Todd Strasser celebrates his birthday on May 5th. Born in New York City, he went through school enjoying science and math, but not English. He attended New York University for awhile, but then he went to live on a commune. He traveled through Europe, where he earned money as a street musician. When he returned to the States, he went to Beloit College, where he majored in literature and writing. He sold his first novel in 1978, and used the money to start a fortune cookie company. In 1990, he began writing novelizations for movies such as Home Alone and Free Willy. In 1993, he published Help! I’m Trapped in My Teacher’s Body. Since then, he’s published more than 100 books, including the young adult novels Give a Boy a Gun, CON-fidence, and The Wave. He also writes series such as Help! I’m Trapped and Here Comes Heavenly.

—Vicki Palmquist