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Jane Taylor
1783–1824
Best known for the words that became "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," this English writer also built a wider body of poetry and children's writing with her sister Ann. Her work helped shape early 19th-century nursery literature with a mix of warmth, humor, and moral feeling.
3 Audiobooks
Little Ann, and Other Poems
by Ann Taylor, Jane Taylor
Eyes and No Eyes, and Other Stories
by John Aikin, Mrs. (Anna Letitia) Barbauld, Mrs. (Jane Haldimand) Marcet, Jane Taylor
City Scenes; or, a peep into London
by Ann Taylor, Jane Taylor
About the author
Born in London on September 23, 1783, Jane Taylor was an English poet and novelist from a notably creative family. She was the daughter of Isaac Taylor, an engraver and writer, and she grew up in a home where literature, art, and religious thought all mattered.
Taylor is most often remembered for the poem "The Star," whose opening lines later became famous as the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." She also wrote many other poems and stories for young readers, often working with her sister Ann Taylor. Their collection Original Poems for Infant Minds became especially well known and helped define a gentler, more imaginative style of children's literature.
She died on April 13, 1824, at just 40 years old. Even so, her writing has lasted far beyond her lifetime, especially through the simple, memorable verses that generations of children have learned by heart.