David R. Collins – författare

In the 1800s, the moist soil of the Midwest would stick to plow blades, stopping the farmers as they plowed. Young blacksmith John Deere knew about the problem, so he designed and built a self-scouring plow. With this small start, he founded the famous farm implement company Deere & Company and started down the road to success.

E. B. White first recognized the magic in words when he was very young. As a child, some of his happiest hours were spent finding just the right words to describe his feelings and experiences. After graduating from college, he took a job with a new magazine called The New Yorker. The magazine''s readers soon began to look forward to the poetry and essays written by E. B. White. His writing was clear and lively with no wasted words, and it could make people laugh as easily as it could make them cry. In 1936, White and his family moved to a little farm near the coast of Maine, complete with sheep, chickens, and pigs. It was there that E. B. White wrote Charlotte''s Web, perhaps one of the most beloved children''s books ever written.

Tea with a hedgehog and supper with a rabbit? Beatrix Potter entertained guests that most people--certainly Beatrix Potter''s proper Victorian parents--would have thought belonged in a meadow, not in a London nursery. Such unlikely companions were company for lonely Beatrix, and she spent much of her time sketching and making up stories about these small creatures. Beatrix was so well acquainted with the characters of her various animal friends that when she was older it seemed natural to write and illustrate small books about their delightful adventures. Generations of children all over the world have gotten to know and love Beatrix Potter''s animal friends--Benjamin Bunny, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Squirrel Nutkin, Peter Rabbit, and many more. David Collins''s lively text and Karen Ritz''s striking illustrations combine to tell the wonderful tale of this gentle, creative woman who had a special feeling not only for animals, but also for children.

Samuel Clemens grew up in a child''s paradise--Hannibal, Missouri. There, mischief added humor to everyday events as Sam encountered the folks who would one day reappear as Huck Finn, Aunt Polly, and Becky Thatcher in his books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At eighteen, Sam left Hannibal to seek his fortune. He became a newspaperman and story writer. Then, always a restless spirit, he tried his hand as a steamboat pilot (where he took a liking to the riverboat call "mark twain"), a soldier, and a gold prospector. All the while, Sam collected tales to tell on stage and recount in his many books. David Collins invites readers into the fabulously exciting, endlessly entertaining world of "America''s Greatest Humorist"--the beloved Mark Twain.

As a small boy, Charles Dickens worked in a dark, musty London warehouse, pasting labels onto pots of boot polish. He tried not to listen to his grumbling stomach or the rats squeaking on the stairs. His dream was to escape that misery one day and become a fine, educated gentleman. Through his gift for writing, that day did come for Dickens. But he never forgot what it was like to be poor. He wrote stories about London''s lower classes--tales that made people laugh, cry, and work to improve their social conditions. By the time of his death, Charles Dickens had become one of the most popular English writers ever. Step into nineteenth-century London and the life of Charles Dickens in this exciting book. David R. Collins''s exciting biography and David Mataya''s powerful illustrations bring this master storyteller to life.