Childhood and Education

Born and raised in New York, Stead enjoyed her elementary school years and remembers fondly the freedom to explore books.

She attended Vassar College and received her bachelor's degree in 1989.

Personal life

Rebecca Stead is married to attorney Sean O'Brien and has two sons. She and her family live on upper west side of Manhattan.

Stead enjoyed writing as a child, but as she grew older she felt it was 'impractical' and became a lawyer instead. After years as a public defender she returned to writing after the birth of her two children. On her website she credits her son with inspiring her to write a children's novel, but not in the way one would expect. For years she had collected story ideas and short stories on a laptop, which the child pushed off a table, destroying it and losing all her 'serious' writing. As a way to lighten her mood she began again with something light-hearted. The creation of First Light followed.

First Light

First Light is the tale of Peter's adventures as he joins his parents in Greenland where they are studying global warming. He begins to receive painful visions and soon meets a fourteen year old girl named Thea, who has never seen the sun. She is the leader of her people, a matriarchal society that fled to the depths of the ice in the distant past.

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me takes place in 1979 New York. The story follows Miranda, a sixth grader, as she recalls the events of the past few months, laying out clues and puzzles as she asks an unseen listener to figure it out. The setting is a tiny slice of Manhattan, filled with abundant details and vivid characters. It has been described as suspense with a bit of the supernatural. Miranda is a great fan of Madeleine L'Engle's classic, A Wrinkle in Time and references to that book help add to the mystery of the novel. Three plot lines run through this novel, seemingly unrelated as the tale begins: Miranda's mother prepares to be a guest on The $20,000 Pyramid; Miranda's lifelong friend Sal will no longer speak to her; and "the laughing man", a very strange homeless man catches Miranda's attention. Publishers Weekly applauds Stead's ability to 'make every detail count' as she creates a plausible conclusion with these divergent and improbable plot lines. A New York Times Book Review called it a "taut novel, every word, every sentence, has meaning and substance."

The 2010 Newbery Medal, considered to be one of the most prestigious award in children's literature, was awarded to When You Reach Me.A 12 year old girl named Miranda goes through many difficult and scary challenges. While losing one thing and then gaining another, things happen quickly which helps her put together a maze of puzzles.