This is a delightful look at six well-known authors providing insights into the childhoods that shaped and modeled these writers.

An only child from an affluent background, Newbery winner, well-known author of A Wrinkle in Time series, Madeline L'Engle was very lonely. Her parents were consumed with entertaining and societal trappings. Shuffled from one prestigious boarding school - another, books were her steady companion and mode of escape. Winning a writing contest in sixth grade, she was accused of copying the poem. Deemed as "too stupid" to write the poem herself, her parents had to show her works to prove her precociousness.

A constant worrier, E.B. White found solace in the love of animals. At eight years of age, hiding out in the stables with the horses, he taught himself to write by sounding out words in newspapers.

Charlotte's Web is indeed a story of the power of words. The words Charlotte uses save Wilbur the pig's life.

One of my favorite authors, Christopher Paul Curtis loved the smell of old libraries and books. Finding peace and comfort in libraries, he escaped there whenever life was too hectic.

As an adult, his first book was written at the table of a library.

A lonely childhood and a vivid imagination served C.S. (Jack) Lewis well. Dreaming of a lion became the springboard for his wonderful series The Chronicles of Narnia.

Lucy Maud Montgomery had a difficult childhood. When her mother died when she was only two. Her father abandoned her to grandparents, who, while they provided a comfortable life, were much older and too strict to relate to her.

Years later, reunited with her father, she had a very evil stepmother. Using her life as a reference, she is best known for her book Anne of Green Gables.

Philip Pulllman's inspiration for The Golden Compass was an uprooted childhood wherein his family moved frequently and his life did not feel settled.

Highly recommended.