Zilpha Keatley Snyder, bom on May 11, 1927, in Lemoore, California, has spent most of her life in her native state. Growing up before the age of television, traveling infrequently, and watching few movies, the young Snyder depended on books for entertainment. A nearby library provided an inexhaustible supply of magic, adventure, and excitement. Snyder decided at the age of eight to become a writer, but many years passed before the publication of her first book, Season of Ponies.

Before her success as a writer, Snyder attended college, married, had children, and taught school in Berkeley, California, for nine years. Her former students have inspired many of Snyder's characters and plots, as have her own Below the Root, 1975 And All Between, 1975 Until the Celebration, 1977 The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case, 1979 A Fabulous Creature, 1981 Come On, Patsy, 1982 The Birds of Summer, 1983 Blair's Nightmare, 1984 And Condors Danced, 1987 experiences, family...