Meet the Author

photo by Calpurnia Ann Carter

Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer. Her books include A Dog's Life, Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe, and the Baby-sitters Club series.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Ann invents all of her characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, but many them are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy, and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.

To learn more about Ann M. Martin, visit her Web site at www.scholastic.com/annmartin