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Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors
Our childhood experiences shape us into the adults we become. Born to Write tells the stories of how six extraordinary children transformed early struggles into spellbinding bedtime reading for kids around the world. To ease the pain of being ostracized by her classmates, Madeleine L’Engle escaped to an invented world every night in her bedroom. Lucy Maud Montgomery lost her mother as a baby and her father appeared only sporadically throughout her life. And Philip Pullman, a seasoned traveler by age 10, used his long journeys by ship as inspiration for his remarkable novels. In Born to Write, Charis Cotter chronicles the early lives of these and other much-loved children’s writers, including Christopher Paul Curtis, C.S. Lewis and E.B.White, revealing how each author’s achievements and losses, triumphs and tragedies, helped shape our most beloved books. Interspersed throughout are sidebars highlighting other well-known children’s authors, such as Hans Christian Andersen and Louisa May Alcott, whose works served as inspiration.
- GenresBiography
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Charis Cotter
14 books147 followersCharis Cotter is a writer, editor and storyteller living in Newfoundland. She grew up in Cabbagetown and Parkdale in downtown Toronto. After taking a degree in English at Glendon College, York University, she went on to study acting at The Drama Studio in London, England. After several years as an actor, she moved into publishing, where she has been working as a freelance editor and writer for more than 20 years.
In 2005 Charis won the Heritage Toronto Award of Excellence for her book, Toronto Between the Wars: Life in the City 1919–1939. Since then she has written several critically acclaimed children’s books, including a series of biographies about extraordinary children and an illustrated book about international ghosts. Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors was a finalist for the 2010 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-fiction.
Charis first toured schools as an actor in a Young People’s Theatre production of W. O. Mitchell’s "Jake and the Kid." Her favourite part of the show was interacting with the students during the question period after the play. Today Charis is known for her lively school presentations, based on her books. She has toured Canada from coast to coast, entertaining children with her alter egos: Queen Elizabeth II (complete with gown, crown and royal attitude) and the Scottish Silky Ghost, who dusts everything in sight, including children. Her fascination with ghosts has led her to many far corners of Newfoundland, looking for ghost stories.
In 2013 Charis founded her own publishing company, Baccalieu Books, to publish The Ghosts of Baccalieu. She created this book with the students from Tricon Elementary School in Bay de Verde, with funding from ArtsSmarts.* Students contributed drawings and traditional ghost stories collected from the community. Charis has sold The Ghosts of Baccalieu to libraries, bookstores and the general public, with a portion of the revenue going back to Tricon Elementary.
Charis continues to do ghost storytelling workshops at schools, community centres and book festivals. She reviews children’s books for the National Reading Campaign, Quill and Quire and The Canadian Children’s Book News.
The Swallow: A Ghost Story, was published by Tundra Books (Random House) in September 2014. This spooky gothic novel, set in Cabbagetown, Toronto, in the 1960s, is partially based on Charis’s childhood experiences living behind a cemetery. The German translation rights have been purchased by cbjVerlag/Random House Germany, who will publish it as Das Unsichtbare Mädchen (The Invisible Girl). The school presentation for The Swallow features a theatrical performance of an excerpt from the book and a ghost-story writing workshop.
*ArtsSmarts is sponsored by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council and the Department of Education through the Cultural Connections Strategy.
In 2005 Charis won the Heritage Toronto Award of Excellence for her book, Toronto Between the Wars: Life in the City 1919–1939. Since then she has written several critically acclaimed children’s books, including a series of biographies about extraordinary children and an illustrated book about international ghosts. Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors was a finalist for the 2010 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-fiction.
Charis first toured schools as an actor in a Young People’s Theatre production of W. O. Mitchell’s "Jake and the Kid." Her favourite part of the show was interacting with the students during the question period after the play. Today Charis is known for her lively school presentations, based on her books. She has toured Canada from coast to coast, entertaining children with her alter egos: Queen Elizabeth II (complete with gown, crown and royal attitude) and the Scottish Silky Ghost, who dusts everything in sight, including children. Her fascination with ghosts has led her to many far corners of Newfoundland, looking for ghost stories.
In 2013 Charis founded her own publishing company, Baccalieu Books, to publish The Ghosts of Baccalieu. She created this book with the students from Tricon Elementary School in Bay de Verde, with funding from ArtsSmarts.* Students contributed drawings and traditional ghost stories collected from the community. Charis has sold The Ghosts of Baccalieu to libraries, bookstores and the general public, with a portion of the revenue going back to Tricon Elementary.
Charis continues to do ghost storytelling workshops at schools, community centres and book festivals. She reviews children’s books for the National Reading Campaign, Quill and Quire and The Canadian Children’s Book News.
