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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Titles By Jane Yolen

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Merbaby's Lullaby Jun 25, 2019

by Jane Yolen , Elizabeth O. Dulemba

( 45 )

$9.21

From New York Times bestselling author Jane Yolen comes a lilting lullaby from the bottom of the sea.

Hush, foam rocker,
sleep, wave breaker.
Close your eyes and dream,
tide breaker.

A hush-filled bedtime rhyme for parents to share with their newborns, Merbaby’s Lullaby is an underwater cradlesong written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba. Join a mermaid as she helps her merbaby to sleep, rocking with the gentle waves, singing with the whispering whales, and settling in with sea stars lighting the way to sweet dreams.

Other Formats: Board book

The Leather Apron Club: Benjamin Franklin, His Son Billy & America's First Circulating Library Sep 28, 2021

by Jane Yolen , Wendell Minor

$9.99

A powerful celebration of libraries from master storyteller Jane Yolen. Benjamin Franklin introduces his son Billy to the Leather Apron Club, where it's love at first page.

When Billy's father Benjamin Franklin announces that Billy and his lazy cousin James will soon have a tutor, Billy is initially dismayed. But his tutor awakens him to the power of story and books, and when Billy accompanies his father to the Leather Apron Club (which Franklin started in 1727), he decides to do more with his education and life.

Best-selling author Jane Yolen introduces readers to the Leather Apron Club. Not only was the Club the first successful lending library in the United States--it also exists to this day as the Library Company of Philadelphia! Careful readers will notice that the story cleverly incorporates famous sayings from Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack, underscoring the lasting impact of words.

Other Formats: Hardcover

Boots and the Seven Leaguers: A Rock-and-Troll Novel Sep 29, 2015

by Jane Yolen

( 2 )

$5.65

All a young troll wants is to hear some rock and roll—but when his brother goes missing, he’ll have to face more than just the music . . .

Like many teenagers, the young troll Gog loves rock music. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have money to buy a ticket to see the annual concert of his favorite band, Boots and the Seven Leaguers. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Gog and his clever pal Pook trick the Leaguers into believing they are seasoned roadies willing to work in exchange for admission. Unfortunately, this means Gog must take his eyes off his smart-aleck little brother, Magog—and when Magog is kidnapped, the teen troll must venture into the terrible New Forest, where a whole host of terrifying nasties await, to find him.

A true delight for young readers, Jane Yolen’s Boots and the Seven Leaguers is a wonderfully imaginative and fantastically funny contemporary fairy tale from one of the most acclaimed authors in the fantasy field.

This ebook features an illustrated personal history of Jane Yolen including rare images from the author’s personal collection.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Passager: The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book One Mar 1, 2013

by Jane Yolen

( 5 )

$9.99

A boy is abandoned in the woods of medieval England. A year passes--a year of terror and hunger, of sleeping in trees and foraging for food, of outrunning packs of wild dogs--until one day a falconer captures and tames the boy as he would any passager, a young bird caught in the wild and trained. The falconer adopts the boy and teaches him all of the things he’s forgotten, including the boy’s true name--and the legacy of magic that will be his when he comes of age. “This first book of the Young Merlin Trilogy will have readers awaiting the sequels.”--The Horn Book

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Elsie's Bird Sep 2, 2010

by Jane Yolen , David Small

( 11 )

$10.99

Elsie is a city girl. She loves the noise of the cobbled streets of Boston. But when her mother dies and her father moves them to the faraway prairies of Nebraska, Elsie hears only the silence, and she feels alone in the wide sea of grass. Her only comfort is her canary, Timmy Tune. But when Timmy flies out the window, Elsie is forced to run after him, into the tall grass of the prairie, where she's finally able to hear the voice of the prairie-beautiful and noisy- and she begins to feel at home.

Jane Yolen and David Small create a remarkable, poetic, vividly rendered book about finding one's place in the world.

Other Formats: Hardcover

Merlin: The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book Three Mar 1, 1997

by Jane Yolen

( 5 )

$9.99

In flight from the magic visions that plague him, Merlin falls into the hands of the wodewose--wild folk who, according to legend, live in the company of wolves and devour children. But far from being wild, the wodewose are an enormous family of the unwanted, the abandoned, and the homeless. For once Merlin has found a place where an orphan like himself belongs. The triumphant conclusion to the Young Merlin Trilogy.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Hobby: The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book Two Sep 15, 1996

by Jane Yolen

( 3 )

$11.99

The story of the young Merlin’s coming-of-age continues in this thrilling sequel to Passager. “An enjoyable introduction to Arthurian fantasy.”--The Horn Book

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

B.U.G. (Big Ugly Guy) Mar 21, 2013

by Jane Yolen , Adam Stemple

( 5 )

$10.99

Sammy Greenberg would rather talk back to The Boyz--a gang of bullies at his school--and get his head stuck in the toilet than constantly be afraid. But when his friend Skink gets beaten up so badly that he has to go to the hospital, Sammy thinks he may be in over his head. He decides to build a golem--a mythical protector from Jewish folklore, made of clay and animated by the ineffable name of God. But this monster doesn't just protect him and Skink from The Boyz, he is also a great drummer for their rock-jazz-klezmer fusion band! But golems come with warnings. They will protect you until they don't.

Other Formats: Hardcover

Oz Reimagined: Blown Away Feb 26, 2013

by Jane Yolen , Douglas Cohen , John Joseph Adams

( 1 )

$1.99

When L. Frank Baum introduced Dorothy and friends to the American public in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz became an instant, bestselling hit. Today the whimsical tale remains a cultural phenomenon that continues to spawn wildly popular books, movies, and musicals. Now, editors John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen have brought together some of the leading fantasy, science fiction, and young adult writers to create the ultimate anthology for Oz fan – and, really, any reader with an appetite for richly imagined worlds.

In “Blown Away,” Jane Yolen wonders: What if Toto was dead and stuffed, Ozma was a circus freak, and everything you thought you knew as Oz was really right here in Kansas?

Some stories are dystopian…Some are dreamlike…All are undeniably Oz.

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volumes 1-3: Boxed Set: Dragon's Blood, Heart's Blood, and A Sending of Dragons (3 Book Series)

( 11 )

$19.97

From Book 1:

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: Paperback

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