Ann Martin
Encyclopedia
Ann Matthews Martin is an American children's author.
Ann Martin grew up in Princeton, New Jersey
with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Martin became a teacher and then an editor of children's books; she is now a full-time writer.
Martin finds the ideas for her books from many different sources: some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, including the members of The Baby-Sitters Club, are fictional, 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.
Martin 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 Baby-Sitters Club series in 2000, Martin’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s. In 2010, Martin published a prequel to The Baby-Sitters Club series titled The Summer Before.
After living in New York City for many years, Martin moved to the Hudson Valley
in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Pippen, and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children. According to the biographical blurb in the back of The Baby-Sitters Club novels, she "likes ice cream and I Love Lucy
and hates to cook".
In 1990, she created the Ann M. Martin Foundation, which provides grants to causes benefiting children, education/literacy programs, and homeless people and animals.
Ann Martin grew up in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Martin became a teacher and then an editor of children's books; she is now a full-time writer.
Martin finds the ideas for her books from many different sources: some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, including the members of The Baby-Sitters Club, are fictional, 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.
Martin 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
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
, P. L. Travers
P. L. Travers
Pamela Lyndon Travers OBE was an Australian novelist, actress and journalist, popularly remembered for her series of children's novels about the mystical and magical nanny Mary Poppins...
, Hugh Lofting
Hugh Lofting
Hugh John Lofting was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle — one of the classics of children's literature.-Personal life:...
, Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren , 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter who is the world's 25th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide...
, and Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending The Baby-Sitters Club series in 2000, Martin’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s. In 2010, Martin published a prequel to The Baby-Sitters Club series titled The Summer Before.
After living in New York City for many years, Martin moved to the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Pippen, and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children. According to the biographical blurb in the back of The Baby-Sitters Club novels, she "likes ice cream and I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
and hates to cook".
In 1990, she created the Ann M. Martin Foundation, which provides grants to causes benefiting children, education/literacy programs, and homeless people and animals.
Works
- The Baby-sitters ClubThe Baby-Sitters ClubThe Baby-sitters Club is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold 17 milllon copies. Many of the novels were ghostwritten, including 43 by Peter Lerangis. However, Ann Martin wrote the first 35 novels.The series is about a group of...
series - Baby-Sitters Little SisterBaby-Sitters Little SisterBaby-Sitters Little Sister is a series spin-off of The Baby-sitters Club novel series. Written by Ann M. Martin, the series centered on seven-year-old Karen Brewer, the stepsister to Kristy Thomas of The Baby-sitters Club...
series - The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class series
- California DiariesCalifornia DiariesThe California Diaries series is a spin-off of Ann M. Martin's The Baby-sitters Club. All fifteen novels are written as first-person journals...
series - PS Longer Letter Later with Paula DanzigerPaula DanzigerPaula Danziger was a U.S. and e.u. children's author. She grew up in Metuchen, NJ. She lived in New York City and in Bearsville, NY...
- Snail Mail No MoreSnail Mail No MoreSnail Mail No More is a book published in 2000 by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin. It is the sequel to P.S. Longer Letter Later.-Plot:Snail Mail address...
with Paula DanzigerPaula DanzigerPaula Danziger was a U.S. and e.u. children's author. She grew up in Metuchen, NJ. She lived in New York City and in Bearsville, NY... - Leo The Magnificent
- Rachel Parker, Kindergarten Showoff
- Ten Kids, No PetsTen Kids, No PetsTen Kids, No Pets is a children's novel written by Ann M. Martin. She has also written a sequel entitled Eleven Kids, One Summer.- Plot :...
- Eleven Kids, One SummerEleven Kids, One SummerEleven Kids, One Summer is a children's novel written by Ann M. Martin in 1991. It is the sequel to Ten Kids, No Pets.-Plot:...
- Ma and Pa Dracula
- Yours Turly, ShirleyYours Turly, ShirleyYours Turly, Shirley is a children's novel written by Ann M. Martin published in 1988. The title is often mistaken as Yours Truly, Shirley.-Plot:...
- Just a Summer RomanceJust a Summer RomanceJust a Summer Romance is a novel written in 1987 by award winning author Ann M. Martin.Melanie Braderman is fourteen years old and vacationing on Fire Island the summer before her freshman year of high school. She meets Justin Hart, a boy she is attracted to, on the beach and they soon begin a...
- Missing Since Monday
- With and Without You
- Me and Katie (The Pest)
- Stage Fright
- Inside Out
- Just You and Me
- Bummer Summer
- A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a StrayA Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a StrayA Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray is a children's novel written in 2005 by Ann M. Martin.-Plot: Squirrel is a stray puppy who lives in a shed behind the summer home of a wealthy family with her mother and brother, Bone. When their mother disappears, Squirrel and Bone must set off on their...
- Everything for a Dog
- The Doll People series
- A Corner of the UniverseA Corner of the UniverseA Corner of the Universe is a young adult's novel by Ann M. Martin, published in 2002. It won a Newbery Honor in 2003.-Plot:The summer during the 1960s is a season that the novel's narrator and protagonist, 11-almost-12-year-old Hattie Owen, expects to be as comfortably uneventful as all the others...
- Belle TealBelle TealBelle Teal is a novel written by Ann M. Martin in 2001. It tells the story of Belle Teal Harper, her mother Adele, her grandmother Belle Teal Rhodes, and their friends and community....
- Here Today
- Main Street (novel series)
- Needle and ThreadNeedle and ThreadNeedle and Thread is the second book in the Main Street series of children's novels by Ann M. Martin. It was published September 2007.-See also:Other books in the Main Street series:Welcome to Camden FallsTis the SeasonBest Friends...
- 'Tis the Season'Tis the SeasonTis the Season is the third book in a series of books called Main Street by children's author Ann M. Martin. It was published in October 2007. Flora Northrop, the main character of this book, whose parents died in a car crash, and she has come to live in Camden Falls with her grandmother, Min. She...
- Welcome to Camden FallsWelcome to Camden FallsWelcome to Camden Falls is the first in a series of books called Main Street by children's author Ann M. Martin. It was published in May 2007.-Story:...
- The Summer Before
- On Christmas Eve
- The Lost Art of Letter Writing, a short story included in the young adult anthology What You Wish For
External links
- Ann M. Martin page from ScholasticScholastic PressScholastic is a global book publishing company known for publishing educational materials for schools, teachers, and parents, and selling and distributing them by mail order and via book clubs and book fairs. It also has the exclusive United States' publishing rights to the Harry Potter book...
, her publisher - Scholastic Authors and Books page for teachers with biography, interview and partial book list.
- Ann M. Martin by Margaret Becker, 1993