On September 28, 2006, Jack Prelutsky was named the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Prelutsky will serve a two-year tenure as Children's Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children's Poetry to the Poetry Foundation. He received a cash prize and the Children's Poet Laureate Medallion, which includes the inscription "Permit a child to join," taken from an Emily Dickinson poem. Congratulations, Jack! Jack Prelutsky is the author of the national bestsellers Scranimals, illustrated by Peter Sis, and The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders, illustrated by Petra Mathers. He has filled more than forty books of verse with his inventive wordplay, including What a Day It Was at School! , illustrated by Doug Cushman, and the immensely popular collections illustrated by James Stevenson: The New Kid on the Block, Something Big Has Been Here, and A Pizza the Size of the Sun. Jack Prelutsky lives in Washington State.