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Summary
Summary
Jane Yolen's Emily Writes is an imagined and evocative picture book account of Emily Dickinson's childhood poetic beginnings, featuring illustrations by Christine Davenier.
As a young girl, Emily Dickinson loved to scribble curlicues and circles, imagine new rhymes, and connect with the natural world around her. The sounds, sights, and smells of home swirled through her mind, and Emily began to explore writing and rhyming her thoughts and impressions. She thinks about the real and the unreal. Perhaps poems are the in-between .
This thoughtful spotlight on Emily's early experimentations with poetry offers a unique window into one of the world's most famous and influential poets.
Christy Ottaviano Books
Author Notes
Jane Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City. She received a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1960 and a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. After college, she became an editor in New York City and wrote during her lunch break. She sold her first children's book, Pirates in Petticoats, at the age of 22. Since then, she has written over 300 books for children, young adults, and adults.
Her other works include the Emperor and the Kite, Owl Moon, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and The Devil's Arithmetic. She has won numerous awards including the Kerlan Award, the Regina Medal, the Keene State Children's Literature Award, 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.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--6--Incorporating bits from Emily Dickinson's poetry and what is known of her adult life, Yolen imagines an afternoon with four-year-old Emily. Slipping into her father's study, young Emily "discovers a scrap of paper under father's desk, some chance slip." (Adult Emily refers to her odds and ends of used writing paper as "chance slips.") This is a cheerful, deeply thoughtful child. "Perhaps, she thinks, I will make a poem." And so she does. Emily tries to tell her rhyming three-word bit--"frog and bog"--to her inattentive father and then her fretful mother, and finally succeeds down in the kitchen with friendly Mrs. Mack. (Readers learn more about Mrs. Mack in the author's note.) Once these two share laughter and a bit of cake, Emily goes out to the garden where her story becomes more complex and romanticized: "…she has not told her poem to the flowers yet…the garden makes her feel all sunny, like a poet…She thinks about the real and the unreal. Perhaps poems are the in-between." Emily goes on to find an envelope and consults Mrs. Mack about a word to rhyme with envelope. Yolen's cleverly constructed scheme will intrigue adult Dickinson fans. French illustrator Davenier's multimedia sketches provide simple, deft views of characters and settings. Yolen's substantial author's note tells much about Emily Dickinson and excerpts poems. A bibliography of adult and scholarly sources includes a few titles accessible to children. VERDICT Some parents might share this with children learning to read and write. It could also spark good discussion with older students studying Dickinson in poetry units.--Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Publisher's Weekly Review
Yolen and Davenier portray Dickinson as a small child who "tiptoes into Father's study,/ being quiet as dust" and finds "a scrap of paper" and a "gnawed pencil stub, too... Perhaps, she thinks, I will make a poem." Historical details--her siblings, Lavinia and Austin; her mother's illness ("Mother,/ who makes her feel rainy"); her father's emotional distance--add ballast to the imagined account. Most delightful is Mrs. Mack, of the family that bought the Dickinson family house and lived in it while the Dickinsons rented rooms. Yolen's Mrs. Mack encourages Emily: "Hope, my dear girl,/ That's the best rhyme for envelope. Though in a pinch you might try cope or lope." Though an author's note suggests that not much is actually known of Dickinson's childhood, nor of her relationship with Mrs. Mack, Yolen conjures appealing possibilities. Davenier's loose-lined, color-washed ink illustrations capture childlike joy and curiosity. Ages 4--8. (Feb.)
Horn Book Review
Since not much is known about Dickinson as a child, Yolen constructs a fictional experience of what might have inspired her poetic observations later in life. Readers follow a very young Emily as she shows her three-word rhyming poem ("Frog and bog!") to her distracted father, who doesn't pay attention; her mother, abed, who doesn't open her eyes; and the more encouraging Mrs. Mack, their landlady. After communing outdoors with nature-the source of inspiration for her poem-Emily returns inside to search for new ideas (what rhymes with envelope?), with help from Mrs. Mack ("Hope, my dear girl. That's the best rhyme"). From Emily's youthful vantage point, Yolen indirectly explains a good deal about her life and interests, allowing readers to think-just as Emily does-"about the real and the unreal" and what lies in-between (it's poetry, according to Emily). An appended author's note and samples of Dickinson's poetry help put all these snippets of story into context. The pastel-hued watercolor and ink illustrations reflect Emily's precociousness and curiosity. Nineteenth-century period details set the scene throughout the book's balanced mix of spot art, full-page images, and double-page spreads. (For a more traditional picture-book biography of Dickinson, see Jennifer Berne's On Wings of Words, reviewed on page 137.) Cynthia K. Ritter May/June 2020 p.114(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
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) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In 1834, little Emily Dickinson tiptoes into her father's study, where he is working at his desk. Finding slips of discarded paper and a pencil stub on the floor, she scribbles a poem that only she can read. Though Father is too busy to look at it, she finds a more supportive audience in the kitchen. Mrs. Mack appreciates her rhyme, Frog and bog, and they enjoy a laugh together, along with leftover cake. Finding Mother and baby Lavinia too sleepy to listen to verse, Emily amuses herself in the garden for a while before returning to the kitchen, where she shares a doughnut and more possible rhymes with Mrs. Mack. Evidently based on inference rather than actual incidents, the story reflects Yolen's love of language and her knowledge of the poet's life and work as well as her understanding of young children. Davenier's buoyant illustrations, soft line drawings brightened with colorful inks, portray the young Dickinson, her home, and the garden with spontaneity and warmth. An imaginative portrayal of the poet as a young child.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2020 Booklist
