Kid Authors

Funny and totally true childhood biographies and full-color illustrations tell the tales from the growing-up years of Beverly Cleary, J. R. R. Tolkien, and 13 other great writers.
 
Every great author started out as a kid. Before the best sellers, fan clubs, and beloved stories we know today, the world's most celebrated writers had regular-kid problems just like you. 

• Sam Clemens (aka Mark Twain) loved to skip school and make mischief, with his best friend Tom, of course! 
• A young J. R. R. Tolkien was bitten by a huge tarantula—or as he called it, “a spider as big as a dragon.” 
• Toddler Zora Neale Hurston took her first steps when a wild hog entered her house and started chasing her!