Andrew Clements was born in 1949 and grew up in New Jersey and Illinois. After attending college and receiving his degree in English, Clements taught 4th and 8th Grade for seven years. But he didn't have a pemanent position, so when he was laid off, he moved onto the publishing world, and went from being an editor, to sales and marketing, to translating for several of the large publishing companies. Clements is well known for his picture book texts, but it was his middle school novel, Frindle, that was a breakthrough for his writing career. Frindle has won many awards, including the Georgia Children's Book Award, the Sasquatch Children's Book Award, the Massachusetts Children's Book Award,… the Rhode Island Children's Book Award, and the Year 2000 Young Hoosier Book Award.