How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night by Jane Yolen

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-Another addition to the humorous series that began with How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? (Scholastic, 2000). In the first part of the book, dinosaurs burp, belch, and display all kinds of other inappropriate behaviors during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Spinosaurus doesn't eat all his food...[he spits] out his broccoli partially chewed. Quetzalcoatlus fusses, fidgets, and squirms in his chair in a restaurant, while Amargasaurus flips his spaghetti high into the air. But, is this the way that dinosaurs should act? Of course not. So, a very genteel Cryolophosaurus says please and thank you while sitting very still, Lambeosaurus tries everything at least once, and Spinosaurus never drops anything onto the floor. In the last image, a very proper Cryolophosaurus-with pinky in the air-daintily eats his pancakes. The book is great fun, and sure to be popular with dinosaur lovers. Hidden in the illustration on each page is the proper name of the reptile portrayed therein. Teague's gouache-and-ink illustrations contain just the right amount of detail and whimsy, and they are large enough for storytime sharing. Children not yet old enough to read will still enjoy looking at the pictures by themselves.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?

by: Jane Yolen

Amazon.com
Following up their bestseller How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, Caldecott Medal winner Jane Yolen and illustrator Mark Teague have penned this instructive lesson on dinosaur health care. Each double-page spread features one enormous dinosaur looking wan and sniffly but mostly cranky, petulant, ornery, sullen, and disagreeable. The human moms and dads are visibly worried and/or frustrated by their sick dinos behaving badly. Witness the nice lady dragging her gigantic Styracosaurus out of the elevator and across the hall to the doctor's office: "What if a dinosaur goes to the doc? Does he drag all his feet till his mom is in shock?" The look on this mom's face will be familiar to anyone who's ever forcibly moved a child, who seems to have suddenly gained a million pounds, from one place to another. And of course, it turns out that dinosaurs don't misbehave when they're sick: "He drinks lots of juice, and he gets lots of rest. He's good at the doctor's, 'cause doctors know best."

The rhymes are somewhat forced, especially toward the end of the book, but Teague's marvelous paintings are bright and expressive throughout. Each dinosaur is cleverly labeled, and these aren't your run-of-the-mill dinos; dinosaur-obsessed little ones will crow over Parasaurolophus, Euoplocephalus, and Tuojiangosaurus. They'll also learn a little something about how to behave when they're sick. --Jennifer Lindsay

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Como juegan los dinosaurios con sus amigos? (Spanish Edition)

by: Jane Yolen

Book Description
What if a dinosaur's friends come to play? Does he mope, does he pout if he can't get his way? Does he hide all his dump trucks, refusing to share? Does he throw his friends' coloring books up in the air? Time and time again, children are told to "play nice." This brilliantly illustrated board book is packed with rhymes that will teach children how. Mark Teague's laugh-aloud illustrations, along with Jane Yolen's playful text, will show children that "playing nice" can be easy and fun. Perfect for parents to read aloud with their children, this book is as humorous as it is instructive.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

How Do Dinosaurs Board Book 2pac (How Do Dinosaurs)

by: Jane Yolen

Product Description
Two great Jane Yolen board books: How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms? How Do Dinosaurs Count To Ten?

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price:

Baby Bear's Big Dreams

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-"When I grow up in about a year" begins this tale of a cub's plans for adulthood. His ambitious ideas include having three friends move in with him so they can stay up late and play nonstop because he thinks that's one of the perks of being a big bear. Living in a toy store, building a tree house, camping, and exploring are also a part of his plans for the future. His earnest ideas always include friends or family with whom he can share his toys, his honey, and his explorations. The ultimate plan is to return home so that his parents can tuck him into bed and give him kisses, "one and two%u2026/for that's what BIG bears always do." This third Baby Bear book by this duo is illustrated in the same bright, sunny hues as the others. The large mixed-media and collage pictures and the rhyming couplets make this title a treat for storytime or for sharing one-on-one.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $12.48 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.00

Usually ships in 24 hours

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? Book and Audiocassette Tape Set (Paperback)

by: Jane Yolen

Product Description
Another addition to the humorous series that began with How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?. In the first part of the book, dinosaurs burp, belch, and display all kinds of other inappropriate behaviors during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Spinosaurus doesn't eat all his food...he spits out his broccoli partially chewed. Quetzalcoatlus fusses, fidgets, and squirms in his chair in a restaurant, while Amargasaurus flips his spaghetti high into the air. But, is this the way that dinosaurs should act? Of course not. So, a very genteel Cryolophosaurus says please and thank you while sitting very still, Lambeosaurus tries everything at least once, and Spinosaurus never drops anything onto the floor. In the last image, a very proper Cryolophosaurus, with pinky in the air, daintily eats his pancakes. The book is great fun, and sure to be popular with dinosaur lovers. Hidden in the illustration on each page is the proper name of the reptile portrayed therein. Teague's gouache-and-ink illustrations contain just the right amount of detail and whimsy, and they are large enough for story time sharing. Children not yet old enough to read will still enjoy looking at the pictures by themselves.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price:

How do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? ; Paperback & Audio Cassette

by: Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price:

Here's A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreSchool-K-Many collections of poems that purport to be for very young children are actually for primary graders. This oversize book really is for preschoolers. The poems, one per page, are arranged in four categories that encompass child's a world: "Me, Myself, and I," "Who Lives in My House?," "I Go Outside," and "Time for Bed." The poetry is witty, intelligent, and well crafted, and perfect for the target audience. The list of contributors reads like a who's who of children's poetry-Margaret Wise Brown, Nikki Grimes, Aileen Fisher, Jack Prelutsky, and others. Almost all of the selections have appeared in print before. Most of them are only a few lines long, and are printed in large informal type in a variety of colors that match the illustrations. The art was created using a wide range of mediums and techniques, and Dunbar blends them seamlessly to create charming images that are amazingly expressive. The children in them are carefree and happy and the book as a whole suggests a world that is safe and secure. Here's a Little Poem is a great way to introduce the youngest listeners to the genre.-Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Release Date: 02/13/2007

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $21.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

The Devil's Arithmetic (Puffin Modern Classics)

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8 In this novel, Yolen attempts to answer those who question why the Holocaust should be remembered. Hannah, 12, is tired of remembering, and is embarrassed by her grandfather, who rants and raves at the mention of the Nazis. Her mother's explanations of how her grandparents and great-aunt lost all family and friends during that time have little effect. Then, during a Passover Seder, Hannah is chosen to open the door to welcome the prophet Elijah. As she does so, she is transported to a village in Poland in the 1940s, where everyone thinks that she is Chaya, who has just recovered from a serious illness. She is captured by the Nazis and taken to a death camp, where she is befriended by a young girl named Rivka, who teaches her how to fight the dehumanizing processes of the camp and hold onto her identity. When at last their luck runs out and Rivka is chosen, Hannah/Chaya, in an almost impulsive act of self-sacrifice, goes in her stead. As the door to the gas chamber closes behind her, she is returned to the door of her grandparents' apartment, waiting for Elijah. Through Hannah, with her memories of the present and the past, Yolen does a fine job of illustrating the importance of remembering. She adds much to children's understanding of the effects of the Holocaust, which will reverberate throughout history, today and tomorrow. Susan M. Harding, Mesquite Public Library, Tex.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Owl Moon: 20th Anniversary Edition

by: Jane Yolen

Book Description
Owl Moon, the timeless and beautiful award-winning classic, is celebrating its twentieth year of charming and delighting children the world over. This touching story of a child and parent finding magic and adventure in a simple, snowy nighttime search for the great horned owl won the Caldecott Award in 1988. With letters from author Jane Yolen and artist John Schoenherr, and a stunning silvery cover, this celebratory edition is a treasure for longtime fans, and introduces a whole new generation to this beautiful book.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Favorite Folktales from Around the World (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
Storytelling, the oral tradition that springs directly from folk archives, is well served in this one-volume collection culled from Pantheon's folklore series. The 160 tales are grouped thematically in 13 chapterse.g. "The Very Young and the Very Old," "Fooling the Devil"taken from a variety of culturesEskimo, Irish, American Indian, Afro-American, Chinese, etc. Folklorists of many eras are represented in both familiar and less-common tales, carefully selected by Yolen, whose insightful introduction sets the parameters of choice. Her professional experience (she is the author of more than 80 books, many of them tales for children), assures us that storytelling, defined as "a personal art that makes public what is private and makes private what is public," is enjoying revival across the North American continent. The organization of this collection makes accessible, for telling and listening, illuminating glimpses of the world's cultures.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA Most of the 160 tales in this collection have been garnered from the "Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library." With an emphasis on stories from the oral tradition, the stories are grouped thematically: fooling the devil, shape shifters, the not-quite-human, numbskulls and noodleheads, true loves and false, likely and unlikely heroes, and death and the world's end, for example. Selections include tales from the American Indians, the brothers Grimm, Italo Calvino's Italian folktales, as well as stories from Iceland, Afghanistan, Scotland, and many other countries. Yolen provides each section with a relevant introduction, often including historical and literary factors, thus alerting readers as to what to look for. Sure to be a popular reference for junior high units on folktales. Mary Wadsworth Sucher, Baltimore County Reading Services
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Release Date: 08/12/1988

