Emily Dickinson's Letters to the World - Hardcover

Winter, Jeanette; Dickinson, Emily

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374321477 ISBN 13: 9780374321475

Publisher: Frances Foster Books, 2002

Synopsis

A captivating introduction to Emily Dickinson

The poet Emily Dickinson was unknown and mostly unpublished during her lifetime (1830–86). When she died, her sister, Lavinia, discovered the 1,775 poems Emily Dickinson left behind – her “letters to the world.” Jeanette Winter tells the story of the discovery of these poems and has selected twenty-one that speak most directly to children, surrounding them with vibrant paintings.

With a specifically designed typeface inspired by Emily Dickinson’s handwriting, this small book, which is about the size of some of the paper on which Emily wrote, is a gem.

About this title

About the Author:

Jeanette Winter is the author and illustrator of many notable books for children, including My Baby and My Name Is Georgia. She lives in New York City.

From School Library Journal:

Grades 2-5--The reclusive American poet is revealed through 21 of her poems in this small-format picture book. Told from the point of view of her sister Lavinia, who discovered almost 1800 of Dickinson's precious poems after her death, the story provides only snippets of the poet's enigmatic life: her refusal to leave the family's Amherst home, her fanatical love of words, and her dying as a virtual unknown. However, the selection of poems-Emily's "letters"-gives insight into her thoughts on a variety of topics, ranging from nature ("Snowflakes") to the secrets of the heart ("Have you got a Brook in your little heart-") to her distaste at the thought of fame ("I'm Nobody! Who are you?"). Winter's paintings use all-white backgrounds to illustrate the facts of her story, but when readers step into the world of Dickinson's imaginative mind and intense poetic spirit, the illustrator switches to color-filled backgrounds, with the full or partial figure of the poet ever-present. Here the strong images of the subjects of the poems clearly take precedence, and, as with Winter's illustrations in Follow the Drinking Gourd (Knopf, 1992), her simplistic style manages to accentuate the depth behind the words. Naturally, these gems beg to be read aloud, and they are sure to provoke discussions about their meaning and the powerful images they suggest. Pair this title with Michael Bedard's Emily (Doubleday, 1992) for a fuller introduction to this brilliant poet.
Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Frances Foster Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0374321477
• ISBN 13: 9780374321475
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40