Jane Austen (Who Wrote That?)

With her witty depictions of English country life, Austen's works continue to appeal to modern day audiences. Austen's feisty heroines struggle to navigate the choppy waters of life, love, class structure, and human behavior in books like Emma and Pride and Prejudice.

Gary Soto (Who Wrote That?)

Growing up poor in the barrios of Fresno, California, Gary Soto found it nearly impossible to imagine a better life for himself. Yet this child of farm workers was able to escape his life of poverty and despair to become a popular and versatile author. His work, ranging from poetry, fiction, and autobiographical essays for adults to novels, short stories, poetry, and picture books for young readers, explores what it is like to grow up as a Mexican American in the United States. "Gary Soto" is the inspirational biography...

Gary Paulsen (Who Wrote That?)

A biography of an author whose varied experiences provided background for many of his adventure stories, historical novels, sports books, and nature stories.

Gary Paulsen has used his adventurous life to enrich his writing for young children. Experiences such as living in the Philippines after World War II, joining a traveling carnival, and racing in the Iditarod have found their way into his novels. Paulsen is a passionate writer, and his book Hatchet won the Newbery Award.

Gail Carson Levine (Who Wrote That?)

Gail Carson Levine’s first published novel, Ella Enchanted, won a Newbery Honor, became a bestseller, and was the basis for a popular movie. A retelling of the classic Cinderella tale, Ella Enchanted was only the beginning for Levine. She has written nine more books and is still going strong. But Levine’s road to success was not easy. She wrote dozens of books and took many writing classes before her work was ever published. Gail Carson Levine is a well-crafted and colorfully illustrated biography...

Ernest J. Gaines (Who Wrote That?)

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, recipient of the National Humanities Medal, and author of the classic The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ernest J. Gaines is one of America's most respected authors. But when he was a young boy, the possibility of having such a career would have been nearly unimaginable. Gaines was the son of African-American sharecroppers whose family had worked on the same Louisiana plantation since slavery.Yet, Gaines somehow carved out a career as an acclaimed writer.