About the writer of this Enhanced Reading and Teaching Guide:

Robert C. (Bob) Bergstrom retired in June 2002 after teaching over 6000 students, working in secondary Reading, English, and Social Studies for 37 years, most of them at Shaler Area School District in suburban Pittsburgh, PA. He now looks forward to the next new chapter in his life. Bob has a passion for language arts education and issues involving improving literacy. He has served as a Language Arts Consultant, Communication Arts Department Chairperson, Theme Coordinator, Motivational Speaker, Workshop Presenter at state and national conferences, as well as a classroom teacher of children and adults.

Bob was named the 2001 Teacher Excellence Foundation "Teacher of the Year," representing teachers from thirty-nine school districts in the greater Pittsburgh area and all of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Bob and his wife, Leah, have two natural children, have taken in 15 foster children over the years, have adopted four children, and now have a grandchild with more on the way. Bob is active in community activities, issues involving special needs children, and in his church where, among other things, he teaches a large adult Sunday School class. He and his wife love to travel and read and spend time with their large family.

About the author:

In her seven novels, Joan Bauer explores difficult issues with humor and hope. Her books have won numerous awards, among them the Newbery Honor Medal, the LA Times Book Prize, the Christopher Award, and the Golden Kite Award of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. A New York Times best-selling author, she has been interviewed on radio shows nationwide and appeared on both network and cable television.

Other Honors: Joan has also been the recipient of the Michigan Thumbs-Up! Award for Children's Literature, the Delacorte Prize for a First Young Adult Novel, the New England Booksellers Award, and the Boston Public Library's "Literary Light" Award. Her novels have been chosen for many best book lists, among them ALA Notable Books, ALA Best Books, ALA Quick Picks, American Bookseller Pick of the List, School Library Journal Best Book, Smithsonian Best Books, the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age. Rules of the Road was chosen as one of the top young adult books of the last 25 years by the American Library Association.

Joan lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, computer scientist Evan Bauer, and (when she's home from college) their no-longer-teenage daughter.