Jane Yolen

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About Jane Yolen

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an 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. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."

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Books By Jane Yolen

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Favorite Folktales from Around the World (The Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library) May 14, 2014

by Jane Yolen

( 98 )

$14.99

From Africa, Burma, and Czechoslovakia to Turkey, Vietnam, and Wales here are more than 150 of the world's best-loved folktales from more than forty countries and cultures. These tales of wonder and transformation, of heroes and heroines, of love lost and won, of ogres and trolls, stories both jocular and cautionary and legends of pure enchantment will delight readers and storytellers of all ages.

With black-and-white drawings throughout
Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

The Devil's Arithmetic (Puffin Modern Classics) Oct 1, 1990

by Jane Yolen

( 605 )

$6.99

"A triumphantly moving book." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Hannah dreads going to her family's Passover Seder—she's tired of hearing her relatives talk about the past. But when she opens the front door to symbolically welcome the prophet Elijah, she's transported to a Polish village in the year 1942. Why is she there, and who is this "Chaya" that everyone seems to think she is? Just as she begins to unravel the mystery, Nazi soldiers come to take everyone in the village away. And only Hannah knows the unspeakable horrors that await. A critically acclaimed novel from multi-award-winning author Jane Yolen.

"[Yolen] adds much to understanding the effects of the Holocaust, which will reverberate throughout history, today and tomorrow." —SLJ, starred review

"Readers will come away with a sense of tragic history that both disturbs and compels." —Booklist

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award
An American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists"

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Library Binding , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , Audio CD

Dragon's Blood (Pit Dragon Chronicles Book 1) May 1, 2004

by Jane Yolen

( 123 )

$5.99

Dragons are trained to fight to the death, and two determined teens help free them in this spellbinding saga.

Training a dragon to be a fighting champion is the only way to freedom for fifteen-year-old Jakkin.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Library Binding , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback

Heart's Blood: The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume Two May 1, 2004

by Jane Yolen

( 52 )

$7.99

Jakkin risks everything—his freedom, his dragon, even his life—to rescue his beloved in this stirring sequel to Dragon's Blood.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback

Wizard's Hall Oct 27, 2015

by Jane Yolen

( 47 )

$7.99

An inept wizard-in-training is the only one who can save his classmates from the terrible sorcery that threatens to devour their magical school

Acclaimed master fantasist Jane Yolen imagines an academic world of wonders where paintings speak, walls move, monsters are made real, and absolutely anything can happen—as she introduces readers to a hero as hapless as the legendary Merlin is powerful.

It was Henry’s dear ma who decided to send him off to Wizard’s Hall to study sorcery, despite the boy’s apparent lack of magical talent. He has barely stepped through the gates of the magnificent school when he is dubbed Thornmallow (“prickly on the outside, squishy within”). Still, regardless of his penchant for turning even the simplest spell into a disaster, Thornmallow’s teachers remain kind and patient, and he soon has a cadre of loyal, loving friends. But there is something that no one is telling the boy: As the 113th student to enroll in the wondrous academy, Thornmallow has an awesome and frightening duty to fulfill—and failure will mean the destruction of Wizard’s Hall and everyone within its walls.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Audio, Cassette

Sister Light, Sister Dark (The Great Alta Saga Book 1) Apr 5, 2016

by Jane Yolen

( 39 )

$7.99

A warrior woman and her dark twin are destined to remake the world in this “powerful” tale, the first in a trilogy by a World Fantasy Award winner (Newsweek).

Legend foretold the child named Jenna, who was three-times orphaned before she could crawl, a fate that would leave her in the hands of women who worshipped the benevolent goddess Great Alta. In this world without men, Jenna comes of age, learning quickly the skills of close combat. But her most powerful gift lies elsewhere: a mirror sister who emerges only in the darkness—a twin named Skada—and shares the soul of the young, white-haired warrior who might well be the goddess reborn. But if Jenna is, in truth, the one whose coming is awaited, there is cause for great alarm among those who rule the Dales, for the prophecy speaks of upheaval and change, and a devastating end of all things.

An incomparable world-builder and one of America’s premier fantasists, the remarkable Jane Yolen begins a three-part saga as inventive, intelligent, and exciting as anything that has ever been produced in the literature of the fantastic. Brilliantly contrasting the “true” story of Jenna with the later myths, poetry, and so-called scholarship that her coming engendered, Yolen creates a culture as richly imagined as those found in the acclaimed novels of Ursula K. Le Guin. A truly magnificent work, Sister Light, Sister Dark takes fantasy fiction to wondrous places it has never gone before.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback

White Jenna (The Great Alta Saga Book 2) Apr 5, 2016

by Jane Yolen

( 12 )

$7.99

Nebula Award Finalist: A long-awaited savior joins forces with her dark twin to confront the evil threatening their land in the second book of the acclaimed epic fantasy the Great Alta Saga

Grown to young womanhood in the mountain region of the Dales and trained for combat by the all-female followers of the goddess Great Alta, Jenna reluctantly accepts the fact that she might well be the Anna, the warrior queen who has long been prophesied. Orphaned three times while still a small child, the now-teenage Jenna is compelled to lend her support and skills to the Dales’ rightful king and his brother, Carum, who holds her heart, for the reign of evil usurper Lord Kalas threatens the future of every worshipper of Alta. But Jenna does not ride alone. Whenever darkness falls, she and her companions—a young priestess in training and an aging warrior—are joined by Skada, white-haired Jenna’s dark sister, who shares her destiny and her soul. But even their combined powers may not be enough to defeat the entrenched malevolence that means to destroy everything and everyone they hold dear.

