Mildred D. Tayloris the author of nine novels includingThe Road to Memphis,Let the Circle Be Unbroken,The Land,The Well, andRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Her books have won numerous awards, among them a Newbery Medal (forRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry), four Coretta Scott King Awards, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Her bookThe Landwas awarded theL.A. TimesBook Prize and the PEN Award for Children's Literature. In 2003, Ms. Taylor was named the First Laureate of the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature. Ms. Taylor now devotes her time to her family, writing, and what she terms ""the family ranch"" in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.