Chicago Review Press | 978-0897330039

My 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Clark, was very fond of poetry. She would stand behind our chairs and recite poems by heart. Robert Frost, John Masefield, Carl Sandburg. It’s a memory I’d mostly forgotten about until a few years ago. She had been the principal of the school for many years, and returned after her retirement to teach again because she missed the daily interaction with students.  In a way that I didn’t realize until many years later, she was one of the first people to plant the seed of poetry in my heart.

At some point during that year, one of our assignments was to write about a poet and I chose Emily Dickinson. That was many years ago…

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.

Recently, wanting to read more about Dickinson, I picked up BECOMING EMILY: The Life of Emily Dickinson by Krystyna Poray Goddu. With photos, excerpts of letters, a time line, and many full-length poems, this wonderfully researched and engaging biography for young readers (or readers of any age, really) is the perfect introduction to those interested in learning more about Dickinson’s life and poetry.

Here’s a list of other books for those young readers who’d like more:

• ON WINGS OF WORDS: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander
• EMILY WRITES: Emily Dickinson and Her Poetic Beginnings by Jane Yolen, illustrated by
• EMILY by Michael Bedard, illustrated by Barbara Cooney
• THE MOUSE OF AMHERST by Elizabeth Spires, illustrated by Claire A. Nivola

Be sure to visit the Emily Dickinson Museum which, though closed until Spring 2022, offers virtual programming and more on their website.