragger was lost.
Micah was nervous that without it, he wouldn't be able to be brave, like Queen Esther who saved the Jews, and stand up to the bullies at his school.
However, this gragger was powerful. It journeyed from a raccoon's hands, to a fish's mouth, to a heron's beak, back to Micah's front steps. Micah was so happy to have his gragger back! He took it to school and showed it to the class, so everyone could feel its mighty whirr, whirr, whirr, and they too could feel powerful and safe.
Critique: Charmingly illustrated by Blarian artist Steliyana Doneva in full support of author Jane Yolen's picture book story celebrating the Jewish holy day/holiday of Purim, "Mighty Micah will prove a fun and memorable read for children ages 3-6--and unreservedly recommended for family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library Judaic themed picture book collections. Of special note is the inclusion by author Jane Yolen of a brief summary of the story of Purim, and how it's themes of strength, courage, and safety can apply to all children today.
Editorial Note #1: Jane Yolen, a multiple award winning author, has published over 400 books for children and adults, including The Devil's Arithmetic, Owl Moon, and the How Do Dinosaurs...? series. Her stories and poems have won the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, three World Fantasy Awards, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, two Golden Kite Awards, the Jewish Book Award and the Massachusetts Center for the Book award, among others.
Editorial Note #2: Steliyana Doneva's love of painting and drawing started in early childhood. She studied applied arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, specializing in children's toys. Then she graduated with a degree in graphic arts, where she found her love for children's book illustration. She has also illustrated Adam's Animals and The Persian Princess, also from Apples & Honey Press. Stela lives with her husband and three children in Bulgaria.
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
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"Mighty Micah." Children's Bookwatch, Mar. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A792358783/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=825e1a9b. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane QUIET AS MUD Magination/American Psychological Association (Children's None) $18.99 4, 16 ISBN: 9781433841538
"I'm quiet as mud when I'm alone."
Inspired by a quote from author Margaret Wise Brown, Yolen offers a gently paced ode to the silent and soft-spoken. Appropriately, only one or two lines occupy each page, letting Wong's pastoral illustrations take the lead. An unnamed young narrator floats through the sky, frolics across fields and forests, and goes on family picnics while sharing various similes, many rooted in nature. "I'm quiet as the stars" and "silent as a sandwich / when it sits uneaten on a plate," says the little one. "I just like hearing the world spin by." Though surrounded by a supportive family, the narrator is "quiet as mud when I'm alone." Muddy footprints feature throughout, with the whole family looking (happily) grubby by the end, together in the garden behind a yellow house. Whatever reasons readers may have to be quiet, they'll find Yolen's words reassuring. Being quiet lets the protagonist pay attention to things others might miss, such as "the songs that the rocks all sing." The child is also "happy to hear my heart beat / with its own steady thud-thud-thud." Yolen has crafted an idyllic safe space for daydreamers, shrinking violets, and selectively mute little ones and a sweetly surreal alternative point of view for everyone else. The protagonist is light-skinned, as are most family members.
Mild-mannered mindfulness that leads by example. (Picture book. 2-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: QUIET AS MUD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A782202512/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=58c37834. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane ON DUCK POND Cornell Lab Publishing (Children's Picture Books) $15.95 4, 11 ISBN: 978-1-943645-22-0
The splash and chatter of a raft of ducks temporarily disrupts the peace of a wildlife-filled pond.Smoothly crafted couplets and the occasional triplet describe a moment in the natural world when a "quack of ducks" descends on a pond. The unnamed narrator, who is walking with a leashed dog, is depicted as an adult with light-brown skin. She describes the sights and sounds of mallards landing, the other animals scattering, and the water rippling. "Every part of me was changed, / I looked like I'd been re-arranged." Just as quickly the ducks move on, and peace returns. A prolific and skillful writer, Yolen chooses her words carefully and interestingly, putting them together in ways that read aloud gracefully. This companion volume to On Bird Hill (2016) again speaks to the joy of paying attention to one's surroundings. The text describes some of the pond's inhabitants: trout, turtles, tadpoles, a bullfrog, and a blue heron. The illustrations show many more. Fourteen are identified in a key in the backmatter, and there are a few fast facts. Young readers and listeners will be encouraged to discover them in their habitat on these pages. Marstall's delicately colored paintings are less whimsical and more realistic than in the previous book. They show the pond from many angles, including close-up images of lily pads and broad vistas. Another fine entry for a "sense of wonder" collection. (Picture book. 2-5)
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"Yolen, Jane: ON DUCK POND." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2017, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A482911761/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6025ebf1. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THUNDER UNDERGROUND Wordsong/Boyds Mills (Children's Picture Books) $17.95 3, 28 ISBN: 978-1-59078-936-0
