arch of bone

February 11, 2023

Happy birthday to the iconic grandmaster Jane Yolen

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Hailed as both the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century, Jane Yolen, with her first publication, the non-fiction book about women pirates Pirates In Petticoats (1963), embarked on amazing career of over four hundred books (and counting). Her impressive and acclaimed output includes children’s fiction, poetry, short stories, graphic novels, nonfiction, fantasy, and science fiction.

Among her many honors are the Christopher Medal (The Seeing Stick [1977], How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? [2000]), Nebula (“Sister Emily’s Lightship” [1998], Lost Girls [1999]), World Fantasy (Favorite Folktales From Around The World [1987], THE EMERALD CIRCUS [2018]), Mythopoeic (Cards Of Grief [1985], Briar Rose [1993], The Young Merlin Trilogy [1998, Passager, Hobby, and Merlin]), Golden Kite (The Girl Who Cried Flowers & Other Tales [1974]), and National Jewish Book Award (The Devil’s Arithmetic [1989]). Yolen received the World Fantasy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Rhysling Science Fiction Poetry Grand Master Award, the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award, Edward E, Smith Memorial Award (Skylark), Jeremiah Ludington Memorial Award, Regina Medal Catholic Children’s Books Life Award, Anne V. Zarrow Award, and Sydney Taylor Book Award Body-of-Work Winner. She has honorary doctorates from Smith College, University of Massachusetts (Amherst), Bay Path College, Sister of Our Lady of the Elms College, Westfield State College, and Keene State College.

Cover for The Scarlet Circus, a collection of love stories by Jane Yolen — Cover by Elizabeth Story

Many of Yolen’s shorter works have been collected in numerous works including The Girl Who Cried Flowers and Other Tales (1974), The Hundredth Dove and Other Tales (1977), Dream Weaver (1979), The Whitethorn Wood and Other Magicks (1984), Storyteller (1992), Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast (1997), Sister Emily’s Lightship and Other Stories (2000), Once Upon A Time (She Said) (2005), The Last Selchie Child (2012), THE EMERALD CIRCUS (2017), HOW TO FRACTURE A FAIRY TALE (2018), and THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS (2020). Several volumes of her poetry exist including The Three Bears Rhyme Book (1987), The Originals: Animals that Time Forgot (1998), Least Things: Poems about Small Natures (2003), Before the Vote After (2017), On Gull Beach (2018),and Fly with Me: A Celebration of Birds Through Pictures, Poems, and Stories (2018, with Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple). Her many other acclaimed works include Pit Dragon Chronicles (Dragon’s Blood [1982], Heart’s Blood [1984], A Sending of Dragons [1987], Dragon’s Heart [2009]), Owl Moon (1987), The Great Books of Alta (Sister Light, Sister Dark [1988], White Jenna [1989], The One-Armed Queen [1998]), The Stuart Quartet (all with Robert J. Harris Queen’s Own Fool [2000], Girl in a Cage [2001], Prince Across the Water [2004], The Rogues [2007]), Ekaterinoslav: A Family’s Passage to America (2012), Finding Baba Yaga (2018), Mapping the Bones (2018), THE LAST TSAR’S DRAGONS (2019 with Adam Stemple), Kaddish: Before the Holocaust and After (2021), and ARCH OF BONE (2021).

Her editorial endeavors include the anthologies Zoo 2000 (1973), Favorite Folktales from Around the World (1986), Werewolves: A Collection of Original Stories (1988 with Martin H. Greenberg), Things That Go Bump in the Night (1989 with Greenberg), 2041: Twelve Short Stories About the Future by Top Science Fiction Writers (1991), Vampires(1991 with Greenberg), Xanadu (Vol 1 1993, Vol 2 1994, Vol 3 1995), The Haunted House: A Collection of Original Stories (1995 with Greenberg), Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around The World (1998 with Kathleen Ragan), Gray Heroes: Elder Tales from Around the World (1999), and Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys (2003).

The prolific Yolen continues to produce acclaimed, award winning work at a prodigious pace. In 2022 alone, she published 7 books: Black Dog Poems (with Peter Tacy), Mrs. Noah’s Doves, Elefantastic, Big Bold Beautiful Me (with Maddison Stemple-Piatt), Giant Island, Yuck You Suck! Poems about Animals That Sip, Slurp, Suck (with Heidi Stemple), and Love Birds. The Valentine’s Day release of her new collection THE SCARLET CIRCUS is, after January’s How Do Dinosaurs Learn To Be Kind? (with Mark Teague), her second 2023 publication already.

