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This fictionalized encounter between Emily Dickinson and a young neighbor is, like a Dickinson sonnet, a quiet gem: unassuming upon first glance, it is in fact deeply lustrous, with new facets becoming apparent the longer one looks. The narrator and protagonist is a child who has just moved into the house across the street from "the Myth." She accompanies her mother to Emily's house one day, where she makes her a gift of lily bulbs and receives a poem in return. Bedard's unnamed narrator speaks with the piercing clarity and insight particular to sensitive children. As she contemplates her fear of meeting the reclusive poet, she realizes that "perhaps the lady in the yellow house is also afraid"; she intuitively responds to the hidden life mysteriously contained in the dull, dead bulbs; and she makes a simple but profound connection--"Maybe people are a mystery, too"--that allows her to reach out to her strange, largely hidden neighbor. While, laudably, the story in no way depends upon familiarity with Dickinson's life or work, the fullness of Bedard's accomplishment is most clearly evident in relation to the latter.

From Michael Bedard and two-time Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Barbara Cooney comes a story about American poet Emily Dickinson and the young girl who befriends her.

What if your neighbor were the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson? And what if one day she sent a letter inviting your mother to pay her a visit? A little girl who lives across the street from the mysterious Emily gets a chance to meet the poet when her mother goes to play the piano for her. There, the girl sneaks a gift up to Emily, who listens from the landing, and in return, Emily gives the girl a precious gift of her own―the gift of poetry.

“This fictionalized encounter . . . is, like a Dickinson sonnet, a quiet gem: unassuming upon first glance, it is in fact deeply lustrous, with new facets becoming apparent the longer one looks..”―Publishers Weekly

“In this imaginative and unusual picture book . . . the language of the text is lyrical . . . The illustrations convey a sense of place and time long ago, from drawing rooms to clothing. This is a picture book to read aloud and share…[Readers] will find that Bedard's charming story demystifies the person and offers some understanding of her odd behavior.”―School Library Journal

"Two time Caldecott award winning illustrator Barbara Cooney's richly detailed oil paintings enhance the moving story of Dickinson's extraordinary private life.”―Children’s Literature