Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch Non-Fiction Nominee, 2010
Rocky Mountain Book Award Shortlist, 2012
Young readers may be amazed to learn that Canada's bestselling author (30 million books so far) started off in Pennsylvania and struggled in school. A solitary daydreamer, raised in a large, boisterous family, he found solace in books at an early age. Considered a slow learner by the nuns who taught him, his creative gifts were eventually recognized by a sympathetic librarian who encouraged him to keep reading.