The author of seventeen children's books, as well as three books for teachers and parents, Michael Sampson is the director of the Programs in Reading Education at Texas A&M University. With fellow literacy expert Bill Martin Jr, he coauthored the Candlewick titles ADAM, ADAM, WHAT DO YOU SEE? and I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE. "I have a deep love for this country and the Pledge--I get goose bumps every time I recite it," Michael Sampson says of I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE. "This book makes the Pledge come alive for kids with language they can understand." Michael Sampson lives in Commerce, Texas.