Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in 1933 in Anderson, Indiana, growing up during the Great Depression. Her parents shared theatrical read alouds with Naylor and her siblings every evening, well until her teen years. These shared stories, from Mark Twain to Lewis Carroll, are among Naylor's deepest and happiest memories - and inspired her to write her own short stories, beginning as a very young girl. When she was 16 years old, a Sunday school teacher asked her to write a story for the church magazine. This story, called Mike's Hero, was published and Naylor received all of $4.67 for her work. Naylor continued to write short stories and articles until she discovered a preference for the novel where she can really dig into the characters, narrative, and sense of place.