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Jane Yolen Two (or more) sides to Everyone |
Jane Yolen Fast Fact biography | Pj¡¦s 10 Yolen Favorites in no particular order: | ||
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My view of Jane Yolen begins where it began for me. In the very early 1980¡¦s I considered the YA genre as one I wanted to pursue in my own writing. An in-depth study of the field at that time showed me that there are crossover fields in fiction that tie the adult world and the children¡¦s world together and these works can be called adult fiction or YA depending on the content of the story. The first two crossover writers I looked at were Andre Norton and Jane Yolen. Both were women writing in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Both believed women to be strong as women, not as carbon-copy men. They did not take a female character and put her into a male role. It was so much more than that, which is why their work meant so much to me. But the focus of this study is Jane Yolen. Like her own book list, I began with her adult works. From Briar Rose to Sister Light Sister Dark and White Jenna, her characterizations of women stand out as women with strong characters. The kind we see every day. The kind we know exist, but are rarely if ever spoken about. Jane Yolen was a writer who came along in a time that was much more willing to look at women as actual human beings, and her work was sorely needed. She is not the first by any stretch of the imagination, but of writers working during and after a women¡¦s movement, she is one of the working writers connecting with today¡¦s children. I believe this is very important. Her work has the power to challenge young women to look at the realities of what they know to be true and trust them despite what they are told about themselves. I was so interested in Yolen as a working writer I began to look at more of her work. Since my favorite genre is fantasy I looked and most of her works and read many of the ones I looked at over time. I will always be a fan of Owl Moon, and it looks like I am not alone in that. Yolen speaks highly of this picture book as well. http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/owlm2.html http://www.janeyolen.com/auxiliary/owlmchars2.html
Heidi Stemple The Girl in Owl Moon
While I don¡¦t have a fondness for fairy-tales, Yolen makes them more palatable for someone who has always wanted stories of women that ¡§feel right,¡¨ that feel like the characters are women in ways that I and many others know women to exist. In terms of fantasy her books on fantasy and magic are most delightful to read whether they are picture books like The Witch Who Wasn¡¦t http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/witchww2.html or the Tartan Magic series of middle grade books that includes: The Wizard¡¦s Map as the first story in the trilogy, The Pictish Child, and The Bagpiper¡¦s Ghost. One firm belief I hold about writers is that the author is always in the text, no matter what they write, and by knowing a little more about a writer, you can sometimes catch a glimpse of why a work was written, where the author was coming from, and the forces that push an individual to use their creativity to tell you how they feel about life. Jane Yolen¡¦s life fits into her stories well. This author is definitely in her texts. The Tartan Magic Series includes a part of Yolen¡¦s life connected to her travels to Scotland and the stories she has found mixed in with the journey of her life. http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/wizardsm2.html http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/pictishc2.html http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/bagpipersg2.html The Wizard¡¦s Map takes a very real historical figure (Michael Scot) surrounded by some very non-historical interpretations of a man who was a warlock and supposedly wrote so magically powerful a book that when it was found it had to be locked up physically bound to a wall of a church. http://www.rampantscotland.com/famous/blfamwizard.htm http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data2/spcoll/latin/scot.html http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/history/characters/michael_scot.shtml Yolen¡¦s character of Michael Scot has drawn a map of Fairburn (a made up city) and this map has some magic qualities that will affect those who live there. He lost the map and now wants it back, but the map¡¦s caretaker has ¡§given¡¨ the map to someone else. It is up to a family of children who now have the map, to figure out how they will save themselves, the city and everyone from the wickedness of this corrupt wizard. In the second story The Pictish Child magic is still a major player in the story. A talisman opens the door to the past, and our three heroes must change a mistake in the past in order to correct the path of the future. They meet the past in the child found in the graveyard and with her help, beat the evil magic this time by changing what went wrong in time. The third story The Bagpiper¡¦s Ghost
highlights an interesting legend of the lady in white. Who is she?
What is her story? And more important, what is her purpose? What keeps The
Lady in White tied to the cemetary? Can Jennifer save Peter and still help
the Lady in White? And why doesn't the piper leave? All these questions
are raised in the third book of the Tartan Magic series. The magic still
exists aand can perhaps be used to undo a great damage that was done in
the past. This was a good story with a satisfying conclusion.
