Kiersten White wants to lick the brain of author who doesn’t apologise for her existence or her success, but owns it

Lauren Wolk read Scott O’Dell’s classic four decades ago. Since then she’s recommended it far and wide and bought it many times as a present – but never dared read it again

As a boy, author Pete Johnson read and re-read Dodie Smith’s classic canine tale, then her coming-of-age novel I Capture the Castle – then he wrote her a letter of appreciation which turned into a 25-year correspondence and inspired him to become a writer

Jenny Downham explains how Robert C O’Brien’s novel of post-nuclear apocalypse gave her far more than relief from the fear of nuclear war in the 1970s – a life-long belief in the strength of girls and women, and the prototype for her own fictional heroines

Alessandro Gallenzi on why Italy’s most famous children’s writer is so worth loving – and about his mission to polish up lost gem The Adventures of Pipì the Pink Monkey, with help from illustrator Axel Scheffler

When Stewart Foster read The Body, the book later made into the movie Stand by Me, it triggered memories of his own happy school days to come back to life – and inspired him to become a writer

Children’s author and illustrator Ed Vere tells us why he finds Picasso so compelling – along with the children he meets who also draw without compromise

Frodo is believable. And the more you believe, the more you care as a reader. That’s why a small, hairy-footed reluctant hero is such an inspiration, says Eugene Lambert

Author Nikki Sheehan is still traumatised by reading the cautionary tales of Shockheaded Peter at a young age. She thinks you should suffer the same fate

Where’s Wally is more than just a puzzle, says Lorenzo Etherington. We can find all of humanity in Wally’s world

Shaun Tan’s mesmerising picture book perfectly captures the wonder and terror of the childhood dreamworld, says Lifers author MA Griffin

Tom Nicoll was an innocent boy when he read Truckers by the late, great Terry Pratchett – how was he to know that this would be the book that would inspire him to be the writer of funny stories himself?

Dependable, plucky Tintin is surrounded by a crowd of eccentric goodies and dastardly baddies and their rip-roaring, globe-trotting adventures were Harriet Whitehorn’s ultimate comfort read

When Will McIntosh was 14 years old, his mum brought him a book with rabbits on the front cover to read on holiday. He was less than keen… but then his head exploded. These weren’t rabbits who drank tea and lived in cozy cottages!

Tank Girl was hilarious, drove a tank, farted, picked her nose and swore like a sailor with a stubbed toe – and she was a feminist landmark in comic book history. Tatum Flynn explains how this original punk rebel inspired her anarchic, irreverant children’s books set in Hell

Alwyn Hamilton realised as a young girl that Rapunzel and Cinderella weren’t real. But then there was the Arabian Nights, whose desert realms held a mysterious draw that comes with a lack of actual knowledge and let her imagination run wild

Reading The Hobbit and Lord of Rings inspired the author of Brixton Rock to take risks with language and dialogue in his own books, none more so than in his YA debut Liccle Bit and sequel Crongton Knights, where he brews up a fictional concoction of South London, US Hip-Hop , Jamaican dancehall and beyond!

Lois Lane is a brave, smart, fearless, ambitious journalist who always goes after the story – and it’s time to put her famous love interest to one side argues teen author Gwenda Bond

On International Women’s Day, teen author Deidre Sullivan celebrates the feminist icon Dorothy Parker, recommended reading if you like brilliant, crushing things

Danny Weston celebrates winning a Scottish children’s book award by sharing his love for Robert Louis Stevenson and his classic adventure story, Treasure Island