STEPHEN KING: His Life, Work, and Influences, perfect gift for your teen/tween Constant Reader

STEPHEN KING: His Life, Work, and Influences
BEV VINCENT
becker&mayer! kids
$16.99 trade paper, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: A thrilling visual companion curated for young adults voraciously reading their way through Stephen King’s colossal corpus of creepy books.

For many young readers, when the last page of Goosebumps is turned, the first chapter of Pet Sematary begins, and a world of terror crafted by Stephen King is revealed. His novels are as fascinating as his life, and in this ultimate illustrated guidebook, young readers explore the cultural phenomenon and legacy of the King of Horror.

From scare-seeking child to impoverished university student to struggling schoolteacher to one of the best-selling—and most recognizable—authors of all time, this engrossing book reveals the evolution and influences of Stephen King’s body of work over his nearly 50-year career, and how the themes of his writing reflect the changing times and events within his life.

With tons of photos, approachable bite-size sections, and gripping details to captivate young readers, the book offers an extensive look into Stephen King’s books, short stories, writings, movies, series, and other adaptations ideal for the young reader to review. Exclusive memorabilia from Stephen King, including personal and professional correspondences, handwritten manuscript pages, book covers, movie stills, and a never-before-seen excerpts from his poems. Personal insights and observations such as real-life settings that inspired King’s writing, the editor who discovered him, his life as a Boston Red Sox fan, and the many awards and honors he has received. Motivating quotes from King from interviews over the decades.

“My childhood was pretty ordinary, except from a very early age I wanted to be scared…there was a radio program at the time called Dimension X, and my mother didn’t want me to listen to that because she felt it was too scary for me, so I would creep out of bed and go to the bedroom door and crack it open. And she loved it, so apparently, I got it from her, but I would listen at the door and then when the program was over, I’d go back to bed and quake.” —Stephen King

Young adults will covet this comprehensive yet accessible reference to their favorite horror author.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Author Vincent's a King superfan, and believe you me, it shows. This compendium of anecdotes and overviews of his career, and the stories he's offered us, is exactly what a young fan will love.

Plenty of not-so-young fans too, I'll wager.

I'm not a Constant Reader, as he addresses his immense and well-earned audience online, more of a dibble-dabbler. I enjoy many of his massive tomes—my own favorite being 11/22/63—because I'm very old and that date means so very much to me. (Rob asked me once why that date was important...ouch.) The manner in which Author Vincent hits the life and career high points will make this a deeply welcome gift to your King-stan teen or tween. (Officially. We won't discuss what you do with it before wrapping it up.)

The design and visuals are very much up to the job, as one would expect from a Quarto Group imprint.

Clear, concise, not too busy to fail in its primary duty of informing as well as keeping one's interest.


I enjoyed the glimpse into King's early methods and processes.


It's safe to say we do not share a taste in companion animals. *shudder*


The stuff of literal nightmares for decades now!


...speaking of which...Tim Curry does Pennywise the best, in my never-remotely humble opinion. Skarsgard's got a different take, not worse not better...but give me Curry every time.

Here are a couple text-only spreads to round out your visual impression of the book. I'll stress that, even on my tablet, the design's readable and very appealing.


Solid design, appealing to a recipient fan, very intentionally a gift book. It's a terrific value at this price!