Tartan Magic Series Book Reviews
Jane Yolen also writes using a realistic backdrop. Her world war II story The Devil¡¦s Arithmetic is another wonderful blending of past and present. This aspect of yolen¡¦s work is something I think she does very well indeed. Her lesson: ¡§We are all Heroes Here.¡¨ This quote comes from an article by Yolen that includes this passage: My mother said before she... died... that it is much harder to live this way and to die this way than to go out shooting. Much harder. Chaya, you are a hero. I am a hero." Rifka stared for a moment at the sky and the curling smoke. "We are all heroes here." http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/devilsa2.html http://www.spectacle.org/396/scifi/exper.html Yolen concludes that this book has another lesson in it as well: that lesson of remembrance: The Devil's Arithmetic begins with the sentence "I'm tired of remembering" and ends with the words "I remember, I remember." A multitude of themes run rampant throughout Yolen¡¦s work, and all are deserving of mention. Her focus on gender is reflected in every work. Magic crops up consistently as do fairy tales. A favorite dichotomy is light / dark inner / outer, good / bad, twins. She also focuses on relationship pairings. Some Personal Interviews http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/july98/interview.html http://www.geocities.com/puckrobin/rh/yolen1.htmlInterviews
In Sherwood by Allen W. Wright http://www.scifi.com/transcripts/1999/yolen.html Scifi.com chat interview
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¡P Yolen was born in New York City February 11, 1939. Her parents were Will and Isabelle Yolen.
¡P After High school she went on to attend Smith College.
¡P In 1962 she married David Stemple.
¡P Yolen has 4 Grandchildren.
¡P She has written over 200 books either alone or with others.
¡P Thinks Own Moon is one of the best books she has ever written.
¡P Past President of the Science Fiction Writers of America.
¡P On the board of Directors of the Society of Children¡¦s Book Writers & Illustrators.
Much of Yolen's work highlights the strengths of girls and women, and tells the story of life from their perspective. Strong women live on in her works.
Special Awards
Owl Moon won a Caldecott Award The short story "Sister Emily's Lightship won a Nebula Award in 1997 The Novellette "Lost Girls" won a Nebula Award in 1998.
The Devil's Arithmetic has recieved several Awards: The Jewish Book Council Award, Association of Jewish
Libraries Award, It was also a Finalist for the Nebula Award. Briar Rose received the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
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Yolen, Jane. 1988. Sister Light, Sister Dark. Tor. Yolen, Jane. 1989 White Jenna. Tor (These two books were published together as The Books of Great Alta. A third book was published later. Yolen, Jane. 1998. The One-Armed Queen. Tor.
Yolen, Jane. 1989. Guide to Writing For Children. Writer¡¦s Inc.
Yolen, Jane. 1999. The Wizard¡¦s Map. Harcourt Brace. Yolen, Jane.1999. The Pictish Child. Harcourt Brace. Yolen, Jane. 2002. The Bagpiper¡¦s Ghost. Harcourt Brace.
Yolen, Jane. Ill. By John Schoenherr. 1987. Owl Moon. Philomel.
Yolen, Jane. Ill. By Trina Schart Hyman. 1991. Wizard¡¦s Hall.
Yolen, Jane. 1988. The Devil¡¦s Arithmetic. Viking.
Yolen, Jane. 1992. Briar Rose. Tor.
Yolen, Jane. 1982. Dragon¡¦s Blood. Delacorte. Yolen, Jane. 1984. Heart¡¦s Blood. Delacorte. Yolen, Jane. 1987. A Sending of Dragons. Delacorte.
Yolen, Jane. Ill. By Monica Vachula. 1998. Tea With an Old Dragon. Boyds Mills.
Yolen, Jane. Ill. By Demi. 1990. Dragon Night. Methun. (sadly, this one is out of print. Yolen, Jane. Ill. By Janet Street. Raining Cats and Dogs. Harcourt Brace.
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pj's favorites bibliography Notes |
Yolen's unannotated Webliography | |||
Yolen, Jane. 1988. Sister Light, Sister Dark. Tor. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312930917/qid=1047852352/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/102-6186386-5033765?v=glance&s=books Amazon.Com. Contains favorable book reviews. This story was well-received by readers. Yolen, Jane. 1989 White Jenna. Tor http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312931956/ref=ed_oe_h/102-6186386-5033765?v=glance&s=books&st=* Amazon.Com. Contains favorable book reviews of White Jenna. Another well-recieved book. Readers felt much the same way as Yolen did originally: White Jenna was the satisfying end to the story and another book was not necessary. (These two books were published together as The Books of Great Alta. A third book was published later. Yolen, Jane. 1998. The One-Armed Queen. Tor. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312852436/ref=pd_sim_books_1/102-6186386-5033765?v=glance&s=books Amazon.Com. Contains book reviews. A number of reviewers feel that while this book is well-written, story-wise it was a let down, as it felt unnecessary to some readers. They felt that White Jenna was the ending for the two stories. This Trilogy contains strong women, the idea of two: light / dark. Each book shows that women on each side of the dualism have reasons for making the choices they make throughout the story.
