Cover of Dream Weaver by Jane Yolen

Dream Weaver

DREAM WEAVER

Illustrated by Michael Hague

Philomel 1979

ISBN# 0-529-05517-1 Philomel hardcover

ISBN# 0-399-22152-2 Philomel hardcover revised

A collection of my original stories, set within a framework in which an old blind weaver weaves “dreams” or tales for individuals who pay her. The final story is one she weaves for herself. Included among others are “The Pot Child” (which was a metaphoric answer to one critic who called my stories “too perfect,”) and “The Boy Who Sang for Death” (which was written with my own late mother in mind.) The revised edition features a new cover by Hague and an introduction by me.

Out of print.

Accolades:

  • “Brother Hart” was the cover story for TheMagazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and a nominee for the Nebula, my first but not last nominee.
  • Dream Weaver was on the Locus Best Collection list.
  • Winner of a Certificate from the American Institute of Graphic Arts 1979
  • Nominee for the Janusz Korczak Literary Awards 1980

Miscellany:

  • This was my 50th published book.
  • “Princess Heart ” Stone” play, Kids in Drama, Northampton MA, November 1986
  • “Brother Hart” and “Tree’s Wife,” “Pot Child” in slightly different form in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1977
  • “Catbride” and “Princess Heart O’ Stone” in Cricket Magazine 1978

What reviewers have said:

  • “On one level, Jane Yolen’s tales are a love affair with language…There is a seductive quality to Miss Yolen’s writing…On another level, the author is uncommonly skilled at using elements from other storytellers and folklorists, transforming them into new and different tales.”—New York Times
  • “Hague makes his debut with mystic paintings in velvety shades, beautiful mirrors of Yolen’s surrealistic tales…The collection shows the influence of classic literature , but each story bears the author’s hallmarks: deep insights, unhampered imagination and graceful telling.”—Publisher’s Weekly
  • “The romantic full-color paintings extend the characterizations and integrate the fantasy in a well-designed book that strikingly expands each telling while invoking the innate power of Yolen’s writing.”—Booklist
  • “An unusual collection of seven fantasies, rich in language and symbols, absorbing in content…Written with verve, vitality, and a power that is extraordinarily strong and fundamental, these stories will do much to enrich the individual reader’s thinking.”—Boston Sunday Globe
  • “This is a collection of tales which combines threads of classic folklore with modern strains of psychological insight into a rich tapestry of fantasy…sensitively drawn portraits of human sorry and joy.”—Children’s Book Review Service
  • “A lovely book for older readers, this has the magic that appeals to children and the themes that adults can enjoy—love and death in many guises.”—Seattle Wash. Times
  • “Tying these seven haunting tales of fantasy together is the gifted and perceptive Jane Yolen who is able to create the illusion of dreams in her stories.” —Atlanta Ga. Journal Constitution