Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson

Gr 3-5–Corry brings readers along on an engaging, charming, and sometimes surprising introduction to Emily Dickinson. Her early teenage years as a burgeoning and avid botanist are the focus. Dickinson is seen at school with her best friends while they eagerly enjoy science. As wildflowers are her favorite plant, she is determined to head outside, explore, and record. Her family thinks it is not safe for Dickinson to go by herself but they do not stop her. Instead, her father gets her a dog. Carlo, likely a Newfoundland, is very big and very devoted to her. As Dickinson’s companion and guard, he will enjoy 17 years of friendship with her. Together they explore fields and forests, and they get lost but save themselves. Sprinkled throughout the day’s journey are Dickinson’s poems, each fitting perfectly with the setting and mood. Corry brings out aspects of the poet that are not often ascribed to her, such as being adventurous with a mind for science. She is an amazing gardener, baker, and prodigious letter writer. Although Dickinson becomes a recluse in her 20s, she remains surrounded by her loving and supportive family. Soft sepia tones are used for interiors while the outdoors are full of colors and contrasts, especially the flowers and the small creatures she and Carlo encounter. Pressed flowers and intricate borders decorate the added information at the end of the book.