Aileen Fisher

Aileen Lucia Fisher (September 9, 1906 – December 2, 2002) was an American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible-themed books, plays, and articles for magazines and journals. Her poems have been anthologized many times and are frequently used in textbooks. In 1978 she was awarded the second National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Born in Michigan, Fisher moved to Colorado as an adult and lived there for the rest of her life.

Life

Aileen Fisher was born on September 9, 1906, in Iron River, on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to Nelson E. and Lucia (Milker) Fisher. Her father was a homesteader who established several businesses in the area. Her mother had been a kindergarten teacher.

Fisher attended the University of Chicago for two years, then transferred to the University of Missouri in order to obtain a BA in journalism in 1927. After graduating she took a summer job in a small theater, then returned to Chicago.

In 1933, wanting to live someplace that had beautiful scenery, a good library and an "invigorating climate", Her other interests included reading, woodworking, hiking and mountain climbing.

Writing

According to Fisher, "Poetry is a rhythmical piece of writing that leaves the reader feeling that life is a little richer than before, a little more full of wonder, beauty, or just plain delight." And, despite the great variety found in her writing, she thought of herself primarily as a poet. "My first and chief love in writing is writing children's verse."

Fisher wrote both rhyming and prose non-fiction books, many of them focusing on natural history. One of her personal favorites was Valley of the Smallest: The Life Story of the Shrew, which received the Western Writers of America Spur Award for juvenile non-fiction, was named a Hans Christian Andersen Honor Book, and placed on Horn Book Magazine'''s Best Books of the Year list. It follows the life of an adult masked shrew living, like Fisher, in a valley in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Other award-winning natural history books include Feathered Ones and Furry, illustrated by Eric Carle, and In the Woods, In the Meadow, In the Sky.

Fisher published plays for children, frequently about holidays or with patriotic or historic themes. Some of these were written with other co-writers, including Olive Rabe. They also collaborated on biographies about Emily Dickinson and Louisa May Alcott.

She also collaborated with composer George Lynn by writing lyrics for children's Christmas anthems, a song cycle called "The Ladybug and Her Friends" and a folk opera called "The Violinden Tree".

Critical reception

In 1958, New York Times reviewer Anzia Yezierska said that Fisher "lights the commonplace moment with wonder." According to the Poetry Foundation, her poems are "suffused with curiosity and love for the workings of the natural world." The New York Times Book Review called her "a true poet, no mere light versifier." In I Heard a Bluebird Sing Boyds Mill Press said, "her work is forever fresh and timeless. With a child's heart and a knowing hand, she has honed simple words and ideas into small poetic gems that shine with clarity and sensitivity… This important anthology celebrates the work of one of America's beloved writers for young people."

Fisher's natural history rhyming texts were often well received. Of Going Barefoot, a Kirkus reviewer wrote, "This rhymed text imparts a substantial amount of naturalist information in a pleasant and animated fashion." The factual content of her books was often praised. About All on a Mountain Day, Saturday Review wrote "There is a real feeling for these animals and the part each plays—the hunted and the hunters— in the over-all pattern of nature."

Her historical novels have been called "rich in detail", and "emotionally appealing". The Horn Book said, We Alcotts "Captures the aura of their lives, permits them to speak for themselves, and reveals the humors and rigors of their situation." In Jeanne d'Arc, "The familiar story is beautifully retold for young readers, with just enough historical background and a reverent simplicity." National Council of Teachers of English complimented her "energizing American history prose against a background of place geography and basic information", and goes on to say, "Miss Fisher knows human nature."

Not everyone praised all her works so highly, however. Kirkus reviewed the award-winning Feathered Ones and Furry as a "collection of coy and innocuous little animal rhymes. The verses are technically conventional, with rhythm and rhyme schemes ranging from mildly pleasant to flatly predictable". Again, writing of In the Middle of the Night, in which a little girl celebrates her birthday by taking a special night time walk with her Father, Kirkus said, "The bibliotherapeutic possibilities perhaps outweigh anything that might be said about the poem as poetry".