Because she apparently never sleeps, Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. She splits her time between Western Massachusetts and St. Andrew, Scotland.

All of us at Tachyon, wish the incredible Jane a happy birthday. May your mythic journeys never end.

February 11, 2022

Happy birthday to the iconic grandmaster Jane Yolen

Rick Klaw birthday, blog arch of bone, birthday, how do dinosaurs say goodbye, how to fracture a fairy tale, Jane Yolen, kaddish, the emerald circus, the last tsar's dragons, the midnight circus, when nana dances

Many of Yolen’s shorter works have been collected in numerous works including The Girl Who Cried Flowers and Other Tales (1974), The Hundredth Dove and Other Tales (1977), Dream Weaver (1979), The Whitethorn Wood and Other Magicks (1984), Storyteller (1992), Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast (1997), Sister Emily’s Lightship and Other Stories (2000), Once Upon A Time (She Said) (2005), The Last Selchie Child (2012), THE EMERALD CIRCUS (2017), HOW TO FRACTURE A FAIRY TALE (2018), and THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS (2020). Several volumes of her poetry exist including The Three Bears Rhyme Book (1987), The Originals: Animals that Time Forgot (1998), Least Things: Poems about Small Natures (2003), Before the Vote After (2017), On Gull Beach (2018),and Fly with Me: A Celebration of Birds Through Pictures, Poems, and Stories (2018, with Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple). Her many other acclaimed works include Pit Dragon Chronicles (Dragon’s Blood [1982], Heart’s Blood [1984], A Sending of Dragons [1987], Dragon’s Heart [2009]), Owl Moon (1987), The Great Books of Alta (Sister Light, Sister Dark [1988], White Jenna [1989], The One-Armed Queen [1998]), The Stuart Quartet (all with Robert J. Harris Queen’s Own Fool [2000], Girl in a Cage [2001], Prince Across the Water [2004], The Rogues [2007]), Ekaterinoslav: A Family’s Passage to America (2012), Finding Baba Yaga (2018), Mapping the Bones (2018), and THE LAST TSAR’S DRAGONS (2019 with Adam Stemple).

Cover art by Anabelle Gerardy
Design by Elizabeth Story

The prolific Yolen continues to produce acclaimed, award winning work at a prodigious pace. In 2021 alone, she published 8 books: The Last Robot, her 400th book Bear Outside, Rum Pum Pum, Kaddish: Before the Holocaust and After, Eeny Up Above, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodbye, When Nana Dances with Maddison Stemple-Piatt), and ARCH OF BONE.

Because she apparently never sleeps, Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. She splits her time between Western Massachusetts and St. Andrew, Scotland.

All of us at Tachyon, wish the incredible Jane a happy birthday. May your mythic journeys never end.

November 2, 2021

Win a copy of ARCH OF BONE, the new book from the beloved grandmaster Jane Yolen. “Elemental and timeless.” —Eliot Schrefer, National Book Award Finalist

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**With the help of the fine folks at GOODREADS, we’re giving away ARCH OF BONE, the award-winning Jane Yolen’s continuation of Moby Dick.**

ARCH OF BONE is a historical novel that reanimates Nantucket’s whaling history. In it, the aftermath of the Pequod’s sinking is imagined on behalf of the families of those lost at sea. The result is a daring story in which a grieving son becomes his own kind of survivor.
—Foreword

Fourteen-year-old Josiah Starbuck dreams of joining the crew of a whaling ship someday, just like his father and his grandfather had. But Josiah’s world turns upside-down when a ragged sailor arrives on his doorstep.

The sailor is called Ishmael, and he has terrible news: Josiah’s father, the first mate of the Pequod, is dead, along with the rest of the crew. Ishmael claims they were led to their doom by the mad Captain Ahab and Ahab’s hunt for the legendary white whale Moby-Dick. But Josiah is not so certain his father’s death was that simple. Why did only Ishmael survive the shipwreck of the Pequod?

Grief-stricken, Josiah sets sail with his dog, Zeke, in order to find the truth of his father’s death. Can he and Zeke discover the secrets of the Pequod at the mysterious Arch of Bone?

