Author's Biography: Ann M. Martin
Ann Matthews Martin is the author of many young adult books, including the famous Baby-sitters Club series. She was born on August 12, 1955, in Princeton, NJ, where she grew up with her younger sister Jane and lots of pets.  Her family loved cats, but over the years they also had hamsters, mice, turtles, guinea pigs and fish. 

As a girl, Ann enjoyed reading many books, including The Secret Garden and The Wizard of Oz. Some of her favorite authors were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren and Roald Dahl. Their books inspired her to become a writer, too. Ann always loved writing—before she was old enough to actually know how to write, she dictated stories to her mother, who wrote them down for her.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on her own life experiences, while others are based on childhood memories. Many of her books, like A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography Of A Stray, are about issues that are happening in our world today. Though the people and animals in Ann’s books are not from real life, Ann sometimes uses the characteristics of the people and animals she knows to help create the characters in her stories. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann lived in New York City for many years, but now she lives in upstate New York with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. She wakes at 6:00 A.M. every morning to write, and spends her time enjoying her hobbies: reading, sewing and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.

You can read more interesting facts about Ann on the Scholastic website. You’ll also find letters Ann has written to her fans.