"Children's taste is not the same as adults'," wrote Jan Needle in his autobiographical essay in Something about the Author Autobiography Series (SAAS). "That which adults prescribe for children is not necessarily going to do them any 'good,' nor is it what they really 'need,' nor indeed, will they even read it. If I have a mission as a children's writer, that could be it: Listen to the children." Needle has made a name for himself by writing tough-minded, sometimes controversial books that examine real-life issues such as violence, racism, and poverty.

As a child, Needle lived with his family in a comfortable home in a nice suburb of Portsmouth, England. His father gave it all up, however, to become a farmer in the north of Wales. The first winter there was a harsh one, though, and it nearly bankrupted the family. They returned to Portsmouth...