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About the Author
I grew up in Queens, NY in the 1950s with my "baby" sister, Lois. She is now a wonderful writer of young adult novels and nonfiction. My mother was born in Vienna, Austria, and my father came from Brooklyn - an interesting match! My best friends were Neil, Robbie, Krebs, and Paul. I'm still good friends with most of these guys. It was less hectic in those days - no computers, no emails, fewer TV channels (MANY fewer!) We had lots of fun playing ball and listening to records. I'll never forget when the Beatles came to America - Beatlemania! After graduating from Baruch College in NYC, I didn't know what to do with my life. I bounced around doing odd jobs, including taxi driver, dishwasher, and hotel desk clerk. One day, while relaxing in Central Park (OK, I was unemployed) , I saw a group of children from a local daycare center. It struck me that I always liked children -- perhaps I could make a career out of something I liked. Eureka! Ever since then, I've been involved, in one way or another, with the lives of young children. I received my Masters in Education from Bank Street College and taught preschool kids for a bunch of years. I loved the childrens' innocence and vivid imaginations. After moving into school administration for a few years, I began working at Scholastic, where I have been ever since. At Scholastic, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to write children's books. The first book that I wrote was "The Dinofours: I'm Super Dino!" Twenty-seven other Dinofours' books followed. I hope my respect and appreciation for young children shines through in my stories. Nowadays, I'm lucky to be married to my beautiful and talented wife, Nancy (she's also a writer) . In 1998, we were blessed with a terrific daughter, Julia, who helps criticize my story ideas and lets me play with her once in a while.And furthermore ... any recollections of my life would not be complete without mentioning my grandmother, Mutti. She was an ever present source of love, appreciation, and wisdom.
