From her childhood in China to the moment she won her first National Book Award, literary icon Katherine Paterson shares the personal stories that inspired her children’s books.

Told with her trademark humor and heart, Paterson’s life stories tell tales from her childhood growing up with missionaries, to living as a single woman in Japan, to raising four children in suburban Maryland with her minister husband. Read about the origins of some of her most beloved characters, go behind the scenes to the moments Katherine found out she won her many awards, and more. Filled with personal photos and letters, this is funny, heartwarming history from a legendary name in the field of children’s books.

* “What absolutely shines through is Paterson’s warm, self-effacing humor, and extraordinary humility. . . . Like Mark Twain, to whom she is distantly related, Paterson is a true American treasure.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
“Honest, flecked with good humor, and heartrending.”—The Horn Book
 
“A gift for Paterson fans.”—Booklist