Monica Hughes is considered by many to be one of Canada's finest writers for children and young adults. Opening the door into other worlds through her many popular works of science fiction, Hughes has also received critical praise and recognition for novels whose plots are grounded here on earth, using both historical and contemporary themes as her subjects. Claiming her as "Canada's finest writer of science fiction for children," critic Sarah Ellis wrote of Hughes in Horn Book: "There is a gentleness to her books that is rare in science fiction. The hairsbreadth escapes, the exotic flora and fauna, the humanoids, the vast intergalactic reaches, the villains and the heroes--all are enclosed in one overriding concern, subtle but ever-present: the value of kindness."

Hughes was born in Liverpool, England, on November 3, 1925, but moved with her family to Egypt shortly after her birth. Her father, a professor of mathematics...