Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in
Hatfield, Massachusetts.
Read More... 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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