Jane Yolen in 1989.
Denver Post/AP
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Denver Post/AP
Author Jane Yolen published an astonishing number of books in her lifetime – more than 450.
He died last week at his home in Hatfield, Mass., at the age of 87. Her residence there marked the beginning of a career in which Yolen wrote picture books such as the hugely popular. what are dinosaurs like … ? series. But he also wrote across a variety of age groups and genres, including young adult fiction, fantasy, poetry, and more.
Yolen’s daughter, Heidi Stemple, says that her mother had a favorite saying: “Touch the magic. Pay it forward.”
That’s what Yolen has done for more than six decades as a writer. He was born in Manhattan in 1939 but lived most of his adult life in western Massachusetts. In addition to Heidi Stemple, Yolen had two sons, Adam and Jason Stemple, and collaborated on creative projects with all three of his children.
“It was truly a dream for all of us to work with him,” says Heidi Stemple.
Yolen was also known for her reimaginings of classic folk and fairy tales. the new York Times Called him “the modern equivalent of Aesop” and newsweek He was dubbed “America’s Hans Christian Andersen.”
But Yolen told her family that the comparison to the Danish author was not fair.
“She reminded people – and we all make fun of this – that she was not America’s Hans Christian Andersen,” says Stemple. “She was a swan Jewish Anderson of America.”
Yolen’s Jewish identity shaped the books Briar Rose And devil’s arithmeticBoth were established during the cataclysm. In the latter, a Jewish American girl travels to 1942 Poland, where she is sent to a concentration camp.
Pamela Anderson teaches English at a junior high school in Chandler, Okla. She said she assigns work devil’s arithmeticwhich was published in 1988 to his 8th grade students, many of whom knew little about the Holocaust before they stepped into his classroom.
“I’m very strong about the validity of the authorship,” Anderson says. “(Yolen) didn’t just write a book about the genocide. She collected information. So this book is really a fusion of the concentration camps, a fusion of the stories that she learned.”
As for feedback in his class, Anderson says, “I’ve never had a student say they didn’t like the book.”
Editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden, who published the 1992 book Briar Rose For the publication, it was said that Yolen’s resonance with young readers was rooted in her fundamental sense of humanity.
Nielsen Hayden, who was also a friend of Yolen, said, “It helps that, like many great children’s writers and teachers and librarians, she considered children to be mere humans who are not as big and experienced as us.”
The author does not shy away from expanding the vocabulary of children. In a 2010 story on NPR weekend editionYolen recalled the time he refused an editor’s request to replace the word “lavelier” with a more child-friendly synonym in his 1987 book. piglet.
Yolen said, “The editor said first, I think we should say necklace, I think lavalier is too big a word for children this age.” “But we took over the fort. We said yes, sure, it will be grander.”
And the decision paid off.
“When Jane Dyer, the illustrator, and I went on a book tour together, the kids at every school we visited voted that lavalier was their favorite new word.”
Nielsen Hayden says that in addition to her talents as a writer, Yolen was also a gifted social connector. At various times during their friendship he learned of Yolen’s surprising relationships with people such as author Tracy Kidder, artist barry moser -And even Eleanor Roosevelt.
And Yolen’s kitchen in Hatfield was a frequent gathering place for the science fiction and fantasy literary universe. Author Bruce Colville said that he had a “warm and enjoyable” friendship with Yolen for more than 40 years.
“She never pulled ranks, even when I was a new newcomer and she was a well-established professional,” Coville said in an email. “She always said, ‘Don’t put me on something high, I could fall and break my ankle!'”
One of his most famous books, owl moonWon the Caldecott Medal in 1988. It was illustrated by John Schönherer.
The picture book is about a father who – one winter night – takes his young daughter into a snowy forest in search of an owl. Yolen’s daughter Heidi Stemple calls it her “all-time favorite”.
She says, “My father is Pa and I am the little girl, although my brothers would argue that he betrayed us all, which is absolutely true.” “But my mom made it a little girl and told me this is who I am so I stuck with it.”
Stemple says he studied Yolen in the last weeks of her life owl moon Every day for his mother. The last page made Stemple especially emotional.
The story says, “When you go to be an owl, you don’t need anything but words or warmth or hope.” “That’s what Pa says. The kind of hope that flies on silent wings beneath the shining owl moon.”
Yolen’s 454th book will be published this July. Stemple says there will be many posthumous stories.