Yolen, Jane. 1989. Guide to Writing For Children. Writer¡¦s Inc. I include this book because it was one of the earliest pieces of work on writing for children that I found. Yolen's advice was clear and easy to follow.
Yolen, Jane. 1999. The Wizard¡¦s Map. Harcourt Brace. http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/wizardsm2.html http://zuckermansbarn.com/ns_details.php?Bookid=YolenJ99
Yolen, Jane.1999. The Pictish Child. Harcourt Brace. http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/pictishc2.html http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/academics/ls/superreader/title/P/pictishchild.htm
Yolen, Jane. 2002. The Bagpiper¡¦s Ghost. Harcourt Brace. http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/bagpipersg2.html http://www.bookideas.com/reviews/index.cfm?fuseaction=displayReview&id=1411
These books for middle grades are well-written and enjoyable. They continue to maintain high standards of humor magic, horror, and fear.
Yolen, Jane. Ill. By John Schoenherr. 1987. Owl Moon. Philomel. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0399214577/qid=1047853611/sr=12-1/102-6186386-5033765?v=glance&s=books Amazon.Com's book reviews of Owl Moon. Very positive reviews can be found here. I include Owl Moon because it just happens to be one of my favorite picture books. I read it as an adult, but still loved it.
Yolen, Jane. Ill. By Trina Schart Hyman. 1991. Wizard¡¦s Hall. Amazon.Com Positive reviews. A very close comparison between this book and the Harry Potter books can be made. Yolen's book is not as widely known as Harry Potter, and now might seem way too similar even though it was written years before Harry Potter.
Yolen, Jane. 1988. The Devil¡¦s Arithmetic. Viking. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0670810274/qid=1047854119/sr=12-1/102-6186386-5033765?v=glance&s=books Amazon.Com's Book Reviews This award-winning book focuses on heros who happen to be female. One of the major questions in the story is: What is a hero? Why do we expect a hero to contain the large acts, when some of the smallest, most private acts in existence are some of the most heroic?
Yolen, Jane. 1992. Briar Rose. Tor. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0765342308/qid=1047854188/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-6186386-5033765 Amazon.Com's Book Reviews. Most of the reviews are positive but at least one reaer had a problem with the story.
Yolen, Jane. 1982. Dragon¡¦s Blood. Delacorte. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0152008667/qid=1047853011/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-6186386-5033765?v=glance&s=books Amazon.Com. Positive Reviews. Yolen, Jane. 1984. Heart¡¦s Blood. Delacorte. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0152008659/qid=1047853354/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-6186386-5033765 Amazon.Com. This second book in the trilogy gets mixed reviews. Some love it, and some were disappointed in it. But Yolen's readers tend to have high expectations of her work. Yolen, Jane. 1987. A Sending of Dragons. Delacorte. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0152008640/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/102-6186386-5033765?v=glance&s=books&st=* Amazon.Com. Again, Yolen's third book in a series is not as well-received as the first two.
Yolen, Jane. Ill. By Monica Vachula. 1998. Tea With an Old Dragon. Boyds Mills. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1563976579/qid=1047854395/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-6186386-5033765?v=glance&s=books Amazon.Com's Book Reviews. The major thought is that this book has limited appeal. It may only be for those familiar with Smith College, Jane Yolen's connection to Smith college, or those who just want to read about strong women.
Yolen, Jane. Ill. By Demi. 1990. Dragon Night. Methun. (sadly, this one is out of print. http://www.janeyolen.com/poetry.html Yolen, Jane. Ill. By Janet Street. Raining Cats and Dogs. Harcourt Brace. |
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One of my favorite pictures of Jane Yolen Taken from http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/myth/img/janeport.jpg
Biography http://www.janeyolen.com/janebio.html Jane's own homepage bio. http://www.endicott-studio.com/bioyolen.html A Brief Biography http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/askauthor/Yolen.html Internet Public Library Kidspace. A Biography with FAQ. http://www.geocities.com/sheherazahde/Books/YolenJane/ Scheherazade's Jane Yolen Page.
Booklists / Bibliographies http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Jane_Yolen.htm
Interviews http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/july98/interview.html http://www.geocities.com/puckrobin/rh/yolen1.htmlInterviews
In Sherwood by Allen W. Wright http://www.scifi.com/transcripts/1999/yolen.html Scifi.com chat interview includes a moderator and others. http://www.bookpage.com/9901bp/jane_yolen.html BookPage Interview by Lisa Horak.
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