Simplify the following text for a Grade 5 native English-speaking person.
Original: The plot and characters are loosely based on the author 's observations of her family and neighbors , as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936 , when she was 10 years old .
Simplified: The writer based the story and characters on her family and neighbors , and something that happened near her hometown in 1936 . This was when she was 10 years old .