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $18.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Encounter (Voyager books)

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
PW's starred review described this "stirring" book as a look at the dark underside of Christopher Columbus's adventure. "The message is blunt but the language in which it is couched is vintage Yolen, lyrical and impassioned. Shannon's visionary style is an ideal complement." Also available in a Spanish-language edition, Encuentro ($6, -201342-3). Ages 6-12.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 2 - 5-- Readers weary of materials celebrating Columbus and his voyages will be refreshed and intrigued by this thought-provoking picture book. The imaginative story examines the first meeting between Columbus and the indigenous peoples of San Salvador (the Taino) through the eyes of a young native boy. The unnamed narrator has been warned in an ominous dream that the strangers may bring trouble to his people. His concerns are ignored, however, and the Taino greet their guests with customary feasting and gifts, only to be repaid by the abduction of several of their young people. Taken among the captives, the boy escapes and slowly makes his way home, trying to convince others along the way that the Spanish pose a threat, but to no avail. Yolen acknowledges in an author's note that no record of the Tainos' reaction to Columbus's arrival is available; this account is instead an evocative imagining of how things might have been. The haunting story is perfectly complemented by Shannon's powerful acrylic paintings. He mentions that, in fact, the Taino did not wear clothing, but feels that his decision to clothe them does not interfere with the plausibility or effectiveness of his presentation. A book that offers readers an alternative perspective on a well-known and much-celebrated historical event. --Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $7.00 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $7.00

Usually ships in 24 hours

Briar Rose

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
Windling's Fairy Tale series has produced several excellent fantasy novels inspired by classic fairy tales. This is one of the series's most ambitious efforts, and only a writer as good as Yolen ( Sister Light, Sister Dark ) could bring it off. Yolen takes the story of Briar Rose (commonly known as Sleeping Beauty) and links it to the Holocaust--a far-from-obvious connection that she makes perfectly convincing. Rebecca Berlin, a young woman who has grown up hearing her grandmother Gemma tell an unusual and frightening version of the Sleeping Beauty legend, realizes when Gemma dies that the fairy tale offers one of the very few clues she has to her grandmother's past. To discover the facts behind Gemma's story, Rebecca travels to Poland, the setting for the book's most engrossing scenes and its most interesting, best-developed characters. By interpolating Gemma's vivid and imaginative story into the larger narrative, Yolen has created an engrossing novel. She handles a difficult subject with finesse in a book that should be required reading for anyone who is tempted to dismiss fantasy as a frivolous genre.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
A young woman's promise to her dying grandmother leads her on a quest to discover the truth of her own family's mysterious beginnings in this grim retelling of the classic fairy tale "Briar Rose," or "The Sleeping Beauty." In Yolen's modern-day version, the wall of thorns becomes a barbed-wire prison, while the sleeping princess is both victim and heroine. The latest in the "Fairy Tale" series showcases Yolen's skill at transforming the real world into a realm of fantasy. A good selection for adult and YA fantasy collections.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World

From Library Journal
Disappointed by a lack of readily available folktales featuring women as heroines to read to her daughters, the well-traveled Ragan set about collecting tales from around the world for this anthology, which can be read and appreciated by youngsters and adults alike. More than 100 stories are included in the collection, which is arranged by broad geographic areas. Asia and the Pacific are widely represented, but there are only 14 stories from North and South America. Brief comments by the editor follow each story, and endnotes describe the sources. This convenient collection, more comprehensive than Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales from Around the World (1981), for example, is appropriate for school, public, and academic collections.APatricia A. Beaber, Trenton State Coll. Lib., Lawrenceville, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Susan Griffin, Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review
It is the magic of these stories that came as a revelation to me. . . . I hope this book becomes a classic.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $12.71 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

This Little Piggy with CD: Lap Songs, Finger Plays, Clapping Games and Pantomime Rhymes

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreS-A beautifully crafted, oversized anthology of approximately 60 lap rhymes, songs, clapping rhymes, and finger and foot rhymes, all presented with explanations and simple instructions for parents to play with their babies and toddlers. Most are familiar, but there are also a few that are less well known. Hillenbrand has framed the rhymes with lovely mixed-media pictures in an array of sherbet pastel colors with happy piggy families acting out the rhymes. The songs include simple musical arrangements for guitar and piano. A delightful accompanying CD includes 13 songs from the text, beautifully done with vivacious accompaniment. The result is a perfect book for one-on-one sharing-a feast for the eyes and the ears-as well as a wonderful compendium of first rhymes for the very young. A special selection that all new parents and grandparents will want to read again and again.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* PreS. Collections of children's rhymes and songs, lap games and finger plays, are in no short supply--Marc Brown's compilations of the 1980s and Zita Newcome's Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (2003) represent just a few of the many in print--but this assured presentation by Yolen, who charmingly notes that "the lap is a kind of schoolroom," is likely to emerge as the most authoritative. Many of the entries in Yolen's much briefer Lap Time Song and Play (1989) are duplicated here, but this boasts a broader scope (more than 60 interactive chants, rhymes, and songs) and a gorgeously crafted package, similar to Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells' Mother Goose Library. Annotations about each poem's provenance and instructions to parents appear in smaller type, while the poems themselves, arrayed with Hillenbrand's zestful, pig-themed illustrations, squarely target children. The selections range from the tried-and-true, such as "Eensy Weensy Spider," to the rarely seen, such as "A Gentleman of Wales," although some in the latter category, rich in early English colloquialisms and less-than-infectious rhythms, seem of more historical than practical interest. But given the collection's broad scope, families will inevitably emerge with new playtime standbys, and its many aesthetic rewards offer ample motivation to keep turning the pages. An accompanying CD provides jaunty interpretations of Stemple's piano-and-guitar arrangements for the songs. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Release Date: 02/14/2006

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $21.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People

by: Jane Yolen

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. There's a lot of good stuff going on in this imaginatively conceived and elegantly executed collection. On one page of each double-page spread is a poem (in one case, two haiku) evoking a color in nature--gray, orange, blue, brown, yellow. Opposite is a photograph, by freelance photographer Jason Stemple (Yolen's son), set like a cabochon jewel on a pale background of related images and words: sloe, sable, and jet for black; plum, orchid, and amethyst for purple. Each word is printed in its own hue. Somewhere on each spread is a sliver of a quotation about the color, from Mother Goose ("Its fleece was white as snow") to Eugene Field ("Any color so long as it's red"). The book is a visual feast, and a verbal one, too, for the poems are striking: in "Green," "poets know / all the secret words, / some of which they make up, / all of which are / green." In "Pink: A Haiku," "A surge of sunlight / Shocks through stem and thistle hairs / A punk pink hairdo." In her author's note, which precedes the text, Yolen urges readers to use the photographs as inspiration for their own poems, and she closes with "Crayons: A Rainbow Poem." GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $9.95

Usually ships in 13 to 14 days

Take Joy: A Writer's Guide to Loving the Craft

by: Jane Yolen

Book Description
Are you a writer longing to rediscover the joy that you once had in the craft (or even find it for the first time)? In this inspiring guide, Jane Yolen, an author who has been called America's Hans Christian Andersen, shows writers how to focus on aspects of the craft that bring them joy.

She remarks in the first chapter, "Save the blood and pain for real life, where tourniquets and ibuprofen can have some chance of helping. Do not be afraid to grab hold of the experience with both hands and take joy."

Addressing topics all writers struggle with, Yolen discusses the writer's voice, beginnings and endings, dealing with rejection, the technical aspects of writing, and the process of coming up with an idea-and deals with each of them in a way that focuses on the positive and eliminates the negative.

As Yolen says, "Be prepared as you write to be surprised by your own writing, surprised by what you find out about yourself and about your world. Be ready for the happy accident."

