Janie Writes a Play: Jane Yolen’s First Great Story

Stemple pays tribute to her mother, author Jane Yolen (b. 1939), with this tightly written tale of Yolen’s debut as a school-age playwright. Centering on how “Janie loved a great story,” scenes paint the subject’s days as filled with reading and writing, while she anticipates the start of school play rehearsals. That initial excitement fizzles upon a read of the script, but Yolen’s writerly instincts kick in, and she draws on everyday experience to craft an original work whose performance achieves a standing ovation. With texturized coloring, Goodnight’s large-scale digital artwork moves between cheerful depictions of the mundane and Yolen’s imagination-infused perceptions. An author’s note concludes. Ages 5–8. (Feb.)