Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Candlewick (2014), Edition: Illustrated, 144 pages
Description
"When an invitation to join Miss Emily in the garden appears, Mattie, Ned, Sally, and Mac know they're in for some fun because Miss Emily--Emily Dickinson to the rest of us--always has a surprise in store for her young friends. And today's may be the biggest adventure yet. Mac, the youngest member of the group, tells what happens when a reclusive poet and her band of pretend Gypsies wait for the midnight circus train to arrive."--Jkt. flap.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LadyoftheLodge
This story is quite fanciful, but based on facts of the life of Emily Dickinson. The biggest problem I had with this book is the writing style. It is prose, but written in a style that resembles poetry. I found this difficult to read, as the lines broke at places that did not match with the
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punctuation. I am sure the writer intended it as a form of creative expression. However, I cannot fathom the reason for writing it in this style. I would like to know more about Emily Dickinson, and this was an interesting glimpse into her life. However, it did serve to give a glimpse into the lives of the children who were her neighbors, rather than into the life of Emily. Show Less
LibraryThing member 68papyrus
I was excited to win a copy of Miss Emily through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. The copy was provided in exchange for an honest review. Miss Emily is a blend of fact and fiction and provides insight into the life of the poet, Emily Dickinson. In this book the reclusive Miss Emily and
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her young neighbors embark on a nighttime adventure to see the circus train roll in to town. The children are excited and embrace the adventure with costumes and character names. I enjoyed this book and the beautiful black and white drawings that accompanied the sparse prose.The author includes details about the real life characters that are part of the story at the end of the book which was quite interesting. The book had the look and feel of a modern classic and is sure to delight readers of all ages! Show Less
LibraryThing member booksandbosox
Miss Emily is always concocting something fun for her young friends and the newest adventure is no exception. The circus is coming to town and Miss Emily and her band of creative thinkers are going to be there to meet the train as it arrives.
Unfortunately, I don't have terribly much to say about
Emily Dickinson seems to be having a renaissance. I can think of more than a handful of children and teen books in the last two years that have been about her or featured her in some way. I can't say I'm a particular fan of Dickinson; though I read a lot of poetry in my teen years, I'm not sure hers ever really spoke to me. What makes me most unsure about this book is the intended audience. Candlewick lists it for ages 7-10; how likely is a seven-year-old to be familiar with Emily Dickinson? Granted, one does not need to know or love Dickinson to read this book; after all, it is simply a story of one adventure Miss Dickinson takes with her young neighbors and relatives. But some of the story will make more sense to a reader with a better sense of Dickinson and her life and her work.
That being said, I didn't really enjoy this. It's written in verse, which is to be expected I suppose, but the verse didn't really strike me as particularly well-done. Additionally, I found the story itself quite boring, though I can imagine it might have more appeal for a younger reader. All in all, I didn't find anything to be quite as fully developed as I might have liked.
Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.
Unfortunately, I don't have terribly much to say about
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this book. I won this book on LibraryThing. I had requested it because I'd seen it at ALA in Philadelphia but hadn't managed to snag a copy, so when I saw it listed on LibraryThing, I figured, "why not?" I won a copy and it arrived quickly (kudos to the publisher on that - some I've won in the past have taken months to arrive). Emily Dickinson seems to be having a renaissance. I can think of more than a handful of children and teen books in the last two years that have been about her or featured her in some way. I can't say I'm a particular fan of Dickinson; though I read a lot of poetry in my teen years, I'm not sure hers ever really spoke to me. What makes me most unsure about this book is the intended audience. Candlewick lists it for ages 7-10; how likely is a seven-year-old to be familiar with Emily Dickinson? Granted, one does not need to know or love Dickinson to read this book; after all, it is simply a story of one adventure Miss Dickinson takes with her young neighbors and relatives. But some of the story will make more sense to a reader with a better sense of Dickinson and her life and her work.
That being said, I didn't really enjoy this. It's written in verse, which is to be expected I suppose, but the verse didn't really strike me as particularly well-done. Additionally, I found the story itself quite boring, though I can imagine it might have more appeal for a younger reader. All in all, I didn't find anything to be quite as fully developed as I might have liked.
Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.
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LibraryThing member BevFuller
I won "Miss Emily" on LibraryThing. Emily Dickinson's poetry is so beautiful and I was excited to read this book about her. It was a little hard to follow, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It might be hard for children, also. It would have been amazing if the writing would have had more flow, maybe
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written less like poetry. Good book, though. I look forward to more books by Burleigh Muten. Show Less
LibraryThing member bogreader
Children Mac, Sally, Ned, and Mattie join in imaginative play with their kind neighbor, Emily Dickinson. Even though Miss Emily is an adult, she hasn't lost a taste for the gentle adventures of childhood. Miss Emily and the children dress as gypsies and plan to meet the circus train in the dark of
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the night, before anyone else in town is there to share the magic. Show Less
LibraryThing member larestout
A story told in verse from the life of Emily Dickenson. I was happy to add it to my collection!
