Ruth Stiles Gannett Kahn (born August 12, 1923) is an American writer best known for her 1948 classic children's novel "My Father's Dragon" and its two sequels, "Elmer and the Dragon" and "The Dragons of Blueland."Born in Brooklyn, New York to journalists Mary Ross and Lewis Stiles Gannett, Ruth and her family moved to Greenwich Village in New York City soon after her birth where she attended the progressive City and Country elementary school. The school was renowned for putting great value in learning about the arts and Ruth was encouraged to explore painting, scientific experiments and creative writing as an essential part of her early education. After graduation from Vassar, Gannett began her work in the medical field, working at the Boston General Hospital and then the Massachusetts Radiation Laboratory. After returning to live with her parents, Gannett's life changed forever when, in 1947, she not only published her most defining work - "My Father's Dragon" - but she also married Peter Kahn, with whom she would have seven daughters. Gannett wrote two other short books: "The Wonderful House-Boat-Train" (1949) and "Katie and the Sad Noise" (1961) but neither of these novels achieved the literary fame of her first book, which prompted Gannett to return to "My Father's Dragon" and explore the further adventures of Elmer in the two sequels. Today, Ms. Gannett lives net Trumansburg, New York, near Cornell University and has eight grandchildren.