January 16, 2017
In a volume originally published in Australia, Ridge asked more than 30 writers (including Ted Dawe, Ursula Dubosarsky, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Jaclyn Moriarty, Mal Peet, and Markus Zusak) to share the book that “made them readers, made them writers—made them the person they are today.” Mandy Hager quotes George Orwell on the importance of “political purpose” as a motivation for his writing, while explaining how 1984 outraged and galvanized her “to make change for the better in my world.”
Fiona Wood calls on the words of L.M. Montgomery’s characters in Anne of Green Gables to delineate eight “extremely useful things” she learned from that novel, including “Daydreaming is good for you” and “Feminism will save you.” Photos of the authors as children lend another personal touch to the essays, and Shaun Tan intersperses entertaining cartoons of “random strangers” answering the question, “Why do you read?” (“I like urban paranormal Victorian steampunk speculative romance. A lot more than your dumb questions,” snarks a young respondent). Impassioned and intimate, these essays create an eloquent ode to the power of story. Ages 14–up.

February 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-A compilation of 32 pieces by various well-known YA authors about the books that inspired them to become writers. Ridge states that as a child growing up in Australia in the 1970s, she often wondered what stimulated her author idols to create stories: thus, this compendium of essays. The entries are deeply personal and are often accompanied by a photo of the subject from childhood. Readers will recognize such names as Markus Zusak, who loved S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, and Shaun Tan, who read George Orwell's Animal Farm at an early age. The majority of the titles discussed are YA, more classic than contemporary, making this a great fit for high school readers. Educators could easily incorporate this volume into units on creative writing or use it as an accompaniment to a lesson on one of the featured authors or books. Many of the selections would work well as a classroom read-aloud. However, bits of Australian slang do appear throughout, which may be difficult for some readers to decipher.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2017
Familiar children's and teen authors reminisce about the books that set them on their paths toward becoming writers.For Simmone Howell, books were a road map for how to find romance. For Benjamin Law, they were the assurance that humor is buried in even the most tragic situations. For Brigid Lowry, stories were an escape from her chaotic and sometimes-tragic life. Whether inspired by classics like Dr. Seuss, Tolkien, or Dahl or paperback favorites penned by Francine Pascal or V.C. Andrews, authors talk candidly about their love of stories and how they changed their lives. Young would-be authors, ardent bibliophiles, and fans of autobiographies will enjoy the intimate look at the many paths that lead to writing as well as the many ways stories affect readers. While the list of authors leans heavily toward Australians and New Zealanders (editor Ridge is Australian), creators such as Shaun Tan and Markus Zusak are known worldwide. Pencil drawings by Tan as well as photographs of the authors when they were young are visually engaging. Short biographies are included, giving further background on each author. Somewhat limited in its appeal, this will likely be a favorite for those wanting a glimpse into the secret world of writers as well as a handy resource for book reports. Candid and inspirational. (Nonfiction. 14 & up)

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February 1, 2017
Grades 7-10 In this unusual anthology, 31 writers reflect on the books that made them as readers and as writers. The authors of these short personal essays hail mainly from Australia, with a few from New Zealand and England. Contributors include Markus Zusak, Kate Constable, Alison Croggon, and Mal Peet, though authors less well known in North America contributed several of the liveliest and most absorbing chapters. Illustrations include a photo of each writer as a child or teen, as well as many cartoonlike drawings by Tan, whose essay discusses artists as well as authors as influences. The chapters vary in length and approach, with many writers discussing multiple pivotal books, and one, Will Kostakis, telling the story of how an assignment to read Gary Paulsen's Hatchet (1987) made him a writer, even though he only read about six pages. The handy Books Mentioned in the Collection index offers a fine way to discover kindred spirits among authors. A good discussion starter among readers, this volume will intrigue many fans of children's and young adult books.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2017
Ridge asked thirty-two authors (mostly from Australia and New Zealand) about the books that influenced them, and the responses are engagingly varied. Randa Abdel-Fattah discovered from reading Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi that not all Aussie main characters had to be blond and blue-eyed; reading The Book Thief, narrated by Death, taught Sue McPherson that the rules of writing could be broken. The essayssome personal reflections and some more academic in toneare at their strongest when they focus on ideas gleaned from one particular book or genre, but even contributors who couldn't resist discussing a wider range of books give interesting insights into how reading can shape people's ways of thinking. The collection is punctuated by a series of (often characteristically bizarre) cartoons by Shaun Tan in which various humans and creatures answer the implied question Why do you read? Extensive back matter includes contributor bios and lists of the books and authors mentioned. shoshana flax

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2016
The Book that Made Me is a collection of mini-essays by 32 authors, many of them children’s and YA authors and most Australian or New Zealanders. The authors were asked to write about a book that had a formative influence on who they had become as writers or people. As in any anthology, some of the essays are stronger than others. Some personal highlights were Randa Abdel-Fattah’s teenage discovery of a heroine like herself in Looking for Alibrandi, Jaclyn Moriarty’s discovery of a model for her own frightening childhood rage in the heroine of The Magic Finger, and Queenie Chan’s hybrid essay/graphic novel about her introduction to the manga Black Jack. As an anthology, The Book that Made Me is a little too diffuse to work as well as it could. The essays are so different in tone, content and structure (there are personal narratives, broad surveys of influential childhood authors, earnest recommendations of books or life philosophies, a listicle and a poem, among other things), and they are so short and numerous that the reading experience is quite a stop-start one. The target demographic is also not very clear. The book might appeal most to adult readers who remember the children’s and YA classics of the seventies, eighties and nineties. It might also speak to aspiring teen writers. Jarrah Moore is a primary literacy editor at Cengage Learning Australia