Hello! I am Jane Yolen, author of almost 450 books. I write picture books and novels, poetry, and graphic novels–mostly for children. I have published books about just about every subject imaginable. But I’ve always loved fantasy books especially. I grew up on the Alice in Wonderland books and the Arthurian legends. I, of course, carried that love into my writing life–having written about monsters, mermaids, and unicorns. I’m fascinated by fairies; they show up in a lot of what I write. Give me a real kid and a mythical creature of some sort, sprinkle in a bit of magic–I’m in!
There is no doubt that this book is the classic example of a real kid with fantasy creatures. Not the first, but the one I return to over and over again. The first time I read it, I thought, “drat! Why didn’t I write this book?”
Not only is the story multi-layered, it is a story that reads like a poem and it has an unforgettable last line.
Read-along with the story in this book and CD edition!
One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him 'Wild Thing' and sends him to bed without his supper.
That night a forest begins to grow in Max's room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are. Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins.
But when Max has sent the monsters to bed, and everything is quiet,…
This gorgeous book is both metaphoric and literal. A young boy learns about dragons (and himself, his grandmothers, and life) on a mythical bedtime story-walk to find two very different paths.
I love the message here (and that it isn’t too in-your-face message-y; the story is really primary). But the art is so gorgeous that I could dive back into it over and over again for that alone.
Lean in close, my darling bao bei, and I will whisper a most precious secret about a powerful magic that lives inside you.
Brought to life with lavish and ornate illustrations, The Truth About Dragons follows a young child on a journey guided by his mother's bedtime storytelling. He quests into two very different forests, as his two grandmothers help him discover two different, but equally enchanting, truths about dragons. Eastern and Western mythologies coexist and enrich each other in this warm celebration of mixed cultural identity.
In this silly romp, a little girl, despite her obnoxiously doubting brother, goes in search of fairies and gets more than she bargains for. My favorite line was: “Then a mermaid arrived. She brought her own ocean…” There are ogre boogers (yes, you read that correctly), and the brother eventually becomes a reluctant believer.
The book's great front matter invites the child reader to experience a journey through the night to search for jumbies, which are, it explains, not friendly. But then, within the pages, the jumbies, though lying gently to the child, are, in fact, quite friendly. The darkness is, sort of, implied for later.
I love this ambiguity–gentle enough to allow this book to exist but mysterious enough to open up possibilities. This book will definitely serve as an introduction to the author’s middle-grade series. It is dark, luminous, and wonderful.
New York Times bestselling author Tracey Baptiste and acclaimed illustrator Amber Ren take readers on a fun, creepy, storytime-ready romp through a forest filled with creatures from Caribbean folklore.
I'm looking for a jumbie, I'm going to find a scary one.
But Mama says jumbies exist only in stories. So Naya sets out on a nighttime adventure to find out for herself.
No such thing, say the friends she makes along the way.
But Naya is sure that jumbies are real. Some have big mouths. Or thick fur. Or glowing skin. Or sharp teeth. Kind of like her new friends....…
This fantastical collection is written and illustrated by the many authors and illustrators who belong to the Writer's Loft. It contains poems, both funny and dark, about creatures from Banshees to Baku and Selkies to Kelpies.
The poems are as varied as the creatures, and though the subject matter is fantasy, the historical elements that are fantasy lore are at the core of many of the poems. In the hardcover version, there is equally fun and fact-filled backmatter. A must-have collection if you are a fan of poetry, myth, and great art.
Travel the world of mythological creatures! GNOMES and UNGNOMES: Poems of Hidden Creatures is an expansive collection of original, illustrated poems about mythological creatures. Criss-cross the globe through the lens of over 100 authors and illustrators. From the nightmare-eating Baku of Japan to the weather-weaving Acalica fairies in Bolivia. Can you keep track of all seven heads of the Cambrian dragon? Do you want to know what's inside a unicorn's horn? Can you spot Spectre Moose in Maine? Flip the page to India and behold the stunning 9-animal patchwork Navagunjara. Or pop into a middle school dance just in time…
This book is a book about a family visit with grandpa to an island that holds a magical mythical surprise. A Giant!
I took my inspiration from Doug Keith’s lush illustrations to write this story. I loved it right away. In Doug’s art, the magic was, quite literally rooted in the world he built. The story I wrote to weave into those pages, just grew.
My wife suggested we try scuba diving while on holiday in Grand Cayman. We were already falling in love with the island, and the incredible experience underwater opened a whole new world to us. From that moment on, our yearly travels changed completely. Our destination choices were now based upon diving opportunities. That was twenty years ago. Today, I’m a certified divemaster with dives all over the US (including Hawaii), the Caribbean (including Cuba), Australia, and even Iceland. Throw in my sense of adventure as a former race car driver, motorcycle rider, and outdoor adventurer, and I had plenty of personal experiences to create the AJ Bailey series.
Readers who enjoy police procedurals with an offbeat main character and fascinating locations will love this thriller.
One missing girl. Two lives on the line. Four treacherous challenges.
Nora Sommer's first case for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is one she'll never forget... if she survives. When the daughter of a wealthy businessman is taken, Nora is first on the scene and unwittingly 'chosen' by the kidnapper.
With the crime live-streamed across the internet, the eyes of the world are upon her as she faces a sequence of difficult challenges with the life of the kidnapped girl hanging on…
One missing girl. Two lives on the line. Four treacherous challenges.
Nora Sommer's first case for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is one she'll never forget - if she survives.
When the daughter of a wealthy businessman is taken, Nora is first on the scene and unwittingly 'chosen' by the kidnapper. With the crime live-streamed across the internet, the eyes of the world are upon her as she faces a sequence of difficult challenges with the life of the kidnapped girl hanging on Nora's success - or failure.
Deadly Sommer is the thrilling first book in the Nora Sommer…