This is the story Melville should have written.
—Daniel Pinkwater, author of The Neddiad

October 26, 2021

The extraordinary grandmaster Jane Yolen celebrates the release of her new book ARCH OF BONE at Mystic Seaport Museum

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Visit with the legendary Jane Yolen for the book release of ARCH OF BONE at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT on November 6, 2pm.

Join us for a very special in-person event with beloved children’s book author Jane Yolen (Owl Moon). The author’s latest book, ARCH OF BONE, continues the story from where Moby Dick left off. When a rough sailor called Ishmael turns up on a family’s doorstep, even loyal dog Zeke knows that the news is ruinous. This compelling boyhood adventure hearkens to timeless coming of age tales of yore. Lovingly illustrated by Ruth Sanderson, the journey of a boy and his dog comes to life on the page, renewing the joy of a classic tale.

Enjoy a free ARCH OF BONE reading by the author at 2pm, followed by a book signing. Bank Square Books will have copies of the book for sale at the reading. The reading is free, however registration is required due to limited seating.

Optional add-on experience: After the reading and book signing, take a Moby Dick tour aboard the last wooden whaleship in the world, the Charles W. Morgan, guided by Moby Dick scholar, Mary K Bercaw Edwards. You’ll also have the opportunity to visit the Museum’s exhibit Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers. Tours will run at 3:15 and 4:00.

$18 members / $20 non-members

June 23, 2021

Booksellers, librarians, bloggers, and reviewers get the legendary Jane Yolen’s latest ARCH OF BONE

Rick Klaw blog arch of bone, edelweiss, Jane Yolen, moby dick, netgalley, ruth sanderson

Review copies of ARCH OF BONE by Grandmaster Jane Yolen are now available via EDELWEISS and NETGALLEY.

ARCH OF BONE

by
Jane Yolen

Illustrations by
Ruth Sanderson

ISBN: Hardcover: 978-1-61696-350-7; Digital: 978-1-61696-351-4

Published: November 2021

Available Format(s): Hardcover and Digital

This is the story Herman Melville should have written.
—Daniel Pinkwater. author of Lizard Music and Adventures of a Dwergish Girl

Continuing the story from where Moby-Dick leaves off, this compelling boyhood adventure, penned by beloved author Jane Yolen (Owl Moon), hearkens to timeless coming-of-age tales of yore. Masterfully illustrated by Ruth Sanderson, the journey of a boy and his dog comes to life on the page.

Fourteen-year-old Josiah Starbuck dreams of joining the crew of a whaling ship someday, just like his father and his grandfather had. But Josiah’s world turns upside-down when a ragged sailor arrives on his doorstep.

The sailor is called Ishmael, and he has terrible news: Josiah’s father, the first mate of the Pequod, is dead, along with the rest of the crew. Ishmael claims they were led to their doom by the mad Captain Ahab and Ahab’s hunt for the legendary white whale Moby-Dick. But Josiah is not so certain his father’s death was that simple. Why did only Ishmael survive the shipwreck of the Pequod?

Grief-stricken, Josiah sets sail with his dog, Zeke, in order to find the truth of his father’s death. Can he and Zeke discover the secrets of the Pequod at the mysterious Arch of Bone?

February 11, 2021

Happy birthday to the iconic grandmaster Jane Yolen

Rick Klaw birthday, blog adam stemple, arch of bone, bear outside, birthday, how to fracture a fairy tale, Jane Yolen, the emerald circus, the last robot, the last tsar's dragons, the midnight circus

Hailed as both the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century, Jane Yolen, with her first publication, the non-fiction book about women pirates Pirates In Petticoats (1963), embarked on amazing career of four hundred books (and counting). Her impressive and acclaimed output includes children’s fiction, poetry, short stories, graphic novels, nonfiction, fantasy, and science fiction.