Twenty-one poems that center on the uncommon idea of things "underground." On the cover, a black girl has her ear to the ground beside the roots of a large tree while a white boy cocks his head and listens. The premise of the collection is to encourage children to explore what is under their feet using imagination and wonder. Poems include a variety of forms from terse haiku to a ballad. Whether playful or serious, each poem honors the ability of young readers to navigate syntax, imagery, and wordplay. "Seeds," for example, spins a literary conceit: "This dot, / this spot, / this period at the end / of winter's sentence / writes its way up / through the dull slate of soil / into the paragraph of spring." Yolen's treatment of the underground is expansive, exploring natural subjects as well as a cellar, a subway, and the underpinnings of a city, and buried treasures from pirates' to fossils. Masse's mixed-media illustrations portray the imaginary points of view with aplomb, placing the same two children from the cover in settings both realistic and fanciful. In the backmatter, Yolen offers discursive notes on each poem, expanding on the science presented and her various inspirations. A thoughtful exploration of nature expressed in poetry that should open the eyes of children to unseen worlds. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10)
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"Yolen, Jane: THUNDER UNDERGROUND." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A471902020/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=00dbf328. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS CHOOSE THEIR PETS? Blue Sky/Scholastic (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 12, 27 ISBN: 978-1-338-03278-9
Face it: when you think about dinosaurs and other animals, you think predator-prey, no?Not necessarily, according to Yolen and Teague's latest entry in their popular How Do Dinosaurs...? series. Clearly saurians appreciate pets as much as, er, anyone--and this endearing installment attempts to shed light on how they select them. Considering what a dino could choose--a tiger, for instance (the one on the cover and in an interior illustration looks none too thrilled)--your everyday adorable kitty, pup, or hamster sounds just right. Speaking of "just right," readers learn that dinos know the proper protocol for pet selection--never from a zoo but, rather, from a shelter, pet store, or farm. Wherever the pet comes from, loving care is what counts most. Yolen's rhymes are jaunty, and, as always, Teague has a field day. His illustrations highlight the unbridled joy these vibrantly colored, lesser-known species of dinos (labeled in illustrations and on endpapers) have playing with a variety of creatures, and the artist has a dino-sized blast playing with perspective and spatial relationships. Interestingly, animals of the canine and feline varieties, rendered tiny of necessity, seem nonplussed by the generally enormous dinosaurs and, potential and current pet guardian-readers will be happy to note, take to TLC with devoted face licks, despite size differentials. Human figures are depicted with a variety of skin tones and ages. Mammoth fun for dinosaur and pet lovers alike. (Picture book. 3-6)
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS CHOOSE THEIR PETS?" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2016, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A466329202/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cc42565b. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.\
Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple THE SEELIE KING'S WAR Viking (Adult Fiction) 17.99 11, 8 ISBN: 978-0-670-01436-1
Book 3 of the Seelie Wars trilogy brings the series to a close. Prince Aspen and his midwife-apprentice friend, Snail, have come out of hiding, and the prince is now king of the Seelies, chosen by the land after the deaths in battle of his father and brothers. Through third-person narration with alternating chapters from Prince Aspen’s and Snail’s points of view, readers learn how unconfident Aspen is about ruling and how woefully unprepared he is to fight off the looming army of Unseelies, led by the traitor, Jack Daw. As a desperate last-ditch effort to reinforce his decimated army and save his people, Aspen convinces Snail to go to Professor Odds’ camp (where they hid out in the prior book, The Last Changeling, 2014) to plead for the changelings there to fight on the side of the Seelies. The abundant complement of fey characters populating Book 2 is here skillfully winnowed down to only those that matter. The riddle of the three questions of the Sticksman that Prince Aspen is charged to solve becomes a focal point in Book 3—so much so that its resolution not only brings the trilogy to an eminently satisfying close, but gives, retroactively, a greater depth and resonance to Book 2. A series closer that delivers a skillful balance of action, magic, and mental conundrums. (Fantasy. 9-14)
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"Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple: THE SEELIE KING'S WAR." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A463215949/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=147bdb21. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE ALLIGATOR'S SMILE Millbrook/Lerner (Children's Picture Books) $19.99 9, 1 ISBN: 978-1-4677-5575-7
Fascinating facts and playful poems about the dinosaur's smiling cousin.Prolific, award-winning author and poet Yolen presents 13 short descriptive poems about the alligator. Touching on topics from hunting style to parenting style, from diet to habits to physical characteristics, most are sneakily informative, and all are good fun to read aloud. "You think that gator's dozing / In the dreamy afternoon. / You're wrong if you're supposing / That he's having a sweet swoon. / He's probably just chilly. / He can't raise his body heat-- / But with the warming of the sun, / Can lumber to his feet." Each poem is accompanied by a paragraph or two that expands on the topic highlighted in the verse. Each is also paired with a full-page, beautiful (and sometimes scary) photograph of a gator or gators taken by Yolen's award-winning photographer son (and frequent collaborator), Stemple. Many of the photographs were taken on a monthlong fellowship-funded trip to the Everglades. The aftermatter includes additional gator facts and a short glossary as well as websites and a few book titles for further investigation. A splendid addition to the creators' explorations of the natural world. (Picture book/poetry. 7-11)