A finalist for the Nebula Award for best novel, Jane Yolen’s White Jenna is a wondrous tale of duty, destiny, peril, romance, and fantasy. Interspersed with the myths and poetry the story engendered, it is a brilliantly imaginative creation of a world, a culture, and their enduring lore.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback

The Great Alta Saga: Sister Light, Sister Dark; White Jenna; and The One-Armed Queen May 16, 2017

by Jane Yolen

( 11 )

$13.99

A warrior and her dark sister join forces to dismantle and remake their embattled world in this epic fantasy saga from a Nebula Award–winning author.

One of fantasy fiction’s preeminent practitioners, Jane Yolen creates a world and mythology that are richly enthralling and vibrantly alive in this acclaimed trilogy.

Sister Light, Sister Dark: Three-times orphaned and raised secretly by the acolytes of the goddess Alta, the child Jenna studies the ways of the warrior in preparation for the day that has been prophesied. For she may well be the goddess reborn who, with the aid of Skada—her mirror twin who can reveal herself only in darkness—is fated to bring devastation to the world.

White Jenna: Grown to young womanhood, the warrior Jenna offers her allegiance to the rightful king of the Dales—and her heart to his brother, Carum—joining the fight against the malevolent usurper Kalas. But the powerful despot appears unstoppable, dedicated to the destruction of the worshippers of Alta, the society of women in which the orphaned Jenna was lovingly raised.

The One-Armed Queen: Having fulfilled an ancient prophecy, the Queen of the Dales must now keep her faltering kingdom safe from a looming terror, and prepare her chosen successor—a one-armed orphan girl she discovered on the battlefield—for the grim responsibilities of rule.

A sweeping adventure of destiny, peril, magic, and romance, The Great Alta Saga is a magnificent feat of storytelling that ingeniously blends world-building, myth, poetry, and song.

A Sending of Dragons: The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume Three May 1, 2004

by Jane Yolen

( 44 )

$5.99

Jakkin and his girlfriend, Akki, discover a primitive cult that sacrifices dragons.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Library Binding , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback

Dragon's Heart: The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume Four Feb 7, 2011

by Jane Yolen , Jonathon Schmidt

( 64 )

$5.99

Austar IV isn't the planet it once was, and when Jakkin and Akki finally return to the dragon nursery, their homecoming arouses mixed emotions. Together they've survived the insurmountable, and now they can weather the brutal conditions of Dark After and communicate with the dragons they love. But with this knowledge comes responsibility. What they've learned about survival could transform the planet--or, if entrusted to the wrong hands, bring about its destruction. Akki's insistence that she return to the Rokk to finish her training and begin new experiments drives a chasm between her and Jakkin. Suddenly she finds herself in the midst of a political battle that could claim her life. Only Jakkin can save her. If only he could reach her. . . .

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Library Binding , Paperback

The One-Armed Queen (The Great Alta Saga Book 3) Apr 5, 2016

by Jane Yolen

( 16 )

$7.99

Internal jealousy, obstinacy, and treachery threaten the royal house of a great queen and the future of her matriarchal land in the concluding volume of the acclaimed Great Alta high fantasy series

Decades have passed since White Jenna fulfilled the ancient prophecy, becoming queen of the Dales after defeating the king of Garun and driving the cruel occupiers back to their homeland. Since then, a fragile peace has been maintained through an exchange of royal hostages. Jenna’s eldest son, Jemson, travels across the ocean to live with the enemy while the queen, in the way of the Dales, prepares her adopted daughter, Scillia, to eventually rule. A frail, one-armed child discovered abandoned on the battlefield, Scillia is thirteen now. She is confused and conflicted, resentful of her mother’s teachings and the pressures of ascendance. But even more troubling is her brother’s resentment. Jemson was corrupted in his thinking by his time among the patriarchal Garunians and is now determined to rule. The dangerous storms brewing in the royal house of Queen Jenna and the dying King Carum could have devastating consequences for all the people of the Dales: A powerful enemy over the waters is watching for any sign of weakness and instability, eager to reignite the terrible fires of the Gender Wars.

Multiple award-winning fantasist Jane Yolen brings her acclaimed saga to a breathtaking conclusion with The One-Armed Queen, ingeniously blending story, myth, poetry, and song to create a truly unforgettable culture and fantasy world.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback

A Kite for Moon Educator's Guide May 26, 2020

by Jane Yolen , Heidi E.Y. Stemple

( 9 )

$0.00

A Kite for Moon Educator's Guide is a companion to A Kite for Moon by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple. This guide can be utilized in the classroom, in a home school setting, or by parents seeking additional resources. Ideal for grades K-3.

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