About The Author
YOLEN, JANE (1939- )
Jane Yolen grew up in New York City, the daughter of two writers. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. She has taught children's literature at Smith and is the wife of Professor David W. Stemple. They have three grown children--all of whom have done books with her--and a grandchild.
The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, she composes songs, travels, teaches, and is a professional storyteller on stage.
All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. Her 1983 Caldecott Honor Book The Emperor and the Kite was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father who was an international kite-flying champion. Her 1988 Caldecott Medal winner Owl Moon was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Jewish Book Award and Association of Jewish Libraries Award winner The Devil's Arithmetic is a unique time-travel story of the Holocaust. When asked what got her interested in the subject she said, "Both sides of my family came over at the beginning of this century, and we had no family left in either the Ukraine or Latvia during World War II. I am interested in the Holocaust as a Jew and as a citizen of the world."
Other award winning books include: The Girl Who Loved the Wind, Piggins, The Seeing Stick, and Commander Toad in Space.
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. It is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts."
Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments come from Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told." Yolen's versatility has led her to be called America's Hans Christian Anderson and the Aesop of the 20th century. This gifted and natural storyteller's books have been translated into twelve languages.
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