JANIE WRITES A PLAY

Seeing that an upcoming class play needs sprucing up, a child takes matters into her own hands.

Looking back to her mother’s beginnings as a writer, Stemple offers a biographical tidbit that does double duty as tribute and as fresh encouragement for budding creative talents. Little Janie, she notes, eventually became the prolific, critically acclaimed children’s book author Jane Yolen. Living as she does in a world of great books, intriguing words, and imagined dramas, young Janie immediately realizes that the script for the school play in which she’s landed the role of “Girl Number 1” is going to be a “boring bust.” Time for a rewrite! The next morning she dances into school with a veggie-themed musical (starring herself as “chief carrot”) that goes on to earn a standing ovation. “It was Janie’s first rave review. It wouldn’t be her last.” Between endpapers featuring bookshelves crowded with just a sampling of familiar Yolen titles, Goodnight portrays a hardworking, confident child with an inward gaze. In some scenes, she’s surrounded by swirls of words or fanciful figures from books she would go on to write; in others, smiling adults offer support and fellow students diverse in skin tone gather round, eager to follow her lead. In the afterword, the author pairs a set of black-and-white snapshots with more detail about her talented mother and family.

A warm glimpse into the life and personality of a favorite childhood author.