Arthur thinks his pen pal is more fun than his little sister.Little sisters don't do things like karate and wrestling -- or dothey? It takes a surprise letter to show Arthur that sometimesthere's more to sisters -- and pen pals -- than meets the eye!

Lillian Hoban's books for children have been working magic fornearly thirty years. Her illustrations can help change anunfamiliar setting-like a museum filled with dinosaurs andwhales-into a wondrous adventure, and her words and picturestogether can transform chimpanzees and badgers into very realcompanions for the youngest reader.

Ms. Hoban was born and raised in Philadelphia. Among the firstbooks she illustrated were the ever-popular "Frances" books, andseveral years later she wrote and illustrated Arthur's ChristmasCookies, thereby ushering in her beloved 'Arthur"series.

In 1967 Ms. Hoban was asked to illustrate Will I Have a Friend? byMiriam Cohen. It was the beginning of an enormously popularcollaboration that produced more that a dozen books about Jim,Paul, Danny, Anna Maria, and the rest of the first-gradeclasscharacters as familiar to children as their ownclassmates.

Perhaps the key to the unfailing popularity of Ms. Hoban's storiesand illustrations is that she's long been a keen observer ofchildren, having had firsthand experience raising four of herown.

Lillian Hoban lives in Connecticut.