Jane Yolen

About the author

Jane Yolen was born on February 11, 1939 in New York City where she grew up with two loving parents, Isabel and Will Yolen, and a younger brother named Steven. Jane's father was a cafe journalist so the family was always moving from place to place when Jane was just a young girl including trips to California, back to New York City, and then to Westport, Connecticut where Jane spent her adolescent years at Staples High School. In high school, Yolen accounted for many honors including singing in the choir, being the captain of the girls basketball team, winning multiple debate awards, being named the News Editor of the school paper, and last but not least she was the vice president of the Spanish and Latin clubs. She graduated finishing seventh in her class and attended Smith College, where she became president of the Press Board, won all of the poetry writing awards, and wrote many poems of which were published in various small journals such as: The Grecourt Review and The Chicago Jewish Forum. After graduating college, Yolen moved back to New York City to become an editor in the areas of poetry and journalism/non-fiction. Then to no surprise, Yolen became a children's book writer, selling her first book, Pirates in Petticoats, on her 22nd birthday. Since then, Yolen has written over 280 children's books and currently resides in Western Massachusettes with her three children and six grandchildren close by.