Milton Meltzer was born May 8, 1915 in Worcester, Massachusetts into a poor, hard-working Jewish family. His grandparents came from Europe, and his family life reflected the emigrant experience of America. In his 1988 memoir, Starting From Home, Meltzer writes with obvious affection of his family, of his childhood experiences, of some of his inspirational teachers and of his early years in Worcester where he graduated from high school.

Always an excellent student, Meltzer learned to read early in his life. He devoured books, though he could not afford to buy them. He haunted the library and traded series books with friends. Like many readers it was from the pages of books that he gathered his early heroes: from the Horatio Alger books, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and The Arabian Nights and Gulliver's Travels. Eventually, Meltzer happened across such works as Walden by Henry David...