Part one: It's not easy being a kid. J.R.R. Tolkien meets a baboon tarantula -- J.K. Rowling, a storybook life -- Edgar Allan Poe, little orphan Edgar -- Sherman Alexie, off the reservation -- Lewis Carroll, one tough nerd -- Laura Ingalls Wilder, heart of a pioneer -- Part two: All in the family. Zora Neale Hurston, jumping at the sun -- Mark Twain, bad boy makes good -- Langston Hughes, history lessons -- Jules Verne, castaway for a day -- Part three: Write stuff. Roald Dahl, the boy who loved candy -- Stan Lee, the incredible reader -- Beverly Cleary, flight of the blackbird -- Lucy Maud Montgomery, the adventures of story girl -- Jeff Kinney, stuck in the middle -- Fun facts about famous authors.