Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is an American author and journalist. She has been described as prolific (she has written over one hundred books, most of which are for children and young adults) and versatile (she writes picture books, fiction, nonfiction, and instruction books). Her protagonists, or main characters, are strong, honest, determined characters that mature as a result of having prevailed despite adversity. Naylor's books portray her understanding of the trials and tribulations of childhood and adolescence. She writes about serious issues such as mental illness in The Keeper, crib death in A Story of Chances, and difficult moral questions in Shiloh. She also writes humorous mysteries (the Bessledorf series) and books about the supernatural (the York trilogy and the Witch trilogy). Naylor hopes that by writing about sensitive topics and exposing her readers to characters and ideas that are different, she can encourage them to become more open minded.
Naylor was born on January 4, 1933, in Anderson, Indiana, to Eugene S. Reynolds and Lura Schield Reynolds. Her family moved many times during her childhood because her father was a traveling salesman; consequently, Naylor doesn't consider any single place "home." She spent summer vacations with her grandparents. Her paternal grandparents (her father's parents), openly warm and affectionate people, lived in Maryland and her maternal grandparents (her mother's parents), no-nonsense people who reserved hugs for arrivals and departures, lived in Iowa. Naylor's summer visits made an impression on her; she has relied on memories of Maryland and Iowa to create settings and characters for several of her books.
Even though Naylor grew up during the Depression and her family was not well off, she never felt poor. Her family owned a number of good books and she recalls her parents reading aloud to her and her siblings daily until they were adolescents. They read the Bible storybook, Grimm's fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland, all of Mark Twain's books, The Wind in the Willows, and others. During elementary school, Naylor's favorite hobby was to "write" her own books, and by the time she was 16 years old, her first story was published in a church magazine.
