Fine Feathered Friends: Poems for Young People [Hardcover]

Jane Yolen (Author), Jason Stemple (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Celebrated writer Jane Yolen and photographer Jason Stemple, longtime bird watchers, take a look at birdlife in this fascinating volume of poems and pictures. Fourteen original poems explore a dazzling flock with skillful wordplay that inspires the reader to look at some common feathered friends in uncommon ways. The photographer's masterful eye captures each unique creature, creating intimate portraits to ponder and admire.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–Stemple and Yolen have once again pooled their significant talents. Each spread consists of a large, clear full-color photo of a single bird in the wild and a poem that describes its appearance, habits, or eccentricities. Many of the birds are pictured at close enough range to show details of coloring and behavior (the rigidly alert posture of the pileated woodpecker climbing a tree trunk; the puffed-out feathers of a roadrunner in chilled air). Yolen has successfully used a variety of poetic styles. Her words are carefully chosen; her phrases often create clever images. Tidbits of information tell enough about each bird to add understanding to the poem and, perhaps, to whet the appetite for more. This lovely collection can be used to spur creativity or to provide a multisensory experience.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Yolen and her son, a nature photographer, team up for a romp both pleasant and informative. Each double-page, full-bleed spread displays a dramatic, elegant, or silly photograph of a particular bird with its common and official monikers. A poem, rhymed or not, captures the bird in some apt way. The poem for the raven refutes the slander from the pages of the Baltimore Sun, which described the bird as "dirty, brooding and noisy." The poem and picture of the junco capture the bird's simplicity and gray charm. An osprey, framed against a cobalt sky clearly enough to see the insect on its claw, is set against the action of the poetry: "Wind hover, / Air beater, / Fish eater." For bird watchers, and for those looking closely at birds for the first time. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 30 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590781937
• ISBN-13: 978-1590781937
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,679,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."