Get ready to take joy in your writing once again.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $14.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Roanoke: The Lost Colony--An Unsolved Mystery from History

by: Heidi Elisabet Y Stemple, Jane Yolen

From Booklist
Gr. 2-5. As in The Mary Celeste (1999) and The Wolf Girls (2001), this picture book for older children is framed by a fictional story about a detective's daughter who investigates a famous historical mystery. Here she tells readers about the founding of the Roanoke colony in 1587. It seems the colony's leader, who departed to obtain supplies, returned to find the colonists gone. The girl sets forth several theories and questions about what may have happened to the "lost colony," letting readers examine the facts and draw their own conclusions. There's a lot going on here: a framework story, the historical account, the ending hypotheses, and the addition of "notebook pages" with background information; children may need to read the book more than once to take it all in. The large, picture-book format offers plenty of scope for Roth's appealing narrative illustrations in watercolor and pencil. An attractive, intriguing introduction to the lost colony. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
In 1587 John White was chosen by Sir Walter Raleigh to lead a new colony at Roanoke off the Atlantic coast. After bringing many men, women, and children to the new land, White went back to England to gather supplies for the long winter. But when he finally returned to the fort almost three years later, he found that all of the colonists had vanished. The only signs of life left were the letters CRO carved into a tree and the word CROATOAN carved into one of the fort's posts. Some people think that the Spanish army captured the colonists; some people think that the local native people murdered them; others think that the colonists went off to live with the native people and start a new life. Still others think that the colonists tried to sail home to England and were lost at sea. No one knows for sure.

Become a detective as you read this true story, study the clues, and try to figure out the fate of the lost colony of Roanoke. The Unsolved Mystery from History series is written by acclaimed author Jane Yolen and former private investigator Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple. Read carefully and check your clues. You might be the first to solve a puzzle that has baffled people for years.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $14.03 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $17.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Sleeping Ugly

by: Jane Yolen

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Raising Yoder's Barn

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
Work of the hands, faith and community spirit are constants that eight-year-old Matthew has always known growing up on a Pennsylvania Amish farm. These things make all the difference when lightning burns his family's barn to the ground. When a barn-raising is organized, he despairs of being thought too young to help despite his father's praise for his work skills; eventually, the organizer, Samuel Stulzfoot, gives Matthew a special and important task. Yolen (The Girl in the Golden Bower) uses atmospheric metaphors?blisters are compared to "the barley in Mama's soup" and the barn grows "like a giant flower in the field." Her vision of the Amish seems rose-colored?not even the fire disturbs the underlying calm?but both the fire and the one-day barn-raising carry palpable excitement. In Fuchs's (Ragtime Tumpie) similarly idealized oil paintings, the Amish characters, clad in their traditional garb, move against radiant, broadly brushed pastoral settings. The new barn glows golden in the light of the new moon; the jars of preserves on the kitchen counter gleam as the sun pours in. The mood, never broken, is the real star of the book. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Letting Swift River Go

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
Like Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House and the Provensens' Shaker Lane , this felicitous marriage of text and art portrays the impact of modernization on one community. Yolen's gently poetic text tells how the young Sally Jane witnesses the forming of the Quabbin Reservoir in western Massachusetts and, thereby, the unavoidable drowning of her Swift River valley town. Gradually the streets she traveled and the homes she played in are covered by water for the hungry city's (Boston's) needs. Since young readers caring about Sally Jane will see this plight through her eyes, they are sure to grasp the plot's historical relevance. But the author is telling more than a personal or even a regional story here. Sally Jane's mother's words at the book's end, recalled when the girl and her father are in a boat on the now-filled reservoir--"You have to let them go, Sally Jane"--speak wisely to all of us about our pasts. (These words touchingly echo the mother's earlier admonition regarding trapped fireflies.) Despite the somewhat uninspired jacket painting, Cooney's charmingly detailed, childlike and colorful art is the perfect choice for this New England tale. Children will be captivated by her perspective of earlier days, when kids played mumblety-pegsic and walked to school on scenic country roads. A stirring and resonant book. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

A Sending of Dragons: The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume Three

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
The final volume in the Pit Dragon trilogywhich began with Dragon's Bloodconcludes a riveting saga that intertwines elements of fantasy and science fiction. The planet of Austar, whose climate and history have much in common with Australia's, serves as backdrop to the social hierarchy of the descendents of the original criminal/warden settlers. This book forces Jakkin and his friend Akkiwho became part dragon in the last book, Heart's Bloodunderground, where they encounter a horrifying race of not-men, whose society is also based on the breeding and destruction of dragons. Yolen's tightly plotted, adventurous trilogy constitutes superb storytelling. She incorporates elements of freedom and rebellion, power and control, love and friendship in a masterfully crafted context of a society sick with perversion. All phenomena relating to dragonsbirth, mating, physiology, telepathy, their training, breeding and careare meticulously evoked. The world of the dragons, which are complex creatures, provides a unique foundation for this compelling trilogy. Ages 12-14.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys

by: Jane Yolen

From Booklist
Gr. 4-8. This collection of 14 folktales from around the world, retold by Jane Yolen, feature male protagonists using cleverness, imagination, and intelligence to solve problems, conveying the message that strength does not have to be synonymous with force: there is strength in compassion, kindness, and wisdom. Included in the collection are stories that will be familiar, such as "The Magic Brocade" from China, the African American tale "Knee-High Man, and the Brothers Grimm tale "Jack and His Companion." Less familiar stories are here, too: "Hired Hands" from Afghanistan; "The Young Man Protected from the River" from Angola; and "The Fisherman and the Chamberlain" from Burma. Each story is accompanied by a full-page illustration depicting a scene in the tale. Yolen explains the background of each story and how she went about adapting it for the collection. Free of didacticism, these diverse stories give readers something to think about. Sources are provided. Ed Sullivan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
From China to Burma, Afghanistan to America, this collection of fourteen familiar and little-known stories tells the tales of sons, brothers, kings, and trolls--men and boys united by a common heroism that comes from strength of character, wisdom, and compassion. These stories show that brains trump brawn every time.
Renowned storyteller Jane Yolen has created an exciting companion book to her Book Sense 76 Pick Not One Damsel in Distress. An inspired collection of dramatic tales, Mightier Than the Sword will inspire boys and girls alike.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $13.60 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $20.00

Usually ships in 24 hours

Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers And Eaters

by: Jane (RTL) Yolen

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 5-This collection of 20 fairy tales, each accompanied by at least one recipe, is an oversized, glossy concoction. Most of the stories are European, told in a conversational tone mixing tradition with a dash of the modern (in Cinderella, for instance, %u2026a fairy-with wings and a wand and who knew a wish when she heard it-appeared before her, wrapped in stars.) Toddlers will enjoy The Runaway Pancake, while fourth and fifth graders will appreciate Yolen's Snow White (this heroine doesn't pull any punches). The recipes include tasty-sounding dishes like Very French Toast (to go with the French folktale Diamonds and Toads). Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert are all represented. The dishes will be best for experienced cooks, as some judgment calls are in order (serves a family is stated several times). Sidebars throughout give interesting facts about the stories and the recipes. Yolen's knowledge of folklore shows in her tidbits about the tales and their origins. Many of the food facts are intriguing, too. For instance, alongside the Stone Soup recipe is a note that Al Capone set up Chicago's first soup kitchen. Beha's illustrations, with bright colors and bold, simple lines, are set off by lots of white space, adding to the appealing and accessible look. This is similar to Carol MacGregor's The Fairy Tale Cookbook (Macmillan, 1982; o.p.), but that book does not include complete stories. A fun book for family sharing.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $18.21 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $24.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Commander Toad in Space

by: Jane Yolen

Card catalog description
The intrepid crew of the space ship "Star Warts" lands on a water-covered planet inhabited by Deep Wader, a horrible hungry monster. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $5.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History

by: Jane Yolen, Heidi Elisabet Y Stemple

From Publishers Weekly
PW said that this tale of a crewless ship, the Mary Celeste, found adrift in 1872, "may well have amateur sleuths lying awake at night." Ages 6-up. (July)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Grade 3-5-Fans of detective stories will be thrilled to try their hands at solving this true historic mystery. In 1872, the Mary Celeste sailed out of New York and into the realm of bizarre puzzles. When found by the crew of the Dei Gratia less than a month after setting sail, the brig was in seaworthy condition and almost completely in order, but everyone on it had vanished. The tale is told by a fictional character who shares her methods of investigation and the known facts of the case. Warm, double-page watercolors with details highlighted in pencil show each aspect of the discovery and exploration of the derelict ship, and enhance the drama of the story. Maritime terms and supplemental information on the individuals involved appear on panels drawn to resemble sticky notes and lined notebook papers that are superimposed on the illustrations. The book includes a listing of a half dozen of the most popular theories, accompanied by questions that can be answered from the text, thus encouraging readers to exercise keen observation and deductive reasoning to form their own opinions. While the answers to the mystery of the Mary Celeste may never be known, this is an intriguing story.
Ann G. Brouse, Big Flats Branch Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong Girls