Selected works

Poetry collections The Coffee-Pot Faces, McBride Company, 1933* Up the Windy Hill: A Book of Merry Verses with Silhouettes, Abelard Press, 1953 My Cat Has Eyes of Sapphire Blue, Crowell, 1973 Feathered Ones and Furry, HarperCollins, 1979* Rabbits, Rabbits, Harper & Row, 1983 Always Wondering": Some Favorite Poems of Aileen Fisher, HarperCollins, 1991 You Don’t Look Like Your Mother, Mondo, 2001 I Heard a Bluebird Singing; Cullinan, Bernice (compiler); Boyds Mills Press; 2002

Natural history All on a Mountain Day Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1956* Going Barefooted, Crowell, 1960^ Summer of Little Rain, Thomas Nelson, 1961* Where Does Everyone Go?, Crowell, 1961^ Listen, Rabbit, T. Y. Crowell, 1964^ In the Woods, In the Meadow, In the Sky, Scribner, 1962 In the Middle of the Night, Crowell, 1965^ Valley of the Smallest: The Life of the Shrew, T. Y. Crowell, 1966^>+# Feathered Ones and Furry, Harper Collins, 1979* Trapped by the Mountain Storm, Rod and Staff Publishers, Inc, 1992 The Story Goes On, Roaring Brook Press, 2005

Fiction A Lantern in the Window, T. Nelson, 1957 Going Barefoot, T. Y. Crowell, 1960 Secret in the Barrel, Scholastic Books, 1965 In the Middle Of The Night, T. Y. Crowell, 1965 Best Little House, T. Y. Crowell, 1966 My Mother and I, T. Y. Crowell, 1967 We Went Looking, T. Y. Crowell, 1968 Clean as a Whistle, T. Y. Crowell, 1969

Other non-fiction Timber!:Logging in Michigan, Aladdin Books, 1955 Skip, Thomas Nelson, 1958 (Scholastic paperback)^ We Dickinsons: The Life of Emily Dickinson as Seen Through the Eyes of Her Brother Austin (with Olive Rabe), Atheneum, 1965* We Alcotts: The Life of Louisa M. Alcott's Family as Seen Through the Eyes of 'Marmee', Mother of Little Women, Atheneum, 1968> Jeanne D'Arc, Crowell, 1970 My First Hanukkah Book, Children's Press, 1985

Plays Holiday Programs for Boys and Girls, Plays, Inc., 1953 Christmas Plays and Programs, Plays, Inc., 1961 Plays About our Nation's Songs, Plays, Inc., 1962 Bicentennial Plays and Programs, Plays, Inc., 1975 Up a Christmas Tree, Plays, Inc., 1978 Blue Ribbon Plays for Girls, Plays, Inc., 1981 Year-Round Programs for Young Players, Plays, Inc., 1985

Other publications Ways of Plants and The Ways of Animals, Bowmar, Inc., 1974 (Both are part of the multimedia Bowmar Nature Series of ten rhyming nature books, cassette recordings of the books, corresponding films and teacher's guides.) The Ways of Plants: And a Sunflower Grew, As the Leaves Fall Down, A Tree with a Thousand Uses, Mysteries in the Garden, Now that Spring is Here, Petals Yellow and Petals Red, Plant Magic, Prize Performance, Seeds on the Go, Swords and Daggers.Ways of Animals: Animal Disguises, Animal Houses, Animal Jackets, Filling the Bill, Going Places, No Accounting for Taste, Now that Days are Colder, Sleepy Heads, Tail Twisters, You Don't Look Like Your Mother. Our Christmas Book, Abingdon Press, 1984 (a collection of fiction, non-fiction, skits and crafts)

Anthologies Cullinan, Bernice (editor); A Jar of Tiny Stars: Poems by NCTE Award-Winning Poets; Wordsong/Boyds Mills; 1996 Hopkins, Lee Bennet (editor); Small Talk: A Short Book of Poems; 1995 Kennedy, Dorothy (editor); I Thought I'd Take My Rat to School; Little, Brown; 1993 Meltzer, Milton (editor); Hour of Freedom; Wordsong/Boyds Mills; 2003 Paladino, Catherine (editor); Land, Sea, and Sky; Little, Brown; 1993 Sampson, Michael (editor); The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry; Simon & Schuster; 2008 Junior Library Guild Selection

^ Annual ALA Notable Books List

> The Horn Book Magazine Best Books of the Year

+ International Board on Books for Young People Honor Book Western Writers of America Spur Award

Learn more Biography – Fisher, Aileen (Lucia) (1906-2002): An Article from: Contemporary Authors, Gale Reference Team (digital)Interview with Aileen Fisher, Copeland, Jeffrey Scott, Speaking of Poets: Interviews with Poets who Write for Children and Young Adults'', vol. 1, National Council of Teachers of English, 1993

Listen to A. Fisher interview at http://www.boulderlibrary.org/oralhistory/, Retrieved 4/22/2012.