Harriet Beecher Stowe, b. 1811. Harriet Beecher was one of eleven brothers and sisters, and she and her husband, professor Calvin Stowe had seven children of their own. In 1852, Harriet published her most famous book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Later, during their retirement years, the Stowes lived across the lawn from another famous author, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). During the time that the Stowe family and the Clemens family were neighbors in Hartford, Connecticutt, Mark Twain wrote his most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Laurence Michael Yep, b.1948. Mr. Yep writes mostly historical fiction for children and young adults. The books are usually set on the West Coast or in Asia and feature Asian or Asian American characters. I’ve read Dragonwings and Dragon’s Gate and enjoyed them very much. Laurence Yep also has a connection with Mark Twain. Two of Yep’s titles are The Mark Twain Murders and The Tom Sawyer Fires.