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-This collection of folktales from around the world presents a range of tales that all feature strong women. While the majority of stories (7 out of 13) are European in origin, most are relatively unfamiliar. Only four of the tales, "Atalanta the Huntress," "Fitcher's Bird" (a Bluebeard/Mr. Fox variant), "Burd Janet" (a Tam Lin variant), and "Molly Whuppie," are likely to be recognized by readers. Yolen's retellings are consistently engaging and well written, whether she is dealing with the history of the White River Sioux in "Brave Woman Counts Coup" or "Nana Miriam," a culture hero of the Songhai of Niger. Ample source notes and explanations of Yolen's additions and changes are included as is a thorough bibliography. Unfortunately, the cover painting of a buxom girl on a ship seems much more suited to a "damsel in distress" collection than to these stories that eschew the helpless female. However, the interior illustrations are better.
Ellen A. Greever, University of New Orleans, LA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The title says it all: this is a spirited collection with a lively pace. Yolen's introduction, written as an open letter to her daughter and granddaughters, and her notes and bibliography frame the collection well. Like a bezel that holds a gem, her beginning and ending pieces remind us that girls know how to be heroes (but that boys need to know it, too) and that every time and culture has stories of female heroes that need to be heard again and again. So Yolen tells tales that may be familiar--among them, Germany's "Fitcher's Bird," related to "Mr. Fox and Bluebeard," in which the young Erna saves herself and her sisters from the clutches of an evil wizard. Other tales will be less well known: in a tale from Romania, Mizilca serves in the sultan's army in her sick father's place; and in a tale from Argentina, Maldonada's kindness to a puma and its cubs saves her. The stories sing and soar in Yolen's supple language, and each is contained enough for a read-aloud. Illustrations not available in galley. GraceAnne A. DeCandido

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $14.28 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $21.00

Usually ships in 24 hours

Dragon's Blood: The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume One

by: Jane Yolen

Book Description
Dragons are trained to fight to the death, and two determined teens help free them in this spellbinding saga.

Training a dragon to be a fighting champion is the only way to freedom for fifteen-year-old Jakkin.

Card catalog description
Jakkin, a bond boy who works as a Keeper in a dragon nursery on the planet Austar IV, secretly trains a fighting pit dragon of his own in hopes of winning his freedom. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Heart's Blood: The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume Two

by: Jane Yolen

Book Description
Jakkin risks everything--his freedom, his dragon, even his life--to rescue his beloved in this stirring sequel to Dragon's Blood.

Card catalog description
When a plea arrives from his beloved Akki, Jakkin becomes a spy and risks his dragon Heart's Blood, her five hatchlings, and his freedom to go to the rescue. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Soft House

by: Jane Yolen

From Booklist
PreS-K. Quietly transcendent moments are at the heart of many of Yolen's picture books, and scenes of cozy domesticity are Halperin's stock-in-trade. These inclinations dovetail in the writer and illustrator's first joint project, about a sister and her younger brother passing the time--first irritably, later in harmony--on a rainy day. Salvaging the afternoon is a game of "soft house," the siblings' term for building a private hideaway with chairs, cushions, and blankets. Yolen's text never quite achieves enough dramatic interest, despite a subplot involving a scary attic where the blankets are stored. But siblings will recognize the dynamic between brother and sister, and all children will relate to the thrill of creating a nook all their own. Leave time for lingering over Halperin's delicate pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. Embellished with quilt-fabric patterns and panels suggestive of stained-glass windows, they radiate nostalgia for an era when "home entertainment" was a do-it-yourself concept. For another book about creative play, look to Holly Meade's Inside, Inside, Inside! (2005). Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description
Jane Yolen's charming, universal tale about keeping boredom at bay on a rainy day is paired with richly detailed illustrations by Wendy Anderson Halperin.

It's raining, and Davey and Alison Isabelle are bored. They don't want to play checkers. They don't want to play school. They don't want to read books. And they're starting to get on each other's nerves. "I know," says Davey brightly. "Let's play Soft House." Together, after some serious scrounging and with the supervision of Mr. Cat, the siblings prove that a wall of cushions, an awning of blankets, a strategically placed flash-light, and a plateful of cookies can create the perfect setting for letting their imaginations soar. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Release Date: 08/09/2005

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $15.99

Off We Go!

by: Jane Yolen

Amazon.com
"Tip-toe, tippity toe
Hip-hop, hippity hop
Dig-deep, diggity deep
Slither-slee, slithery slee
Scritch-scratch, scritchity scratch
Creep-crawl, creepity crawl"

Join Little Mouse, Little Frog, Little Mole, Little Snake, and other baby critters as they creep, scritch, and slither their way to their respective Grandmas' houses. Jane Yolen, award-winning author of many books for young people, including Beneath the Ghost Moon: A Halloween Tale (also illustrated by Laurel Molk), has a knack for creating simple, magical tales of immense appeal to children. Molk's exquisite watercolors, with splashes of green following the frogs, and splotches of red-brown where the moles are digging, are full-page works of art. Young readers will want to climb right into the pages to slither with Little Snake and scritch-scratch with Little Duck. Subtle details, from the tiny flies evading Little Frog's tongue to the lichen-covered rocks under Little Spider's web, add plenty of visual interest to this charming read-aloud. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
Yolen's (Child of Faerie, Child of Earth) rhyming picture book chirps a chipper spring song about young animals off to a visit with Grandma. Little Mouse moves "tip-toe, tippity-toe," Little Mole begins to "dig-deep, diggity deep" and Little Spider does a "creep-crawl creepity crawl," each headed to a different but equally wonderful, place: Grandma's house. Though each has planned a separate journey, the animals find themselves playfully hopping, slithering and digging over and under one another as they all move along a grassy meadow. But as Yolen sums up: "Wherever Grandma's house is found--/ In hole, in tree, or underground,/ In web, or bog, or in a nest--/ Why, Grandma's house is always best." Featuring soft and cheery yellows and greens, Molk's (Good Job, Oliver!) sunny watercolors capture both the exuberance of the young woodland animals and the sprouting, hatching newness of the season. The book's horizontally expansive trim size helps convey the wealth of marshy textures and a sense of the fun journey as the creatures' anticipation increases. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $10.87 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $15.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

The Dragon's Boy: A Tale of Young King Arthur

by: Jane Yolen

-- Ala Booklist
"An entrancing addition to the Arthurian canon and bound to please its many fans."

Book Description

Son of the Dragon

Thirteen-year-old Artos is not as good as swordsplay, romance, or any other knightly accomplishment as his foster brothers Cai, Bedvere, and Lancot. An orphan raised by the kindly Sir Ector, he doesn't even know the identity for his parents. But one day, Artos stumbles into the cave of an old and lonely dragon who offers to teach him the game of wisdom. Artos accepts, and becomes the Pendragon--the son of the dragon, the dragon's boy. And with the dragon's guidance, Artos sets out on a journey to a remarkable destiny--one that he never dreamed could be his own.

