Mary Ann Hoberman

Mary Ann Hoberman (1930–2023) was an award‑winning American children’s author and poet, known for her playful, read‑aloud verse and more than forty books for young readers, including the You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You series. She was born in Stamford, Connecticut, earned a B.A. in history from Smith College and later an M.A. in English literature from Yale University, and devoted much of her career to writing and teaching literature and writing at various educational levels.

Her work A House Is a House for Me received the National Book Award, and she was honored with the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Hoberman served as U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate for the Poetry Foundation from 2008 to 2011, and her popular titles include The Seven Silly Eaters, The Llama Who Had No Pajama, and multiple You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You volumes such as Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together.