LibraryThing member brangwinn
Free verse story about the adventures of Miss Emily Dickenson and children. She may have withdrawn from society but she still loved children. Leading the children to the train depot, after the children should be asleep, allows them to watch the arrival of the circus train. This escapade provides a
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short biographical glimpse into the reclusive poet's life. Phelan's pencil drawing show the same style as his graphic novels and is perfect for showing Miss Emily in a different light. (LibraryThing Review copy) Grades 3-5. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bitter_Grace
Miss Emily, about the poet Emily Dickinson leading a band of children on an adventure to greet a circus train at night, will hit the mark for parents and teachers who are looking for a sweet, innocent story for their kids to read. It has enough mischief and adventure to appeal to child readers, but
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is told with charm and is accompanied by lovely, expressive illustrations. It doesn't reveal much about the biography of Emily Dickinson, but is a nice introduction to her life, and shows a side of her that I'm sure is less familiar to readers. I'm guessing that the author's choice to write the book in verse is a tip of the hat to Dickinson's poetry, but I found that the random line breaks never allow the reader to fall into a rhythm, so I feel like it would've been better left in prose. Otherwise, a nice length and a good tale for children who are graduating from picture books to longer stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member welburr
This book was fantastic. Written in lyrical prose, it tells a story of Emily Dickinson, or Miss Emily, and her adventure with a group of young children. The group, pretending to by gypsies, sneak out of their houses and wait for a midnight circus train to arrive. This was a beautiful book.
LibraryThing member VeraGodley
This delightful story presents a fictionalized Miss Emily Dickinson and her young neighbors in fun adventures in her garden and about in the evening. The story is written in free verse with short lines gracing the pages rather than structured format of rhyming poems or paragraph prose. This is a
A whimsical Miss Emily is portrayed in this story as the instigator and conspirator of adventures. The bibliography at the end is an asset as is the section of historical notes including the identity of the people actually in the story: "Mac" is MacGregor (Mac) Jenkins who lived across the street from the Dickinson mansion during his childhood. He became an author and wrote Emily Dickinson, Friend and Neighbor in 1930. And "Ned" is Edward (Ned) Dickinson who was Miss Emily's nephew living next door to his aunt.
The story..... It is an invitation to adventure issued by Miss Emily to the four children to meet her at night to go see the traveling circus and all it's glory. While out and about, one of the children is hurt. But all does not end there. They adventure continues.
Soft black and white sketches bring life to the story and each illustration has the identifying line of text beneath it. The book is abundantly illustrated but not a true "picture book." Matt Phelan's illustrations have a charm that speaks well to the story and to the time frame in which the story happened.
An engaging read, while it might involve some struggle for some readers to grasp the style. It is still a great introduction to fictionalizing a real person (and people), an opportunity to read a "story" in a different style, and to have a fun time whilst doing it all.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher to facilitate a review. Opinions are my own and I was not compensated.
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nice introduction (albeit fictionalized) to Miss Emily Dickinson, favorite poet of America. It is also a good introduction to reading free verse with a storyline similar to what it would be were it written in regular paragraph form.A whimsical Miss Emily is portrayed in this story as the instigator and conspirator of adventures. The bibliography at the end is an asset as is the section of historical notes including the identity of the people actually in the story: "Mac" is MacGregor (Mac) Jenkins who lived across the street from the Dickinson mansion during his childhood. He became an author and wrote Emily Dickinson, Friend and Neighbor in 1930. And "Ned" is Edward (Ned) Dickinson who was Miss Emily's nephew living next door to his aunt.
The story..... It is an invitation to adventure issued by Miss Emily to the four children to meet her at night to go see the traveling circus and all it's glory. While out and about, one of the children is hurt. But all does not end there. They adventure continues.
Soft black and white sketches bring life to the story and each illustration has the identifying line of text beneath it. The book is abundantly illustrated but not a true "picture book." Matt Phelan's illustrations have a charm that speaks well to the story and to the time frame in which the story happened.
An engaging read, while it might involve some struggle for some readers to grasp the style. It is still a great introduction to fictionalizing a real person (and people), an opportunity to read a "story" in a different style, and to have a fun time whilst doing it all.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher to facilitate a review. Opinions are my own and I was not compensated.
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Awards
Massachusetts Book Award (Must-Read (Longlist) — 2015)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
8.51 inches
ISBN
0763657344 / 9780763657345