Perfect Picture Book Friday

Title: Emily
Author/Illustrator: Michael Bedard/Barbara Cooney
Publisher/Date: A Doubleday Book for Young Readers/ 1992
Genre/Audience: Historical Fiction/Grades 3-5

Themes: Emily Dickinson; Neighborliness; poetry

Opening: "There is a woman on our street they call the Myth....  She hasn't left her house in nearly twenty years.  If strangers come to call, she runs and hides herself away.  Some people say she's crazy.  But to me she's Emily...."

Synopsis: From School Library Journal: "A young girl whose family has just moved into the neighborhood describes her first encounter with the inhabitant of the yellow house across the road. Called ``the Myth'' by some, deemed crazy by others, she is, in fact, the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson. An air of mystery surrounds the woman as the child overhears her parents discussing their neighbor. When the girl's mother is invited to the yellow house to play the piano, curiosity deepens. The first meeting and special gifts exchanged between the girl and the poet are described in this imaginative and unusual picture book. In keeping with a story about a poet, the language of the text is lyrical."

 Why I Love This Book:  In honor of National Poetry Month, I thought I would share this gem of a book; a fictious account of a girl's encounter with the reclusive Emily Dickinson.  It is a glimpse into the life of a mysterious and gifted poet where music, flowers, and words offered pleasure and hope when feeling blue.

Resources:
A biography: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/155
A collection of Emily Dickinson's poetry: http://mith.umd.edu//WomensStudies/ReadingRoom/Poetry/Dickinson/
Lesson plan: http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=16693


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