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"Yolen, Jane: THE ALLIGATOR'S SMILE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2016, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A455212562/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=94fcb62a. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane ON BIRD HILL Cornell Lab Publishing (Children's Picture Books) $15.95 5, 10 ISBN: 978-1-943645-02-2
A young dog-walker recalls the memorable experience of watching a chick hatch. To inaugurate a new series created for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Yolen, who has often celebrated the natural world, provides a graceful poem reminiscent of the cumulative song "The Green Grass Grew All Around." Illustrator Marstall sets this in a fantastical landscape with Seussian trees and surprising, pleasing tiny details, including humans, animals, oversized insects, and, far away, sailboats on an ocean. The dog-walker sets out just before sunrise; a waning crescent moon still shines when they reach Bird Hill. The tree is on the summit; a cutaway image on the bottom of the page showing the walkers' path reveals its roots. Slowly, they close in on the tree, the limb, the twig, the nest, and the "bird at rest." A striking spread shows a cloud of feathers and the barely visible chick, still in the egg. A later, wordless close-up of the emerging chick invites young readers and listeners to stop and wonder. There's humor, too, when the hatchling fluffs his wings and stretches his legs. Then the point of view changes, moving from the observer to the chick, who looks around to see "the moon... / ...and me." Carefully crafted rhyming couplets beg to be read aloud again and again. An imaginative and original depiction of one of life's everyday miracles. (Picture book. 2-6)
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"Yolen, Jane: ON BIRD HILL." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A446003831/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4b3411c6. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane HOW DO DINOSAURS LEARN TO READ? Blue Sky/Scholastic (Children's Fiction) $16.99 6, 26 ISBN: 978-1-338-23301-8
In the latest addition to the long-running, bestselling series, Yolen and Teague's rascally dinosaurs learn to read and enjoy books despite their sometimes-inappropriate antics.
Yolen's signature, inquiry-based rhyming text begins with the titular query, "How does a dinosaur / learn how to read?" In response, a series of rhetorical questions are posed, each indicating an unsuitable behavior or reaction when a new reader might be struggling, frustrated, and discouraged. "Does he use his new book / as a shovel or bat? // Play fetch with the dog? / Throw books at the cat?" Silly ("jump on the book"), sometimes rage-filled ("have a big hissy / when reading skills fail") conduct eventually leads to the inevitable series of contradictions. "No--she's kind to each book, / to the cover and pages. / She reads very carefully. / Never has rages." Respectful care for books is emphasized so that reading a good story can be enjoyed again and again with calm, determined patience. Humorously exaggerated depictions of nine different angry, irritated, ill-tempered (and enormous) dinosaurs quickly revert to happy, willing, and satisfied expressions (highlighted in the endpapers) as new readers succeed to end the day peacefully, each falling asleep with a book in bed. A practical addendum offers sensible strategies for caregivers to coach their new readers following parental read-alouds, including learning letter sounds, sounding out words, using picture cues, repetition, and rhyming words.
An appealing approach, as ever filled with humor and common sense. (Picture book. 5-7)
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"Yolen, Jane: HOW DO DINOSAURS LEARN TO READ?" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A532700396/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b2806753. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane SANCTUARY Graphic Universe (Young Adult Fiction) $29.32 4, 1 ISBN: 978-1-4677-4197-2
Prolific mother-and-son pair Yolen (Mapping the Bones, 2018, etc.) and Stemple (The Seelie King's War, 2016, etc.) return with another installment in their gritty noir graphic-novel series featuring a mystery-solving Scottish street urchin and his gargoyle employer.
Picking up where the previous volume left off, orphaned Craig is still reeling from having to commit an unspeakable act against a dear friend. Despite his regrets, he continues to work as a detective for Silex, a stone gargoyle affixed to a church parapet who oversees the city below. When a seemingly anachronistic young woman shows up on the church doorstep claiming sanctuary, Craig and Silex must help her before another Mephistophelian force unleashes evil upon 1930s Edinburgh. Building upon the evangelical explorations of the first volume, this is a dark and introspective thriller mixing equal parts history, Christian theology, and mystery. Readers will notice a definite improvement in Zangara's (Stone Cold, 2016) moody black-and-white art; while he has sustained the atmosphere, he has sharpened his lines, rendering previously sketchy characters clearer and more distinctive. Each volume completes a case, although readers are forewarned of the religious and literary importance of the number three, laying the groundwork for what could only be Craig and Silex's next adventure.