Release Date: 02/20/2001

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $5.99

The Salem Witch Trials: An Unsolved Mystery from History

by: Jane Yolen, Heidi Elisabet Y Stemple

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Yolen and her daughter outline the basic events that gripped this community while boxed text, drawn to look like pages from an investigator's notebook, add context. Smaller sidebars define some of the terms used. The book concludes with a presentation of some of the extant theories of what caused the girls' hysteria and the reactions of the other townspeople, with questions for readers, based on the text, that may support or attack each theory. Roth's graphite-and-watercolor illustrations, done in somber tones, convey the bleakness of the Colonial winter and the drama of the unfolding events. There have been a number of books for this audience covering the Salem witch trials, Edward Dolan's (Benchmark, 2001), Tamra Orr's (Blackbirch, 2004), and Stephen Currie's (KidHaven, 2002), among them. While these titles cover the facts more completely and may be better suited for reports, the investigative approach used here gives a different perspective and encourages readers to evaluate the evidence and draw their own conclusions.-Elaine Fort Weischedel, Millbury Public Library, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. Yolen and her daughter offer another entry in the Unsolved Mystery from History series. Once again, a girl whose father is a detective introduces events. She collects information about the "case" and at the end offers various scenarios about what happened in Salem, asking readers to come up with their own conclusions. The format seems more streamlined than in previous books, but each spread still features a text box and another box in the shape of a notebook, which contains the girl's musings. There are also several colored boxes with word definitions, which could have been incorporated into the text; simpler words could also have been used. On the plus side, this effectively introduces an intriguing subject, and the mystery of what really happened is more than enough to whet kids' appetites. Roth's illustrations serve the text very well; big, bold, and reminiscent of the work of Trina Schart Hyman, they fit the oversize picture-book format and move things along. A bibliography and list of Web sites will lead readers to more. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $12.23 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $17.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

The Young Merlin Trilogy: Passager, Hobby, and Merlin

by: Jane Yolen

Book Description
This is the legendary story of Merlin--from his abandonment by his parents at the age of eight to the discovery of his powers at twelve. Together, these three novels reimagine the origins of the greatest wizard of all time, giving readers a Merlin at once more human and more magical than any that has appeared before.

About the Author
Jane Yolen is a highly acclaimed children's author who has written hundreds of books for adults and children and has won numerous awards. She and her husband divide their time between Massachussetts and Scotland.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Commander Toad and the Space Pirates (Commander Toad Paperstars)

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Grade 13 Yolen's writing in this book is rhythmic but confusing. Commander Toad is captain of Star Warts and Mr. Hop, a frog, is his co-pilot. They are on a long trip, ``a boring trip . . . They have played leapfrog and hopscotch and croak-kay.'' The puns are abun dant but seem to be included only for effect. In many cases they are awkward and will not make sense to a beginning- to-read audience. Pirates, led by Com mander Salamander, board the Star Warts. They make the crew play a dan gerous game, ``Hop the Plank.'' By the time children wade through the confus ing text, they won't care whether the crew escapes. Most of Degen's illustra tions are black-and-white drawings, while a few are rendered in three col ors. All seem harsh and uninviting. The characters as illustrated seem very neu tral. There is nothing endearing about any of the ``good'' characters, and the ``villains'' are just ugly and unattrac tive. With so many other beginning-to- read books available, libraries can well pass on this one. Consider instead the books by James Marshall, Else Min arik, Arnold Lobel, and others. Shar ron McElmeel, Cedar Rapids Commu nity Schools, Iowa
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Card catalog description
When Commander Salamander and his band of pirates capture the "Star Warts" spaceship, Commander Toad is forced to hop the plank. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $5.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Miz Berlin Walks

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3?Cooper's ability to define and personalize characters and his soft-focus technique, which gives a nostalgic veneer to his artwork, make him a wise choice for this touching tale. Over the course of the story, the faces of the narrator, a young African-American girl, and Miz Berlin, an elderly white woman, fluctuate with emotion as the two begin and enjoy a friendship in a small Virginia town. Miz Berlin, "talking or singing or in quiet contemplation" walks the town, and although Mary Louise can only accompany her to the end of the block, she finds the woman's stories of catching crawdads on the day the sky rained feathers, living through a hurricane, or being born in a dirt-floor cabin captivating and comes to know the woman in a wonderful way. At the end, when Miz Berlin dies, the girl realizes that she has shared an experience that will be part of her life forever. While a number of intergenerational stories are available, most center on a grandparent-grandchild relationship; this, like Nancy White Carlstrom and Amy Schwartz's Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lily (HarperCollins, 1990), focuses on a friendship between two non-related people. The cross-cultural cast is an added plus.?Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
Every evening, old Miz Berlin walks around Mary Louise's long block, talking to herself. One day, the girl follows Miz Berlin, and finds that she's telling stories. And they're wonderful stories-about feathers falling from the sky, hurricanes of years past, and even her own birth. Every evening, Mary Louise walks with Miz Berlin, absorbing her tales. And when Miz Berlin can no longer walk, she leaves the girl stuffed full of stories to tell.

"This poignant book conveys through simple words the power of stories to build bridges between two very different people."-Booklist

"Yolen is pitch-perfect in her delivery of this tender tale."-Publishers Weekly

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Merlin and the Dragons (Picture Puffins)

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
Merlin tells young Arthur a tale of a boy who prophesies a dragon duel. Dramatic oil paintings match the story's epic scale. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5?Drawing once again upon Arthurian legend, Yolen has created a stirring tale within a tale. Young Arthur wakes one stormy night from uneasy dreams and seeks out the company of Merlin. Sensing the boy's readiness to learn of his legacy in claiming the crown he wears without conviction, Merlin tells him of another fatherless boy, Emrys, who dreamed baffling dreams of dragons and crumbling stone towers. When the cruel Vortigern attempted to take over all of Britain, Emrys's dreams became prophetic and catalytic. Merlin ends his tale cryptically, as a certain knight advances toward Vortigern's tower. When Arthur cries out for a proper ending, Merlin draws him into the story and it becomes revelatory?at last he is able to call the crown his own. Yolen goes beyond her sources?folklore and history?and moves expertly into the realm of invention. Matched with arresting oil paintings, the legend comes alive on a grand scale, the dramatic narrative and well-wrought dialogue heightening the theatrical effect and inviting a fast-paced read-aloud. Some of Ming's illustrations are magnificent, those of the dragons in particular. One can sense this talented artist's respect for these creatures as he brings them fully to life?terrifying, violent, beautiful. So, too, does he paint Arthur with great sensitivity, a figure bathed in light, his face complex, thoughtful, and full of wonder. Although all the pictures serve the story well and elevate the drama, some seem a bit flat and overexplicit, without the pulsing life and radiance that characterizes those that are invested with emotion and are remarkable for their power.
Susan Powers, Rock Creek Forest Elementary School, Chevy Chase, MD
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Girl in a Cage (Stewart Quartet)

by: Jane Yolen, Robert Harris

From Publishers Weekly
The second in a planned quartet of historical novels set in Scotland (which began with Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots), Girl in a Cage by Jane Yolen and Richard J. Harris finds the 11-year-old daughter of the newly crowned King of Scotland kidnapped, imprisoned and put on display in an English town square by angry rivals in 1306. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10-The coauthors of Queen's Own Fool (Philomel, 2000) present an equally compelling interpretation of an earlier period in Scotland's history told by another young protagonist. In 1306, a year has passed since patriot William "Braveheart" Wallace was executed, and things are not going well for the cause of Scottish freedom. Robert Bruce, newly crowned king of Scotland, has managed to evade his powerful enemy, Edward I of England, but many allies have been killed or taken. A recent capture is Bruce's 11-year-old daughter Marjorie. The princess finds herself conveyed to the English border town of Lanercost, locked in an iron cage, and displayed outdoors day and night by the decree of ailing King Edward, "Longshanks," himself. Marjorie's first-person narration of her captivity and the events leading up to it is exciting and moving, and her strategies for coping with a hideous imprisonment are models of ingenuity and staying true to oneself. The time line and afterword are helpful in understanding the historical context within which the authors place their well-wrought fictional tale.
Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Baby Bear's Big Dreams

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-"When I grow up in about a year" begins this tale of a cub's plans for adulthood. His ambitious ideas include having three friends move in with him so they can stay up late and play nonstop because he thinks that's one of the perks of being a big bear. Living in a toy store, building a tree house, camping, and exploring are also a part of his plans for the future. His earnest ideas always include friends or family with whom he can share his toys, his honey, and his explorations. The ultimate plan is to return home so that his parents can tuck him into bed and give him kisses, "one and two%u2026/for that's what BIG bears always do." This third Baby Bear book by this duo is illustrated in the same bright, sunny hues as the others. The large mixed-media and collage pictures and the rhyming couplets make this title a treat for storytime or for sharing one-on-one.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Yolen and Sweet follow up Baby Bear's Chairs (2005) and Baby Bear's Books (2006) with a picture book exploring the little bear's optimistic plans. Written in first person from his point of view, the simple text puts forth Baby Bear's dreams of becoming a big bear. At first, his thoughts lean to the immediate, consisting of playing with friends all day, leaving their toys about, and staying up past eight o'clock. But as he thinks about it, the dreams become a little more far-reaching, with a tree house, a camping trip, and a triumphant poetry reading in his future. Full of action, and illustrated with fresh colors and pleasing details, the artwork creates Baby Bear's world as an appealing, even cozy place that children will want to explore visually while listening to the rhythmic, rhyming verse. Written with a good sense of the way young children think and express themselves, the text has a childlike air and reads aloud well. A fine new picture book for Baby Bear fans. Phelan, Carolyn

