Jack Prelutsky

Jack Prelutsky (born September 8, 1940) is an American writer of children's poetry who has published over 50 poetry collections. He served as the first U.S. Children's Poet Laureate (now called the Young People's Poet Laureate) from 2006 to 2008 when the Poetry Foundation established the award.

Early life Jack Prelutsky was born on September 8, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York, to Charles Prelutsky, an electrician, and Dorothea Prelutsky, a homemaker.

He attended local public schools in the Bronx, hated the experience, and was bored in class. He stated that "When I was a kid, I didn't like poetry, because I had a teacher who didn't like poetry. She was a good teacher because she taught me not to like it, too." He has also compiled numerous children's anthologies comprising poems of others.

He has also set his poems to music on the audio versions of his anthologies. He often sings and plays guitar on them.

In 2006, the Poetry Foundation named Prelutsky the inaugural winner of the Children's Poet Laureate award.

In 2007, the Washington Poets Association awarded Prelutsky a Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1996, he appeared as himself on the popular animated television series Arthur, in the episode "I'm a Poet" (S1E28a).

His book Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems (illustrated by Carin Berger) won the 2007 Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award of the Washington State Book Awards in the Picture Book category.

In 1993, his poetry collection The New Kid on the Block was made into an interactive story book by Brøderbund's Living Books series.

Prelutsky has garnered many awards in his long career including citations as: New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year, School Library Journal Best of the Best Book, International Reading Association/Children's Book Council Children's Choice, Library of Congress Book of the Year, Parents' Choice Award, American Library Association Notable Children's Recording, an Association for Library Services to Children Notable Book and Booklist Editor's Choice, among others. His combined works have sold over a million copies and been translated into many languages.

In 2018, his poem "Homework! Oh, Homework!" was featured in a national commercial for Apple's iPad.