An award-winning author of novels for children and young adults, Betty Levin places her stories in both realistic and fantasy settings. Frequently she uses a modern-day location as a point from which to move her characters back in time to the world of ancient myths or actual historical events. Levin is also an animal lover, a fact that influences her tales, which often feature animals. The writer is noted for complicated plots involving young people who embark on a strange adventure only to find themselves in the middle of a mystery. As they try to find a solution they learn lessons about life, in the end reaching a new level of maturity.

Similarly, Levin's novels have taken on new dimensions since she published her first book in 1973. Adele M. Fasick observed in Twentieth- Century Children's Writers that "Levin's work grows in strength and scope with each book. . . ." Fasick...