Jane Austen Is My Forever Favorite

Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen
Written by Deborah Hopkinson & Illustrated by Qin Leng
Age Level: 4-8 Years
Published January 23, 2018

Still swooning over Mr. Darcy.

Awash in pretty pastel watercolors and written with an abundance of charm, this biography is the perfect way to introduce young readers to beloved author Jane Austen. 

Growing up in a bustling family with one sister, six brothers, and packs energetic young men attending her father's boarding school, young Jane was constantly surrounded by interesting characters. It was a boisterous environment with lots of entertainment, but in quiet moments, Jane liked to retreat to her father's library, which contained over five hundred books! It sounds inevitable that Jane would become a writer, one known for her keen observations about society, except that during the time in which she lived that was definitely not a given. Fortunately for Jane, she had talent, drive, and a father who encouraged her writing, all of which contributed to her eventual success. 

“But Jane wanted her books to hold up a mirror to the ordinary world so readers could recognize (and laugh at) themselves.”

Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen describes young Jane's upbringing with the same wit and flourish for storytelling characteristic of Austen herself. Her childhood is presented as whimsical and enchanting, and while there is an adorable femininity about the story and its dollhouse-like illustrations, it's balanced by the unmistakable boldness and commitment to her craft that young Jane possessed.