Yolen, Jane (1939-…), is a popular American author of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction for children and young adults. Yolen has written more than 300 books, becoming best known for her fantasy and science fiction novels and short stories. Many of her works are folk tales, fairy tales, and fables that contain a surprise ending and send a strong moral message. An autobiographical thread runs through much of her writing. Yolen received the 1992 Regina Medal, presented annually by the Catholic Library Association, for continued, distinguished contribution to children’s literature.
Yolen has created several series of stories. The “Commander Toad” series for young readers takes place in outer space and follows the adventures of Commander Toad, the captain of the spaceship Star Warts. The series began with Commander Toad in Space (1980). The “Pit Dragon” fantasy series for young adults is set in an imaginary world. The series began with Dragon’s Blood (1982). The “Young Merlin” trilogy consists of three novels about the boyhood of the legendary magician Merlin—Passager and Hobby (both 1996) and Merlin (1997). Yolen wrote the “Stone Man Mysteries,” set in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 1930’s, with her son, the American writer and folk rock musician Adam Stemple. The series began with Stone Cold (2016).
Perhaps Yolen’s most acclaimed novel is The Devil’s Arithmetic (1988), a time travel novel about a 12-year-old Jewish girl who is mysteriously sent back in time from modern New York City, New York, to rural Poland during World War II (1939-1945) and the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the systematic killing of about six million Jews and others by the Nazis. Yolen returned to the theme of the Holocaust in Briar Rose (1992) and Mapping the Bones (2018).
Yolen’s other major works include the picture books The Emperor and the Kite (1967), Owl Moon (1987), and How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? (2000); the short story collections Moon Ribbon and Other Tales (1976) and Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast (1997); the poetry collections Snow, Snow—Winter Poems for Children (1998) and Wild Wings (2002); the novels The Transfigured Hart (1975), Armageddon Summer (1998), and Sword of the Rightful King (2003); and the graphic novel Foiled (2010) and its sequel, Curses! Foiled Again (2013). With her daughter, Heidi E. Y. Stemple, she wrote A Kite for Moon (2019) about a boy who sends the lonely-looking moon messages on his kite and grows up to become an astronaut who flies to the moon on a rocket. Yolen has also written adult novels and books about writing, and edited many collections of stories, songs, and poetry.
Yolen was born on Feb. 11, 1939, in New York City. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in 1960 and a master’s degree in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. She worked as an editor until she became a full-time writer in 1965.
