About this item
School Library JournalGr 36Wendy Orr, Pam Muoz Ryan, Thacher Hurd, Ann M. Martin, Valerie Hobbs, Matt de la Pea, and Jon J. Muth are among the writers included in this anthology. Students looking for a hilarious story will enjoy Mark Teague's "Science Fair" in which a nerdy science whiz is determined to take first place in this year's fair. He's convinced he is a genius, and he can't understand why his solar-powered pooper-scooper hasn't netted him top honors in the past. In "Trail Magic," Margarita Engle writes evocative verse about a boy whose horrific early life revolved around his mother's cruel dogfighting business. When she is sent to prison, the boy goes to live with his forest-ranger uncle and his dog. The natural world and his inspiring relative help heal him from his nightmarish past, as does his bonding adventures with Gabe.
About the Author
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. 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. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters 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 to write down for her. 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. Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann's writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s. 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.
