Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and-most serious-civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves-during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. She divides her time between homes in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and Scotland.The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement. The former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Yolen has served on the board of directors for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for more than 25 years. She has honorary doctorates from Smith College, Keene State College, and the College of Our Lady of the Elms. Yolen has received the Daedelus Award and the Catholic Library Association’s Regina Medal, and her books have won two Caldecott Medals, two Nebula Awards from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, two Christopher Medals, and the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She has edited many anthologies, including Favorite Folktales from Around the World (1986). Her nonfiction includes Take Joy: A Writer’s Guide to Loving the Craft (2006) and Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie & Folklore in the Literature of Childhood (1981, expanded edition 2007). Her numerous books for young readers include the picture books Owl Moon (1987, illustrated by John Schoenherr), How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (2000, illustrated by Mark Teague), and the novella The Devil’s Arithmetic (2004). Her poetry collection Radiation Sonnets: Love, in Sickness and in Health (2003) deals with her late husband’s battle with cancer. Yolen is the author of more than 300 books, and her work has been translated into almost two dozen languages. To rub a sore, to resonate with joy, to answer a question no one else has satisfactorily answered for me.”

In an article for the Huffington Post, she stated, “I write to satisfy the story or poem or piece of fascinating research that speaks to me. Yolen’s stories use rhythm and rhyme in conjunction with elements of folklore and fantasy.

She grew up in Hollywood, New York City, and Newport News, Virginia, and earned a BA at Smith College and an MA in education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Science fiction and fantasy writer, editor, children’s author, and poet Jane Yolen was born in New York City.

Owl moon by jane yolen