Born:
August  12, 1955
Princeton, New Jersey,
United States Of America

Current Home:
New York, New York,
United States Of America

Ann M. Martin

Biography

• PRINT
• EMAIL

In addition to writing, beloved author Ann M. Martin names sewing as one of her favorite pursuits - especially making smocked or embroidered dresses for children. Her series Main Street weaves Ann's love of sewing into stories about small towns and the inter-connected lives of the people in them.

After wrapping up the wildly successful Baby-sitters Club series and penning such critically acclaimed novels as Belle Teal and the Newbery Honor winning A Corner of the Universe, Ann vowed never to write a series again. "However, once I started creating the town of Camden Falls and the people in it," Ann said, "I realized there were lots of stories to tell. Although I love the challenge of creating new characters and new settings for stand-alone novels, I also like living with my characters for a while. That's one of the luxuries a series affords."

When the Baby-sitters Club ended several years ago, Ann vowed never to write another series. "But then my editor tempted me with the idea of writing about sewing, my favorite hobby," says Ann. "So I began to think about sewing, then sewing stores, then towns with sewing stores in them, and finally about small towns, which I love. I was also inspired by one of my mother's favorite authors. The author is Dora Saint, and, under the pen name Miss Read, she wrote about life in tiny towns in the British countryside."

Ann M. Martin lives in upstate New York, near a town not unlike Camden Falls, with her cats, Gussie, Woody, and Pippin, and her dog Sadie

• Scholastic Store
• 

  The Scholastic Store

  The Doll People by Ann M. Martin, Laura Godwin and Brian Selznick Annabelle Doll is eight years old -- she has been for more than a hundred years. Not a lot has happened to her, cooped up in the dollhouse, with the same doll people, day after day, year after year ... until one day the Funcrafts move in. Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, with the help of Brian Selznick's remarkable illustrations, bring to life two wonderful families who prove that dolls are people, too! $6.99 books;paperback books;paperbacks | Ages 8-12

  
  The Doll People
  Ages 8-12 $6.99
  
• Teacher Store
• 

  The Teacher Store

  Belle Teal by Ann M. Martin Set in 1962, this story features a spunky, thoughtful girl whose family doesn't have much. At school, Belle Teal contends with cruelty, which extends to the new black student in her class. Belle Teal befriends him, even as other students keep their distance, and makes some surprising discoveries about her classmates as she comes to know her own strengths. $5.99 Paperback Book | Grades 6-9

  
  Belle Teal
  Grades 6-9 $5.99