Laurie Halse Anderson struggled with learning to read. Once she cracked the code, she became a voracious reader. And then discovered writing - leading to numerous picture books, middle-grade titles and award-winning teen and historical fiction, including National Book Award finalist, Speak, and National Book Award finalist, Chains.

For more author interviews, visit us at www.readingrockets.org, a national education service of public television station WETA. Funding is provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.