Phyllis Reynolds Naylor includes many of her own growing-up experiences in the "Alice" books. She writes for both children and adults and is the author of more than one hundred and twenty-five books, including the "Alice" series, which "Entertainment Weekly" has called "tender" and "wonderful." In 1992 her novel "Shiloh" won the Newbery Medal. She lives with her husband, Rex, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and is the mother of two sons, both grown and married. Visit Phyllis online at alicemckinley.wordpress.com