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $12.48 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.00

Usually ships in 24 hours

Water Music: Poems for Children

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Grade 3 Up?Yolen notes that Stemple's stunning full-color photographs were the inspiration for these 17 poems on different aspects of water. Ocean surf, dew drops, soap bubbles, a river, waterfall, icicle, and reflections are among the subjects sensitively wrought in words and pictures. The colors are soft and shimmering, reflecting the mood of quiet contemplation evoked by the verses. The attractively designed layout features one poem and photo per two-page spread. A book that can be appreciated by a wide audience.?Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. A mother and son combine their talents in a book that builds on the theme of water in its various forms. Stemple's photographs, which Yolen notes preceded the poetry, are imaginatively composed and crisply focused. Never merely attractive landscapes, they actively draw the reader's attention to the special qualities of water wherever it is found. Yolen's 17 poems (including haiku and concrete poetry) invite us to consider water's mysterious sounds, paths, and powers. Many are easy to understand, though a few require reflection, and one, "The Rock Cries Out," may puzzle younger children. Useful in a primary science unit and for inspiring children to attempt poetry of their own. Susan Dove Lempke --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $9.31 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $10.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Where Have the Unicorns Gone?

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-A purposeful poem poses the question and gives its own answers in words and pictures. The unicorns have fled and disappeared into the sea before the worst aspects of civilization-war, deforestation, industrialization, and overpopulation-threaten their existence. The poem reads aloud well. The onomatopoeic descriptions ("clacketing mills" and "chuggering trains") and alliterative phrases ("ribbon-rolled river" and "perfect peace of ponds") roll pleasantly off the tongue. However, some of the language, e.g., "Routed by gouts of iron-red flames" and "the cataphonetics of city and town," seems rhetorically ornate. The illustrator's extravagant, romanticized double-page spreads are as grandiose as the poetry, using a complex method of layering oils on gessoed Masonite panels, sometimes textured with pumice gel and modeling paste. Overall, there is no real plot and what strives to be inspiring seems ultimately pretentious. Marianna Mayer's The Unicorn and the Lake (Dial, 1982; o.p.) is more touching and compelling and Michael Hague's unicorns are more powerfully rendered.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Ages 6-8. A gifted wordsmith answers the title question in verse set to Sanderson's most powerful, expressive art to date. Where are the unicorns? Fleeing the "helmeted knights and their steel-weapon games," the "clacketing mills" and "iron sharp city-straight scapes," the unicorns have escaped to the sea, where "in the moment that separates nighttime and dawn, / The instant of daydream that's here and then gone, / You might see the toss of a mane or a horn. . . ." Using rough, prepared surfaces to capture texture, Sanderson adds layers of misty color to create a feeling of depth between the powerful, iridescent-looking beasts in the foreground, and the human works--castles, factories, a space shuttle roaring up from its launch pad--past which they gallop. The grand, lyrical sweep of poem and pictures together will carry readers to a place where the mundane and the magical blend. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volumes 1-3: Boxed Set: Dragon's Blood, Heart's Blood, and A Sending of Dragons

by: Jane Yolen

Book Description
The adventures of young dragon master Jakkin Stewart are brilliantly chronicled in this epic fantasy--from his apprenticeship in Dragon's Blood, to his breathtaking escape with his beloved Akki in Heart's Blood, and straight through to their harrowing discovery in the third volume, A Sending of Dragons. Revered by devoted fans for more than twenty years, these first three volumes of Jane Yolen's fierce and fiery dragon tales are published together for the first time--in a handsome boxed set that's sure to win over legions of new admirers.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $20.85

Sword of the Rightful King: A Novel of King Arthur

by: Jane Yolen

Amazon.com
Bestselling author Jane Yolen does not retell the tale of King Arthur in this imaginative novel for young readers so much as re-invent it. There are familiar characters such as Arthur, Gawaine, and Merlin (here called Merlinnus), and elements from the traditional story, including the famed sword in the stone. But The Sword of the Rightful King treats these as ingredients to cook up an entirely new story. In Yolen's version, Arthur is a young king. He wears the crown but sits perhaps a bit uneasily upon the throne. It has been reported to the king that there are some who will betray or even kill him in order to rise to power. To assure the subjects, the magician Merlinnus places a sword in a stone and announces that whosoever pulls it out, will be the rightful ruler of England. The fact that someone else pulls the sword out of the stone first is just one of numerous intriguing twists. Yolen manages to update the legend and make it fresh for a modern younger audience without resorting to gimmickry and incongruous references (no one says "dude", Lancelot does not ride a skateboard). Instead, she recasts the characters as real people: flawed, troubled, and altogether human. And while they still exist in long-ago England, the people we meet and the situations they find themselves in are accessible to readers of any age. (All ages) --John Moe --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-This recording of Jane Yolen's fantasy novel about King Arthur is set in post-Roman Britain when Arthur is already king (Harcourt, 2003). The main characters are a young Sir Gawaine and a page named Gawen. Gawaine is loyal to Arthur, but is the son of Morgause of Orkney, the sorceress who believes one of her sons, not Arthur, should be on the throne of Britain. Gawen appears at Cadbury Castle and becomes an apprentice to Merlinnus, the great mage. Their stories intertwine, and include many of the familiar Arthurian elements. Adventure, magic, intrigue, and surprises abound. Steven Crossley's narration is smooth and makes for easy listening. However, the novel's many abrupt changes in point of view are sometimes confusing to listeners because Crossley only makes vocal changes for the dialogue and not the straight narration. Still, fans of the Arthurian tales will find this an entertaining tale.-Sarah Flowers, Santa Clara County Library, San Jose, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Commander Toad and the Intergalactic Spy

by: Jane Yolen

Card catalog description
Commander Toad and the crew of Star Warts are asked to rout out Tip Toad, Space Fleet's greatest and most elusive spy. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $5.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Welcome to the Green House

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
In the current freshet of rainforest books, Yolen's rises to the surface not as a mere tour guide, but a gracious host to earth's "dark green, / light green, / emerald green / bright green / copper green, / blue green, / ever-new green house." The author's atmosphere-laden free verse, which falls into unexpected, pleasing rhyme and repetition, correlates with Regan's sumptuous gouache artwork. While the text focuses on the relentless noise of forest inhabitants, borderless, painterly illustrations seem to spill off the pages in their intricate depictions of animals cavorting amidst tropical flora. The illustrations are just literal enough--allowing youngsters to match familiar and unknown species with names in the text. Yolen's language begs for reading aloud but for a common problem: her generous use of onomatopoetic translation of animal calls and other sounds may be difficult for readers to imitate without jarring the beauty and rhythm of the language. A stimulating challenge, however, in a strikingly vibrant package. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-- Yolen explores a tropical rain forest in an entrancing poem full of internal rhyme, alliteration, and evocative images. "But it is not all green/ in the hot green house:/ a flash of blue hummingbird,/ a splash of golden toad,/ a lunge of waking lizards,/ a plunge of silver fish . . . ." These are only a few of the many creatures that the author catalogs and Regan depicts in her lush gouache paintings. The illustrations include all of the animals mentioned in the brief text, but readers are left to their own devices to identify the extra treats the artist includes. Ideal for introducing rain forest ecology in the primary grades, this book may be also be used by preschool teachers. Its many animal sounds and closeup views of snakes, sloths, and primates will perfectly suit their inquisitive students. A page of remarks about the continuing destruction of tropical rain forests and an address where youngsters may write to obtain information about preserving them is appended. The next best thing to a guided tour. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT grades 3-6
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Stories

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7. This solid collection of short stories is a good introduction to various types of fantasy. Three of the 12 pieces are new and the rest have been published in other compilations. There is something here for everyone?tales that are scary, gross, or fanciful. Some of the selections are reworkings of parts of children's classics, such as Alice in Wonderland (Alice learns how to be tough with the Jabberwock) and Peter Pan (Captain Hook is singing a new tune now that he is married to a modern-day feminist). "The Bridge's Complaint" puts a different spin on "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" by relating events from the bridge's point of view. The tales are set in different times?some in the past, some in the present, and some in the near or distant future. "Wilding" is a chilling futuristic look at New York City's Central Park, based on the gang violence that occurred there in the late 1980s. There's a story of a frightening sea monster, one about a fairy, and another about aliens; all will chill and delight the imagination.?Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VT
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"Yolen consistently writes fresh, off-the-wall stories that even children who don't normally read fantasy will enjoy."-Booklist

