The author of ten novels for young readers, Mildred D. Taylor shares pride in her racial heritage and provides historical fiction about life for black Americans in her award-winning series of novels about the fictional Logan family. Such novels do not sugarcoat historical or contemporary realities; instead Taylor presents realistic accounts of growing up black in a white-controlled world. In her acceptance speech for the 1997 Alan Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, Taylor noted: "I have to be honest with myself in the telling of all my stories. I realize I must be true to the feelings of the people about whom I write and true to the stories told. My stories might not be `politically correct,' so there will be those who will be offended, but as we all know, racism is offensive."

As a child, Taylor was regaled with stories of proud, dignified...