CHILD OF FAERIE, CHILD OF EARTH Illustrated by Jane Dyer Little Brown 1997 ISBN# 0-316-96897-8

This rhymed fairy tale is about the friendship between a mortal child and a boy of the faerie folk. The verse that begins, "He was a child of faerie folk, a child of sky and air," just popped into my head one day. It had its own peculiar rhyme scheme. One such verse is do-able. Two or three possible. But what ever possessed me to write over a dozen? And that was hard enough. It took weeks and weeks. Six months later my editor, Maria Modugno, wanted me to add a couple of extra verses. Arrrrgh. But I defy anyone to figure out which two verses were added. The pictures are Jane Dyer at her fairy best. She says the last page, of the old woman and the old fairy, are supposed to be my husband and me. I helped design the jacket.

See a speech I gave about writing Child of Faerie, Child of Earth.

       Available in both hardcover and soon in paperback.

What reviewers have said: "Outstanding." -- American Bookseller

"... a charming story for the multi-cultural 90's. ... The story is written in graceful verse, with illustrations that emphasize the solid earthiness of the girl, and the illusive, moonlit quality of the faerie boy. Together they remind us of how we can be linked to others by genuine respect and affection, however different from ourselves they may seem." -- NOTES FROM THE WINDOWSILL, An electronic journal of book reviews

"Yolen adds some sweet details to a story with a familiar folktale ring, presenting all in pleasing poetry that slips easily off the tongue for reading aloud. Dyer's illustrations are a study in colorful contrast: the quaint, apple-cheeked girl with a circle of flowers in her hair; the fairy boy in diaphanous green with sun-dappled wings; a landscape bright with brilliant harvest colors; an enchanted hall "bedecked in candlelight." A story about a friendship that stretches across some unusual boundaries." -- Booklist

"Yolen has written a poem of other-worldly love. . . . A charming story perfectly illustrated by Jane Dyer."--http://www.childrenslit.com

"This gentle story of an unusual friendship is recounted in challenging vocabulary and melodic rhyme; careful phrasing favors neither earth nor faerie but paints evocative images of both. Dyer's watercolors completely fill the pages opposite the poetry and offer bucolic settings of sunlit golds and nocturnal blues for the sturdy, round-faced children. Share this one-on-one to encourage appreciation of the delicate details, such as the snippets of illustrations pulled from the full-page spreads to accompany the text." --School Library Journal

A review from Spirited Review

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