Mike Thaler was born in Los Angeles, California in 1936. He started his professional career drawing cartoons for adults. A children's book editor saw one of these cartoons and encouraged Mike to try his hand at writing for children. His first attempt met with success, and The Magic Boy was published in 1961. The creator of the Letterman from PBS's Electric Company series, Mike Thaler has published over 130 children's books and is known by his fans as the Riddle King.