The Swallow: A Ghost Story, was published by Tundra Books (Random House) in September 2014. This spooky gothic novel, set in Cabbagetown, Toronto, in the 1960s, is partially based on Charis’s childhood experiences living behind a cemetery. The German translation rights have been purchased by cbjVerlag/Random House Germany, who will publish it as Das Unsichtbare Mädchen (The Invisible Girl). The school presentation for The Swallow features a theatrical performance of an excerpt from the book and a ghost-story writing workshop.
*ArtsSmarts is sponsored by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council and the Department of Education through the Cultural Connections Strategy.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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April 10, 2012This is a delightful look at six well-known authors providing insights into the childhoods that shaped and modeled these writers.
An only child from an affluent background, Newbery winner, well-known author of A Wrinkle in Time series, Madeline L'Engle was very lonely. Her parents were consumed with entertaining and societal trappings. Shuffled from one prestigious boarding school - another, books were her steady companion and mode of escape. Winning a writing contest in sixth grade, she was accused of copying the poem. Deemed as "too stupid" to write the poem herself, her parents had to show her works to prove her precociousness.
A constant worrier, E.B. White found solace in the love of animals. At eight years of age, hiding out in the stables with the horses, he taught himself to write by sounding out words in newspapers.
Charlotte's Web is indeed a story of the power of words. The words Charlotte uses save Wilbur the pig's life.
One of my favorite authors, Christopher Paul Curtis loved the smell of old libraries and books. Finding peace and comfort in libraries, he escaped there whenever life was too hectic.
As an adult, his first book was written at the table of a library.
A lonely childhood and a vivid imagination served C.S. (Jack) Lewis well. Dreaming of a lion became the springboard for his wonderful series The Chronicles of Narnia.
Lucy Maud Montgomery had a difficult childhood. When her mother died when she was only two. Her father abandoned her to grandparents, who, while they provided a comfortable life, were much older and too strict to relate to her.
Years later, reunited with her father, she had a very evil stepmother. Using her life as a reference, she is best known for her book Anne of Green Gables.
Philip Pulllman's inspiration for The Golden Compass was an uprooted childhood wherein his family moved frequently and his life did not feel settled.
Highly recommended.
An only child from an affluent background, Newbery winner, well-known author of A Wrinkle in Time series, Madeline L'Engle was very lonely. Her parents were consumed with entertaining and societal trappings. Shuffled from one prestigious boarding school - another, books were her steady companion and mode of escape. Winning a writing contest in sixth grade, she was accused of copying the poem. Deemed as "too stupid" to write the poem herself, her parents had to show her works to prove her precociousness.
A constant worrier, E.B. White found solace in the love of animals. At eight years of age, hiding out in the stables with the horses, he taught himself to write by sounding out words in newspapers.
Charlotte's Web is indeed a story of the power of words. The words Charlotte uses save Wilbur the pig's life.
One of my favorite authors, Christopher Paul Curtis loved the smell of old libraries and books. Finding peace and comfort in libraries, he escaped there whenever life was too hectic.
As an adult, his first book was written at the table of a library.
A lonely childhood and a vivid imagination served C.S. (Jack) Lewis well. Dreaming of a lion became the springboard for his wonderful series The Chronicles of Narnia.
Lucy Maud Montgomery had a difficult childhood. When her mother died when she was only two. Her father abandoned her to grandparents, who, while they provided a comfortable life, were much older and too strict to relate to her.
Years later, reunited with her father, she had a very evil stepmother. Using her life as a reference, she is best known for her book Anne of Green Gables.
Philip Pulllman's inspiration for The Golden Compass was an uprooted childhood wherein his family moved frequently and his life did not feel settled.
Highly recommended.
May 13, 2023
I was thrilled to randomly find this book by Charis Cotter at my local library while browsing in the children's section. There are always treasures.
I knew most of what was written about Lucy Maud Montgomery of Anne of Green Gables fame, but nothing about the early life and influences of Christopher Paul Curtis author of The Watsons go to Birmingham which I read years ago and loved.
Also included in this wonderfully researched book are the author E.B. White, C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle and Philip Pullman. All authors I greatly admire.
What sad childhoods they had. But oh how they made the very best of things.
I knew most of what was written about Lucy Maud Montgomery of Anne of Green Gables fame, but nothing about the early life and influences of Christopher Paul Curtis author of The Watsons go to Birmingham which I read years ago and loved.
Also included in this wonderfully researched book are the author E.B. White, C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle and Philip Pullman. All authors I greatly admire.
What sad childhoods they had. But oh how they made the very best of things.
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February 7, 2012Reviewed by Sara A. Spencer
Have you ever wondered why writers write? Which writers, as children, “liked to sneak out the window at night to play?”
Charis Cotter’s Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors is muchan enticing mix of book excerpts, family and life history and literary background of six influential authors: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Clive Staples Lewis, Elwyn Brooks White, Madeleine L’Engle, Phillip Pullman and Christopher Paul Curtis.