"There is something here for everyone-tales that are scary, gross, or fanciful. . . . All will chill and delight the imagination."-School Library Journal

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories

by: Jane Yolen; Heidi E. Y. Stemple

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-These retellings of "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "Coppélia," "Swan Lake," "The Nutcracker," "Daphnis and Chloe," and "Shim Chung: the Blind Man's Daughter" include rich details about the plots and characters. A one-page introduction to each tale provides historical perspective, including who wrote it, who composed the music for the ballet, and who performed the main roles in some of the productions. There is also a brief chronology of classical ballet from 1581 to 1986. The authors have captured the drama, excitement, and magic of these stories, making them enjoyable as read-alouds and enlightening for young theatergoers. The mostly full-page, watercolor illustrations are lush and romantic, and beautifully complement the text. Lovely floral designs border the text pages. This well-conceived and colorful look at some of the great classical ballets will enrich library collections and inspire young dancers.-Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 5-7. The histories of seven ballets are present in this books, some well known, other less so. Following an informative introduction and the history of classical ballet, the book moves on to the stories themselves. Each ballet gets an introduction that describes the history of both the story and the dance and provides interesting production notes. The stories, all well written, run up to 10 pages long. They are illustrated with full- or double-page spreads, and each text-only page is decorated with an interesting border. The artwork itself is pretty, if generic; many of the figures look more like dolls than dancers. Among the ballets discussed are Cinderella, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, and Daphnis and Chloe. A bibliography and a list of Web sites are appended. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $19.59 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $19.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Animal Train : A Lift-the-Flap Concept Book

by: Jane Yolen

From Publishers Weekly
The animals aboard Jane Yolen's Animal Train, illus. by Doug Cushman, teach colors, shapes, numbers and opposites. Die-cut like a locomotive, the board book's playful verse encourages youngsters to look beneath liftable flaps ("Porter Seal soon/ Comes and goes,/ Luggage balanced/ On his nose") as the characters ride the rails. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Choo-choo! All aboard the animal train!

Mrs. Crane is the engineer, and Master Lion brings up the rear. Porter Seal carries the bags as Conductor Cricket takes the tickets. Lift the flaps to learn about opposites, colors, counting, and more on the animals' railroad tour!

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $8.99

Pay the Piper: A Rock 'n' Roll Fairy Tale

by: Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8-In this new twist on The Pied Piper of Hamelin, a banished prince of Faerie has formed a folk rock band to earn the gold and silver he needs to buy off a curse he incurred by murdering his brother. When a promoter stiffs him, Prince Gringras turns to his third option for payment: leading children into Faerie, where their human souls can power the land of the Ever Fair. Although he succeeded in Hamelin and in other lesser-known locales, Gringras gets more than he can handle when he lures a group of trick-or-treaters that includes a high school reporter's little brother. Motivated first by the prospect of a great story, and later by fear for her brother, Callie follows Gringras into Faerie and undoes the curse that compels him to steal children away. The modern pacing and idiom of the scenes featuring Callie's goofy, upbeat family and friends make for a jarring contrast with the formal language used for the dark thoughts and actions of the exiled prince, and lengthy descriptions of Gringras's rock and reel band run the risk of alienating teens whose musical tastes favor other genres. However, these shortcomings won't deter readers who like a fast-paced Faerie tale, especially if they enjoyed Holly Black's Tithe (S & S, 2002).-Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. Yolen and her son, a professional musician, have produced a rollicking good riff on the Pied Piper. Callie, 14, attends a folk rock concert featuring Brass Rat, which she will write up for her school paper. The next night, Halloween, she stays home to write her review. Meanwhile, Brass Rat's leader has a story of his own. As the exiled son of the Faery king, he must, every seven years, tithe gold, silver, or souls. In the absence of gold, the "Piper" settles on the town's trick-or-treaters, including Callie's brother, as his payment. The authors keep the action moving while allowing readers to sympathize not only with Callie but also with the fairy piper, wicked as his plans--and his past--are. A strong, resourceful girl, a Faery land where ethical questions are posed, and some fun poked at baby boomer parents make this an entertaining as well as meaty read. Following the story is a collection of "Brass Rat Songs," eerily hummable despite being presented without musical notation. Francisca Goldsmith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Release Date: 06/27/2006

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $5.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy

From Publishers Weekly
It has been said that the Irish transformed English-speaking literature. This anthology may not reshape literature, but it is a sheer delight of grand storytelling. In 15 tales, 13 of which are original to the volume, a variety of modern seanachies (or storytellers), whether Irish by blood or only intention, are inspired by both modern culture and mythic legend to play upon the ancient Celtic theme of how closely the mundane exists with the magical. This parallel nature allows the Irish to serve the Christian God as well as the pagan sidhe, as they do in Judith Tarr's "The Hermit and the Sidhe," or a young man, in Elizabeth Haydon's "The Merrow," to discover himself heir to both the powerful magic of the sea and the magical land of Ireland. Editor Greeley, a Catholic priest, in "Peace in Heaven?" tells an earthy story of sidhe and seraphim that might make his bishop blush. Love can be a sorrowful thing, as it is in Jacqueline Carey's "The Isle of Women," or it can triumph over a vengeful spirit and the Grey Man himself, as in Charles de Lint's "The Butter Spirit's Tithe." Some stories are tinged with darkness, but have a favorable ending, like Tanith Lee's "Speir-Bahn," an eerie tale of shape-changing. Peter Tremayne, Diane Duane, Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple also contribute worthy stories. Whether a true child of the Ould Sod or Irish only on St. Patrick's Day, the reader will find plenty to celebrate here.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author Andrew M. Greeley, a collection of all new Irish tales to treasure and enjoy hough the Emerald Isle is no stranger to tales of the fantastic (everything from the Hound Cuchlain to Darby O'Gill and his leprechaun friends), most of the fantasy works dealing with Ireland have limited themselves to either ancient history/Celtic legends and lore, sentimental tales of wee folk, or ghostly tales of hauntings in old desterted castles. Needless to say, there is more to the history and culture of Ireland than the sort of entertainment fare popularized each year around March 17th. Emerald Magic presents the entire cavalcade of Eire from its earliest beginnings right up to the current climate that has begotten such popular phenomenons as the rock band U2 and the novels of Roddy Doyle as the backdrop for a collection of all new stories of the fantastic. Ideal for any fan of Irish books and perfectly timed for the Saint Patrick's Day season, Emerald Magic will be a collection to be treasured and enjoyed. Featuring works by such bestselling authors as: Ray BradburyJacqueline Carey Tanith LeeCecilia Dart-Thorton Peter TremayneMorgan Llywelyn Fred SaberhagenL.E. Modesitt Charles de LintJudith Tarr Jane LindskoldElizabeth Haydon Andrew M. GreeleyJane Yolen Adam StempleDiane Duane

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $25.95

Queen's Own Fool (Stuart Quartet)

by: Jane Yolen, Robert Harris

Amazon.com
"Where history ends, storytelling begins," writes Jane Yolen in her author's note to this exciting novel based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Only a few facts are known about Mary's young female jester, le Jardiniere, but Yolen and her collaborator, Scottish writer Robert Harris, have created a fascinating girl narrator based on this historical oddity. Le Jardiniere relates the true and tragic tale of the ill-fated 16th-century queen of Scotland.

In 1559, when a ragtag troupe of traveling entertainers is snatched from the sodden streets of Rheims to amuse the bored visiting French court, 13-year-old Nicola Ambruzzi impresses the queen with her wit and honesty. The beautiful young Mary takes the girl under her protection as "the queen's own fool," commissioned to speak the truth boldly amid the fawning lies and schemes of the courtiers. Around them swarm secret plots, duplicity, and betrayal; death is a constant threat.

