Chronicle Kids ISBN 9781452142975 £13.99
Subtitled ‘The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson’, this is certainly an extraordinary book. We are taken on a journey through the poet’s life in 1800s America where she is born with a love of nature and soon develops a love of books. As she grows, she becomes aware of shadows and sorrows in the world to which she seeks answers, but nothing satisfies her. So she begins to put her faith in what she can see and understand. In the name of the Bee – And of the Butterfly – and of the Breeze – Amen! Words – her own words – become her solace, her escape, her reason for being. Amazingly, her family knew nothing of her prodigious poetic outpouring until her works were discovered by her sister after her death. Jennifer Berne’s lyrical language is appropriate to her subject and we are treated to snatches of Dickinson’s own words dotted throughout the text. Berne helps us to see the poet beyond the poems but in an afterword also gives us a little insight into reading them. She also encourages us to try writing our own poetry as a way to become a better poetry reader. Becca Stadtlander’s illustrations are simply stunning. Faithful to the facts of Emily’s life, they also echo elements of her poetry in a most imaginative way. This would be a good introduction to Dickinson’s poetry but also to the idea of what a poet is and what inspires them.
Pam Dowson