Kid authors True tales of childhood from famous writers

Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 4--7--Famous adults have one thing in common--they were all kids struggling with many of the same problems as kids today: bullying, poverty, racism, sickness, hunger, and fractured families. The "Kid Legends Series" provides very relatable childhood anecdotes on a diverse selection of now famous people. Each title in the series includes a few well-known and well-documented legends, yet many lesser known (though equally as deserving) people are also highlighted through concise, biographical snippets. Kid Artists covers Emily Carr, Louise Nevelson, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Frida Kahlo. Kid Authors includes Sherman Alexie, Zora Neale Hurston, Stan Lee, and Jules Verne. Kid Scientists covers, among others, Vera Rubin, Rachel Carson, Temple Grandin, and Rosalind Franklin, while Kid Activists covers Iqbal Masih, Harvey Milk, Dolores Huerta, and Emma Watson. The humorous illustrations in print editions are notably absent, but the superb narration of Pete Cross secures readers attention in a learning-but-don't-know-it kind of way. VERDICT Each well-written title in the "Kid Legends Series" is authentic in its vision of inspiring young readers to not only shoot for the stars but to dream big and lasso a whole galaxy.--Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Sch. Dist., OH

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Stabler spins tales of influential experiences, challenges, and people from the childhoods of an odd assortment of famous authors, from Zora Neale Hurston to Jeff Kinney. Even if some of these anecdotes feel apocryphal, the stories are first and foremost entertaining, and Horner's goofy comics-style illustrations match the humorous tone. "Fun Facts About Other Famous Writers" are appended. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Sixteen young authors-to-be face challenges ranging from bullies to a really big spider in this series' fourth entry.All write, wrote, or have written for young audiences. The spider, an aptly named Hercules baboon tarantula, bit "Ronald" Tolkien during a family stay in South Africa; bullies improbably met their matches in Charles "Lewis Carroll" Dodgson and Edgar Allen Poe; others struggled with shyness (J.K. Rowling), parental death or abandonment (Zora Neale Hurston, Mark Twain, Lucy Maud Montgomery), birth defects (Sherman Alexie), poverty (several), racial prejudice (Langston Hughes), and other obstacles. The pseudonymous Stabler also points to important early influences, from an indomitable grandmother on Hughes to comics and comic strips on Stan Lee and Jeff Kinney, as well as at watershed moments such as Beverly Cleary's epiphanic discovery in third grade that reading is fun and literary kickoffs like 7-year-old Jo Rowling's "The Seven Cursed Diamonds." Broadly read preteens will recognize the names and have no trouble connecting these observations and select incidents with each writer's best known works. Horner supplies mildly comical caricatures and gags on nearly every page: "No more flies. Today I dine on human flesh!" exclaims that tarantula, leaping at a bug-eyed future fantasist. Brief anecdotes about 28 more writers bring up the rear. Lively glimpses of formative moments and budding talents. (index and bibliography not seen) (Collective biography. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Everybody loves a good story--and we all know that a well-told story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is a book about how the stories of sixteen famous authors began.      Some of them knew from very early on that they were going to be writers. Edgar Allan Poe, the legendary author of "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart," used to recite poetry and dress up as a ghost to frighten grown-ups at parties.      And the poet Langston Hughes spent hours in his local library, reading collections of mythology, verse, and African American history.      Other kid authors had to overcome obstacles on the road to success. Laura Ingalls Wilder, the writer of  Little House on the Prairie , grew up on the frontier, where she faced harsh winters and attacks by locusts.      And then there is J. K. Rowling. Long before she wrote the best-selling Harry Potter novels, she was just another kid in middle school trying to make decent grades and fend off bullies. Believe it or not, she often found herself getting into fights! She took comfort in writing stories about feisty heroines who fought back against evil villains.      And finally we have Jeff Kinney, whose most formidable foes were his three siblings. Every morning, Jeff and his siblings found themselves in a heated competition to determine who would use the bathroom first. Jeff took the "wimpy moments" of his childhood and turned them into Diary of a Wimpy Kid , one of the most successful children's book series of all time.      We all have a story to tell, and whether or not you grow up to become a great writer, all those stories start in the same place: childhood. Some kids are born storytellers, others learned to take their unique experiences and turn them into tales that would entertain and inspire. We know how their stories ended, but how much do you really know about how their stories began ? We're going back to the beginning to find out! Excerpted from Kid Authors: True Tales of Childhood from Great Writers by David Stabler All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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