After her weak boy-husband King Francis dies, the kindhearted Mary is unwilling to hear Nicola speak the truth about her suitors. She experiences two disastrous marriages, first with the handsome wastrel Darnley and then--for political expediency--with his murderer, the treacherous Bothwell. When he plots against her, she must flee back to Scotland to try to resume her throne in the midst of swirling conflict between the Protestant lords and their Catholic rulers. Nicola's wit and daring get them through some dangerous situations, but Mary is eventually imprisoned in the stark castle of Lochleven, where their hairsbreadth attempts at escape wind up a story from history as exciting and deeply affecting as any of Yolen's fantasy novels. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
W said that this lengthy first-person narrative that centers on "La Jardini%u0160re," one of the court jesters to Mary Queen of Scots, "will appeal to fans of historical sagas." Ages 10-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $7.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Meow: Cat Stories from Around the World

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-A collection of 10 cat stories, plus nursery rhymes and lore drawn from sources around the world. Yolen captures the heart of each story, and the resulting text begs to be told or read aloud. The selections mix familiar stories such as The King of the Cats and fables from Aesop with less-familiar offerings from Tibet (Rambé and Ambé) and Burma (Why Tiger Is Angry at Cat). Wittwer's richly colored paintings fill the pages with the essence of feline charm, power, and wit. A book to savor like, well, a bowl of cream.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 1-3. Stories ideal for reading aloud and bright, appealing pictures make this collection, put together by acclaimed author Yolen, a natural for young cat fanciers. Based on traditions from around the world, the tales feature felines crying, dancing, behaving as tricksters, stealing, and purring their way through a plethora of adventures. The retellings are distinguished by direct, child-friendly descriptions; a banyan tree looks "quite a bit like a cage," and the moon glows "like a big piece of cheese." At least one of Wittwer's intensely colored, acrylic-and-oil illustrations appears on each page, comically depicting cats of varying breeds in a range of situations--from unlikely feline endeavors (playing bagpipes, rowing a boat) to more realistic cat pursuits. Though the cats' features occasionally seem overly cartoonlike, many children will enjoy the dramatic expressions. Source notes and suggestions for further reading conclude. Jennifer Locke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Release Date: 07/26/2005

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Wizard's Hall

by: Jane Yolen

Amazon.com
Henry is a small fellow, thin as a reed, without much talent for magic. But he tries. He really, really tries. And, as it turns out, that's the most important thing. Upon entering Wizard's Hall, the school for young wizards in training, Henry is promptly given a new name: Thornmallow--prickly on the outside, squishy within. And although his curses tend to "splatter or dribble around the edges," and he's not quite mastered his changes or spells, and he simply cannot chant on the dominant, Thornmallow is bound and determined to do the best he can. As the 113th student to arrive at Wizard's Hall, he quickly learns that he has a mysterious extra burden of responsibility that no one will explain. The horrifying secret? The future of Wizard's Hall depends on him, regardless of his magical bumbling.

Prolific, award-winning author Jane Yolen has a delightfully witty and dynamic way with words. This touching, funny, and exciting tale reminds maladroit magicians and mortals alike of the wisdom of an old adage: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Yolen's other magical adventures include Passager and The Dragon's Boy. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
The instant Henry casually "mentions wizardry to his dear ma," she packs him off to Wizard's Hall, with little more than a change of clothes and the advice that, whatever he might encounter, "it only matters that you try." Once at Wizard's Hall, Henry discovers that his magical talents are at best limited, but that even so, he must fulfill an ancient prophecy and help overthrow a powerful, evil wizard. Although he wants to give up, Henry--now dubbed Thornmallow--perseveres and tries his hardest. Wizard's Hall has it all: fairy tale wonder, baffling mystery, captivating magic, edge-of-the-seat suspense, wry humor and a well-taught moral. This captivating package is neatly tied up by the marvelous bow of Yolen's ( Owl Moon ; Dove Isabeau ) masterful prose, with a few lilting verses thrown in. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $6.95

Usually ships in 24 hours

Snow, Snow: Winter poems for Children

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-"When I awoke,/The tree limbs shone/As white as milk,/As bleached as bone." With easy grace, Yolen pens poetic lines to accompany Stemple's lovely photographs. The baker's dozen of poems are juxtaposed on panoramic views or placed alongside smaller scenes conveying soft billows of snow, icy glitter, and the white dust and crust of "that chilly white stuff." Soft lacy shadows of the photographed images form the background of some pages, echoing the sharper detail of the featured scene. Trees, the brown remnants of autumn leaves, skiers, and snowmobiles all receive their due. Some of the poems will long be savored, here and in future anthologies, while others are snippets of shorter season. "What shades of white/can paint a chasm?/Only a winter artist/hasm." The varied tone and multihued imagery of the poetry and photographs are sure to spark an enjoyment of winter.
Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $9.31 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $10.95

Usually ships in 13 to 14 days

Commander Toad and the Planet of the Grapes (Commander Toad Series)

by: Jane Yolen

Card catalog description
In search of new worlds to explore, Commander Toad and his crew land their space ship "Star Warts" on the strange Planet of the Grapes. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $5.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Welcome to the Ice House

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 4?The spareness of the arctic landscape lends itself to a picture book elegant in painting and poem. Yolen's confident hand with verbal rhythms has never been more evident. The author moves naturally from rhyming couplets to internal rhymes, letting the changing beats of the lines evoke "A ton of unpredictable moose on the loose" or "Lynx, now quick, now slow, now silent as snow." The unforced musical language is a pleasure to read aloud. Regan's double-page paintings use an icy palette of blues and whites to create a sense of chilly beauty and mystery. As the seasons change, the artist allows color to creep in gradually until summer on the tundra bursts forth in a riot of yellow poppies and blue lupines. As the warmth fades, the colors freeze up again, lit by the northern lights. Flora and fauna are rendered with meticulous accuracy, with the arctic tern and the arctic loon distinctly different from their relatives. Like Welcome to the Green House (1993) and Welcome to the Sea of Sand (1996, both Putnam), this book can fill a variety of niches. The friendly language and stunning art will pull in preschoolers and introduce them to environmental wonders. It would be an excellent introduction to an ecology unit for elementary grades. There is even a brief information essay on the back page, an address for further information, and an Alaska Web site. It will be a cold heart that is able to resist this beauty.?Sally Margolis, Barton Public Library, VT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 4^-8. With its endlessly rolling hills of ice, the arctic landscape appears bleak and forbidding. Indeed, Regan's paintings are so realistic her scenes seem as if they should be icy to the touch! With each turn of the page, another effectively camouflaged native inhabitant--fox, wolf, lynx, ptarmigan--emerges from the blue whiteness as Yolen's evocative verse identifies the variety of predators and prey that inhabit the arctic nights. Swimming beyond the frozen land are seals, whales, and walrus, and gyrfalcons police the frigid skies. This menagerie blossoms with the arctic flowers in spring as caribou, grizzly bears, and an assortment of birds return to the thawing land. This companion to Yolen and Regan's Welcome to the Green House (1993) and Welcome to the Sea of Sand (1996) is an irresistible invitation to the "ice house" that will enrich youth science collections. Ellen Mandel

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $13.25 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Child of Faerie, Child of Earth

by: Jane Yolen

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3?On Hallow's Eve, "when widows grieve," a faerie boy and a mortal girl meet and briefly share one another's worlds. The human girl spends an enchanted night dancing and dining in elven halls, but refuses the faerie's offer to make her his queen. In turn, the boy with wings enjoys a day of barnyard activities and a midday meal with the child of earth but he chooses to return to his eldritch realm. However, they exchange tokens of their friendship before parting?a nourishing egg from her to him and an ethereal feather from him to her. They visit with one another "now and then" into old age. This gentle story of an unusual friendship is recounted in challenging vocabulary and melodic rhyme; careful phrasing favors neither earth nor faerie but paints evocative images of both. Dyer's watercolors completely fill the pages opposite the poetry and offer bucolic settings of sunlit golds and nocturnal blues for the sturdy, round-faced children. Share this one-on-one to encourage appreciation of the delicate details, such as the snippets of illustrations pulled from the full-page spreads to accompany the text. This simple tale is appropriate for a younger audience than this talented team's The Girl in the Golden Bower (Little, Brown, 1994), and will appeal to listeners willing to sacrifice drama for atmosphere.?Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 5^-8. On Halloween, when magic is in the air, a little girl encounters a fairy child who takes her to his magical world and pleads with her to stay. Knowing she doesn't belong, she refuses, convincing her fairy guide to return with her to her home and travel for a time "over the human road." Yolen adds some sweet details to a story with a familiar folktale ring, presenting all in pleasing poetry that slips easily off the tongue for reading aloud. Dyer's illustrations are a study in colorful contrast: the quaint, apple-cheeked girl with a circle of flowers in her hair; the fairy boy in diaphanous green with sun-dappled wings; a landscape bright with brilliant harvest colors; an enchanted hall "bedecked in candlelight." A story about a friendship that stretches across some unusual boundaries. Stephanie Zvirin

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.95