Although well-wrought, the elaborate combination of atmospheric historical details and a Christian theological slant may be daunting for some. (Mystery/fantasy. 10-14)
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"Yolen, Jane: SANCTUARY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A527247995/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=dfe3c9ea. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane THE EMERALD CIRCUS Tachyon (Adult Fiction) $15.95 11, 17 ISBN: 978-1-61696-273-9
A collection of short stories, mostly reinventions of fairy tales, by Yolen (Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts, 2017, etc.), whose award-winning body of work stretches from sci-fi/fantasy to children's literature to poetry to cookbooks.Yolen's collection gathers together one new story along with 15 previously published pieces, including the Nebula-winning novella Lost Girls, a feminist deconstruction of Peter Pan in which a pragmatic modern girl winds up stuck as a Wendy. But Neverland isn't the only imaginary land visited: "Blown Away" explores the acrobatic Dorothy, who returns to Kansas, and the reader visits Wonderland in both "Tough Alice" and "Rabbit Hole," the latter a touching reflection on Alice's last trip. (There's also "Wonder Land," the coming-of-age story of Alison, whose sacred mysteries are grounded in the real world.) Arthurian England hosts four stories, with Evian Steel, another novella, showing the forging of crucial bits of Arthurian lore. The real world (or something close to it) intrudes with the Nebula-winning "Sister Emily's Lightship," best described as "Emily Dickinson meets a Martian," and the quirkily charming "The Jewel in the Toad Queen's Crown," a musing on the unlikely, but perhaps magical, friendship between Queen Victoria and Benjamin Disraeli. Homages to O. Henry, Poe, the brothers Grimm, and Keats are also present. The strongest offerings dig fresh ground rather than riffing too closely on their source material: "A Knot of Toads" stands out as a creepy look at one's own assumptions and judgments. Though only one of the stories is new, true fans will delight in Yolen's notes and poems that follow the collection. An impressive overview of the author's breadth and career, this collection will appeal to the author's existing devotees--or to anyone who has ever thought that "happily ever after" left too many questions.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: THE EMERALD CIRCUS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2017, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A504217521/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5783d113. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Yolen, Jane ON BIRD HILL Cornell Lab Publishing (Children's Picture Books) $15.95 5, 10 ISBN: 978-1-943645-02-2
A young dog-walker recalls the memorable experience of watching a chick hatch. To inaugurate a new series created for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Yolen, who has often celebrated the natural world, provides a graceful poem reminiscent of the cumulative song "The Green Grass Grew All Around." Illustrator Marstall sets this in a fantastical landscape with Seussian trees and surprising, pleasing tiny details, including humans, animals, oversized insects, and, far away, sailboats on an ocean. The dog-walker sets out just before sunrise; a waning crescent moon still shines when they reach Bird Hill. The tree is on the summit; a cutaway image on the bottom of the page showing the walkers' path reveals its roots. Slowly, they close in on the tree, the limb, the twig, the nest, and the "bird at rest." A striking spread shows a cloud of feathers and the barely visible chick, still in the egg. A later, wordless close-up of the emerging chick invites young readers and listeners to stop and wonder. There's humor, too, when the hatchling fluffs his wings and stretches his legs. Then the point of view changes, moving from the observer to the chick, who looks around to see "the moon... / ...and me." Carefully crafted rhyming couplets beg to be read aloud again and again. An imaginative and original depiction of one of life's everyday miracles. (Picture book. 2-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Yolen, Jane: ON BIRD HILL." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A446003831/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4b3411c6. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Stone Cold. By Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple. Illus. by Orion Zangara. Oct. 2016.80p. Lerner/Graphic Universe, paper, $8.99 (9781512411553): lib. ed., $29.32 (9781467741965). 741.5. Gr. 8-11.
In the 1930s, young teen Craig McGowan can't find work in Edinburgh, so he climbs to a church rooftop to jump off. It's then that a gargoyle, Silex, convinces the boy to work for him instead, to act as his eyes and ears in investigating a disturbing crime wave--the city's plagued with a series of mysterious murders, with knives left plunged into the victims, whose throats were cut. Silex suspects a supernatural motive, and Craig and Father Harris, the priest of Silex's church, soon find themselves in danger as the killer stalks more potential victims. Zangara's black-and-white art with sometimes scratchy lines provides a gloomy atmosphere in keeping with the somber story, while his architectural details evoke a strong sense of place. Silex's use of children harkens back to Sherlock Holmes and his Baker Street Irregulars, street kids who gather intelligence for the detective. Yolen and Stemple use enough Scottish vernacular that readers will need to pay attention while reading. Give this to middle- and high-school readers who enjoy mysteries mixed with dark fantasy.--Kat Kan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
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Kan, Kat. "Stone Cold." Booklist, vol. 113, no. 4, 15 Oct. 2016, pp. 36+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A468771293/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7312e5d1. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.