Many of Yolen’s shorter works have been collected in numerous works including The Girl Who Cried Flowers and Other Tales (1974), The Hundredth Dove and Other Tales (1977), Dream Weaver (1979), The Whitethorn Wood and Other Magicks (1984), Storyteller (1992), Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast (1997), Sister Emily’s Lightship and Other Stories (2000), Once Upon A Time (She Said) (2005), The Last Selchie Child (2012), THE EMERALD CIRCUS (2017), HOW TO FRACTURE A FAIRY TALE (2018), and THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS (2020). Several volumes of her poetry exist including The Three Bears Rhyme Book (1987), The Originals: Animals that Time Forgot (1998), Least Things: Poems about Small Natures (2003), Before the Vote After (2017), On Gull Beach (2018),and Fly with Me: A Celebration of Birds Through Pictures, Poems, and Stories (2018, with Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple). Her many other acclaimed works include Pit Dragon Chronicles (Dragon’s Blood [1982], Heart’s Blood [1984], A Sending of Dragons [1987], Dragon’s Heart [2009]), Owl Moon (1987), The Great Books of Alta (Sister Light, Sister Dark [1988], White Jenna [1989], The One-Armed Queen [1998]), The Stuart Quartet (all with Robert J. Harris Queen’s Own Fool [2000], Girl in a Cage [2001], Prince Across the Water [2004], The Rogues [2007]), Ekaterinoslav: A Family’s Passage to America (2012), Finding Baba Yaga (2018), Mapping the Bones (2018), and THE LAST TSAR’S DRAGONS (2019 with Adam Stemple).

Her editorial endeavors include the anthologies Zoo 2000 (1973), Favorite Folktales from Around the World (1986), Werewolves: A Collection of Original Stories (1988 with Martin H. Greenberg), Things That Go Bump in the Night (1989 with Greenberg), 2041: Twelve Short Stories About the Future by Top Science Fiction Writers (1991), Vampires (1991 with Greenberg), Xanadu (Vol 1 1993, Vol 2 1994, Vol 3 1995), The Haunted House: A Collection of Original Stories (1995 with Greenberg), Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around The World (1998 with Kathleen Ragan), Gray Heroes: Elder Tales from Around the World (1999), and Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys (2003).

The prolific Yolen continues to produce acclaimed, award winning work at a prodigious pace. In 2020 alone she published 8 books: Emily Writes, Miriam at the River, On Eagle Cove, THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS, I am the Storm, Interrupting Cow, Interrupting Cow and the Chicken Crossing the Road, and Plymouth Rocks. Her first book for 2021, The Last Robot launched today on Yolen’s 82nd birthday, and her 400th book Bear Outside comes out in March. Yolen’s new Tachyon Publications book the middle grade novel ARCH OF BONE premieres in November 2021.

Because she apparently never sleeps, Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. She splits her time between Western Massachusetts and St. Andrew, Scotland.

All of us at Tachyon, wish the incredible Jane a happy birthday. May your mythic journeys never end.

January 6, 2021

THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS is another strong collection from the endearing Jane Yolen. PLUS a first look at her forthcoming book ARCH OF BONE

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Jee Wan at HOOKED ON BOOKZ enjoys Jane Yolen’s THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS.

Overall, this is another strong collection of stories by Jane Yolen. I have quite a few that I really enjoyed. I loved the strong female characters in ‘Become a Warrior’ and ‘Wilding’ who didn’t let the society define them. I also loved ‘The Fisherman’s Wife’ who defied the odds to get back the man she loves, and ‘Night Wolf’ the boy who fought his fear for monsters. ‘The Dog Boy’ was good too! True to Yolen’s style, these stories are dark and grim with a touch of magic and fantasy. In an anthology, one’s bound to have some stories that would speak to them more than others.

Yolen also shared the background and idea behind each story and poem, which I really enjoyed reading. They made me appreciate her work even more. And I absolutely adore the cover!

These stories are meant to be savored, a few at a time.

EPIC STITCHING feels much the same.

The introduction to this short story anthology is beautifully done. Jane Yolen shares a couple personal insights into this set of stories and directs everyone to take a look at the related poems (which make up the last half of this book) related to the stories themselves. Yolen truly is an endearing and lasting female SF/F author of her generation.

[…]

Definitely some real gems in here. I’m giving it five stars overall if only because the Antartica story and Dog boy are easily shining stars that make this whole anthology worth reading. None of these are poorly written (It’s Yolen and she keeps her high standard in place) or so bad that I didn’t want to finish the story. Given how difficult it can be to find good, consistent anthologies this one is easily a step above most.

On FACEBOOK, Ruth Sanderson shares two illustrations from Yolen’s forthcoming (Nov 2021) ARCH OF BONE, a companion Moby Dick.