Phil Bildner is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for kids. He is the author of many children’s picture books including the Margaret Wise Brown Prize winning Marvelous Cornelius, the Texas Bluebonnet Award winning Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, Martina & Chrissie, Twenty-One Elephants, The Soccer Fence, The Hallelujah Flight, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Night at the Stadium and The Unforgettable Season. He is also the author of A Whole New Ballgame, Rookie of the Year, Tournament of Champions, and Most Valuable Players in the critically acclaimed middle grade Rip & Red series, and along with Loren Long, the co-creator of the middle grade serial, Sluggers.

Phil grew up in Jericho, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. He studied political science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and then attended law school at New York University School of Law. After passing the bar in New York and New Jersey, Phil landed a job as an associate at a prestigious Manhattan law firm, but he quickly realized the legal profession wasn’t his true passion. He always loved teaching and working with kids, so he went back to school and earned a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from Long Island University.

For eleven years, Phil taught in the New York City Public Schools. Teaching fifth and sixth grade in the Tremont section of the Bronx, his classroom often lacked basic supplies. As a result, he built an innovative ELA curriculum around song lyrics and music. Dave Matthews, Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Lauryn Hill, and Wyclef Jean all visited his classroom. Teaching middle school English and American History on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Phil continued to integrate music and the arts into his curriculum, working with the Lincoln Center Institute, Broadway shows (Wicked, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), and Off-Broadway shows (Def Poetry Jam, De la Guarda).

After leaving the classroom to write full time, Phil began chaperoning student-volunteer trips to New Orleans to help in the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. He founded The NOLA Tree, a non-profit youth service organization and served as the Executive Director.

In 2017, Phil launched The Author Village, an author booking business. He works with like-minded authors and illustrators, helping to coordinate their school visits and appearances.

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