Author Nancy Farmer spent from 1972 to 1988 living in the African nations of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. She has drawn upon her varied experiences there for the inspiration for several critically acclaimed story books and a picture book for young people. "I'm a story teller," Farmer explained in a 1998 interview with Authors and Artists for Young Adults (AAYA). Readers and reviewers alike evidently agree with her self-assessment, for Farmer's books have enjoyed considerable success. A Publishers Weekly critic hailed her as "one of the best and brightest authors for the YA [young adult] audience," and two of Farmer's books have been singled out for special praise: her novels The Ear, The Eye and the Arm and A Girl Named Disaster were chosen as Newbery Honor Books.

Farmer was born in Phoenix, Arizona, but she grew up in a hotel in Yuma, 180 miles southwest, on the U.S.-Mexican border. In...