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Gr 2-5 This story is a fictionalized account of Emily Dickinson's interactions with one of her young nephews. "Uncle Emily," as Gib calls his aunt, gives the boy a poem to take to his teacher. When a classmate makes fun of his beloved aunt, labeling her "a peculiar old maid," Gib comes to her defense and gets into a fight. He is afraid to tell his family about the incident until his aunt gives him a poem called, "Tell all the Truth." In an afterword, Yolen exp...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Yolen stitches what's known of Emily Dickinson's family into a story about her close bond with her nephew Gib, who called her "Uncle Emily." Once, she gave him a poem, together with a dead bee, for his teacher. As the six-year-old explains, it's "as if she wants me to see the world one small bee and one small poem at a time"—as indeed Gib does: he and Emily are true kindred spirits. What happens next is Yolen's plausible invention. The teacher reads the p...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Yolen stitches a story about Emily Dickinson's nephew Gib, a kindred spirit who called the poet "Uncle Emily." The book's greatest charm is...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

With the articulate language of a true wordsmith, Jane Yolen presents a fictionalized tale about a beloved literary figure. The lively narrative is told from the point of view of a young nephew, Gib, and conveys his affection for his Uncle Emily as they laugh together about “[t]hings like flies in the cupola, / frogs in bogs, / and butterflies, which we call flutter-bys.” The text also divulges the boy’s befuddlement over the meanin...Log In or Sign Up to Read More