Lynne Reid Banks has written about a number of complex subjects--single parenthood, the Middle East, Zionism--but she is best known to young audiences for her imaginative stories like The Indian in the Cupboard, The Adventures of King Midas, and The Fairy Rebel. Many of Reid Banks's titles for younger readers, such as the "Indian" books, feature magic as a central theme. Teen readers are attracted to works such as The Writing on the Wall, in which Reid Banks deals with typical teenage problems such as dating and family relationships.

Born in London in 1929, Reid Banks had her childhood interrupted by World War II, during which she and her mother were evacuated to Saskatchewan, Canada, for five years. "Since my mother was evacuated with me, I was very happy, and though we were poor, I hardly noticed it, except that I couldn't have trendy clothes," the author once noted...