The layout of Born to Write is appealing and accessible to students in Grades 5 and older, as each of the six chapters are minibiographies. Each section includes background facts, book excerpts, archival and present day photos with fact boxes. Cotter researched further to expose the similarities between a wide variety of authors. The resulting ‘Echoes’ sidebars highlight comparable details of the authors’ life and their books in a fun way – for example, “Madeleine L’Engle and Christopher Paul Curtis both enjoyed the smell of books.” Cotter details how vivid childhood experiences, both joyous and tragic, truly affect the authors’ decisions later in their adult life, whether it is in their writing, or a life-altering decision.
This book is ideal for expanding a young reader’s knowledge of an author’s life history and their writing influences or introducing an unfamiliar author and encouraging a student to read any of the six authors’ books. A selected bibliography guides young readers to other resources detailing the writers’ lives. To learn more about Charis Cotter, visit her website at www.chariscotter.com.
Canadian Children's Book News (Winter 2010, Vol. 33, No. 1)
Have you ever wondered why writers write? Which writers, as children, “liked to sneak out the window at night to play?”
Charis Cotter’s Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors is muchan enticing mix of book excerpts, family and life history and literary background of six influential authors: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Clive Staples Lewis, Elwyn Brooks White, Madeleine L’Engle, Phillip Pullman and Christopher Paul Curtis.
The layout of Born to Write is appealing and accessible to students in Grades 5 and older, as each of the six chapters are minibiographies. Each section includes background facts, book excerpts, archival and present day photos with fact boxes. Cotter researched further to expose the similarities between a wide variety of authors. The resulting ‘Echoes’ sidebars highlight comparable details of the authors’ life and their books in a fun way – for example, “Madeleine L’Engle and Christopher Paul Curtis both enjoyed the smell of books.” Cotter details how vivid childhood experiences, both joyous and tragic, truly affect the authors’ decisions later in their adult life, whether it is in their writing, or a life-altering decision.
This book is ideal for expanding a young reader’s knowledge of an author’s life history and their writing influences or introducing an unfamiliar author and encouraging a student to read any of the six authors’ books. A selected bibliography guides young readers to other resources detailing the writers’ lives. To learn more about Charis Cotter, visit her website at www.chariscotter.com.
Canadian Children's Book News (Winter 2010, Vol. 33, No. 1)
January 3, 2012
bios of CSL, L'Engle, LM Montgomery, EB White, Pullman and Christopher Paul Curtis, w/short bios of Alcott, E Nesbit and Hans Christian Andersen.
i want to own this book. its two weeks overdue and i don't want to let it go.
these are specifically centered on the author's chidhood and young adult years, and links to one another abound. death was common to most of them, some were were troubled by irrational fears, others had hellish boarding school experiences, some read comic books (someone from DC should see about getting Pullman and Curtis to write Batman stories)and most were influenced by the chuch.
the only knock i have against this book is no websites are listed in the "further reading" section, normaly i consider this a good thing, but there are some wonderful sites that could be linked (ie. Mad. L'Engle's home page). and v. trivally, the pub where CSL and Tolkien met is shown, but the name of their writing group, the Inklings, isn't named. and there are great recordings of at least some of the authors, CSL, L'engle and i imagine most of the others, links/titles to those would have been helpful. but i guess i do have to go the library anyway...
i want to own this book. its two weeks overdue and i don't want to let it go.
these are specifically centered on the author's chidhood and young adult years, and links to one another abound. death was common to most of them, some were were troubled by irrational fears, others had hellish boarding school experiences, some read comic books (someone from DC should see about getting Pullman and Curtis to write Batman stories)and most were influenced by the chuch.
the only knock i have against this book is no websites are listed in the "further reading" section, normaly i consider this a good thing, but there are some wonderful sites that could be linked (ie. Mad. L'Engle's home page). and v. trivally, the pub where CSL and Tolkien met is shown, but the name of their writing group, the Inklings, isn't named. and there are great recordings of at least some of the authors, CSL, L'engle and i imagine most of the others, links/titles to those would have been helpful. but i guess i do have to go the library anyway...
February 17, 2014
For children who like to write as well as read, this book provides a look into the early years of some favorite children’s authors including C. S. Lewis, E. B. White, and Madeline L'Engle. Many faced the troubles of constant moving, terrible boarding schools and extreme shyness. All of them overcame these battles and incorporated their experiences into their novels. With side notes and story examples this book provides the motivation to put words to page. Ages 10 and up.
February 21, 2011
A wonderful synopsis of the lives of six authors, highlighting how they wrote their life experiences into their famous works. Pictoral layout and additional asides help to give readers a fuller understanding. The authors: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Clive Staples Lewis, Elwyn Brooks White, Madeleine L'Engle, Philip Pullman, and Christopher Paul Curtis. Recommended for aspiring writers aged 10-15.
April 16, 2016
This book is a great, comprehensive guide to the lives of a few famous authors. If you like reading and/or writing and want to know behind the scenes info about some of the 20th century's best authors, this book is for you.
January 26, 2016
Biographies of several favorite children's writers, including one of my favorites Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews