Just as authors create books, books create authors — and these essays by thirty-one writers for young people offer a fascinating glimpse at the books that inspired them the most.

What if you could look inside your favorite authors’ heads and see the book that led them to become who they are today? What was the book that made them fall in love, or made them understand something for the first time? What was the book that made them feel challenged in ways they never knew they could be, emotionally, intellectually, or politically? What book made them readers, or made them writers, or made them laugh, think, or cry? Join thirty-one top children’s and young adult authors as they explore the books, stories, and experiences that changed them as readers — for good. Pencil drawings by Shaun Tan as well as photographs of the authors when they were young are visually engaging...this will likely be a favorite for those wanting a glimpse into the secret world of writers as well as a handy resource for book reports. Candid and inspirational.
—Kirkus Reviews

A good discussion starter among readers, this volume will intrigue many fans of children’s and young-adult books.
—Booklist

Ridge asked thirty-two authors (mostly from Australia and New Zealand) about the books that influenced them, and the responses are engagingly varied...Cartoons by Shaun Tan punctuate the collection with answers (often characteristically bizarre) to the question “Why do you read?” from imaginary people and creatures drawn by Tan.
—The Horn Book

Impassioned and intimate, these essays create an eloquent ode to the power of story.
—Publishers Weekly

Many of the selections would work well as a classroom read-aloud...Inspirational and handy. Consider for narrative nonfiction high school collections.
—School Library Journal

The book’s best audience is potential writers curious about other cultures.
—VOYA