The Author of the Month for November is...

Robert Louis Stevenson!

This author probably doesn't need much introduction. You've most likely read at least one of his books, and if not, you've undoubtedly seen at least one of the many film versions of them. Robert Louis Stevenson has written some of the best-loved children's fiction and poetry in all of literature.

He was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was very sickly as a child and throughout his life, but he still managed to travel and write a lot. He attended Edinburgh University, first for engineering and then for law, but didn't end up following either of those professions. His first writings were published in magazines during his college years. He continued to write for the rest of his life. From the late 1880s on he lived in the island of Samoa, where he died on December 3, 1894.

The book that Stevenson is best known for, Treasure Island, was published in 1883. Some other famous books of his are: Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and a poetry book called A Child's Garden of Verses. Besides The Black Arrow, those were the only ones I had ever heard of, until I looked him up on the Internet. I was amazed to discover that he wrote at least 17 novels, 13 books of non-fiction, 8 books of poetry, and 7 short stories during the  44 years of his life. Apparently I have some reading to do!

Out of the books I have read by him, my favorite is Kidnapped. It's a very fun, exciting story that takes place in Scotland. I think what makes Robert Louis Stevenson's children's books so popular is just how fun they are. They certainly aren't very deep (or even well-written compared to, say, Charles Dickens), but they're exciting, energetic, and full of memorable characters. I'd recommend reading any of the books listed above if you want to put some adventure into your reading diet.