Gary D. Schmidt Books In Order

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. The Sin Eater (1996)
  2. Anson’s Way (1999)
  3. Straw Into Gold (2001)
  4. Mara’s Stories (2001)
  5. The Wonders of Donal O’Donnell (2002)
  6. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2004)
  7. First Boy (2005)
  8. The Wednesday Wars (2007)
  9. Trouble (2008)
  10. Okay for Now (2011)
  11. What Came from the Stars (2012)
  12. Orbiting Jupiter (2015)
  13. Pay Attention, Carter Jones (2019)
  14. Almost Time (2020)
  15. Just Like That (2021)

Picture Books In Publication Order

  1. The Great Stone Face (1850)
  2. In God’s Hands (With: Lawrence Kushner) (2005)
  3. Martin de Porres (2012)
  4. So Tall Within (2018)
  5. A Long Road on a Short Day (With: Elizabeth Stickney) (2020)
  6. One Smart Sheep (With: Elizabeth Stickney) (2021)

Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. Robert McCloskey (1990)
  2. Hugh Lofting (1992)
  3. Katherine Paterson (1994)
  4. The Iconography of the Mouth of Hell (1995)
  5. Robert Lawson (1997)
  6. William Bradford (1998)
  7. Saint Ciaran (2000)
  8. Edging the Boundaries of Children’s Literature (With: Carol J. Winters) (2001)

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Picture Book Covers

Non-Fiction Book Covers

Gary D. Schmidt Books Overview

The Sin Eater

After Cole’s mother dies, he and his father go to live with his mother’s parents in tiny Albion, New Hampshire. The Emersons make it easier for Cole to cope but he is helpless in the face of his father’s depression. So Cole turns to Albion itself, and its history. Can the old stories help him handle the present? ‘Infused with feeling, and shot through with sobering, hilarious, startling, lovely, always well told incidents…
A haunting, thoroughly admirable debut.’ School Library Journal

Anson’s Way

Anson has longed for the day when he would become a soldier like his father, and serve His Majesty, the King of England. But by the time the teenager reaches Ireland, where the forces are stationed, he has begun to realize that things are not so simple. The King’s Soldiers aren’t keeping the peace instead, fueled by a hatred of the Irish and Ireland, they are determined to wipe out as much of its culture as they can. Soon, Anson is no longer sure which way is right. Can he bear to enforce the law, or will he risk everything and break it?’ This engrossing novel realistically portrays not only the tragedies of war but also the battle between the heart and mind of a young soldier, torn between loyalty to family and country, and his own sense of justice.’ Booklist, starred review

Straw Into Gold

What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold? By order of the king, two boys, Tousle and Innes, must find the answer to this puzzling riddle within seven days or be killed. A former nursemaid to the queen’s child tells the boys that the banished queen may have the answer they seek. Danger presents itself at every turn, for the boys are pursued by the Great Barons, who are secretly plotting against the king. Another pursuer, the greedy King s Grip, reveals a strange story of a little man who once spun Straw Into Gold of incredible beauty for the queen but then disappeared with her firstborn son. Tousle realizes that the man he calls Da is the strange little man and, even more amazing, that he himself may be the lost prince. Or could it be Innes, who although cruelly blinded can hear the music of the dawn?This skillful blend of fantasy and adventure reveals what might have happened before the queen makes her third and last guess and the story of Rumpelstiltskin as we know it ends.

Mara’s Stories

A testament to the power of stories, and how they may bring hope even in times of darkness.’Everyone gathers around, and from her lips to their ears the stories go, and for a little while the camp disappears, and for a little while they are all free.’As night falls, the women gather their children to listen to Mara tell her stories. They are stories of light and hope and freedom, stories of despair and stories of miracles, stories of expected pain and stories of unexpected joy all told in the darkness of the concentration camp barracks. Through extensive research noted in the back of the book, Gary Schmidt has skillfully woven together stories from such sources as the Jewish religious scholar, Martin Buber, Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel; and folklorists, Steve Zeitlin and Yaffa Eliach. Combining lore of the past with tales born in the concentration camps, Mara’s Stories speak to us from a time that must never be forgotten.

The Wonders of Donal O’Donnell

The heart of Donal ODonnell, like his farmhouse door, has been bolted shut since the day his son died. So when he returns from tending his puck goats in the freezing sleet of a winter storm to find three peddlers huddled at his hearth, he is furious with his wife, Sorcha. But then, one by one, the peddlers begin to tell their talestales of marvels and mystiqueand slowly Donal ODonnell and Sorcha begin to experience a wonder greater than they had ever hoped for. The story of this wonder is told in the interweaving of four traditional Irish tales with illustrations full of magic and mystery.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

It only takes a few hours for Turner Buckminster to start hating Phippsburg, Maine. No one in town will let him forget that he’s a minister’s son, even if he doesn’t act like one. But then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves. Despite his father’s and the town’s disapproval of their friendship, Turner spends time with Lizzie, and it opens up a whole new world to him, filled with the mystery and wonder of Maine’s rocky coast. The two soon discover that the town elders, along with Turner’s father, want to force the people to leave Lizzie’s island so that Phippsburg can start a lucrative tourist trade there. Turner gets caught up in a spiral of disasters that alter his life but also lead him to new levels of acceptance and maturity. This sensitively written historical novel, based on the true story of a community’s destruction, highlights a unique friendship during a time of change. Author’s note.

First Boy

Mr. Heavy Legs walked past Cooper and got into the jeep. He turned on the ignition and backed up to Cooper. He handed him a card with a single phone number on it. I m not forcing you to come, kid. Not yet. But things are going to start happening fast. Very fast. Call if you want me. And one thing more: Next time I see you, I won t be asking you to come.
Do you know what happened to my father?
Of course I do, said Mr. Heavy Legs.
Then he drove away.

You re my First Boy, Cooper, my First Boy, his grandfather tells him just before he dies. Now, fourteen year old Cooper Jewett has no one, not even a dog to keep him company. The only thing that keeps him going is looking after the dairy farm.
All of a sudden, strange and inexplicable things begin to happen. Big men in suits with black sedans are all over Cooper’s small New Hampshire town. The President of the United States invites Cooper for a chat at her headquarters. Her opponent insists that Cooper join him on his campaign. Cooper s house is searched at night, and his barn is burned down. His neighbors, even the sheriff, are behaving strangely. Why?

The Wednesday Wars

Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero in The Wednesday Wars a wonderfully witty and compelling novel about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967 68 school year. Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn t like Holling he s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation the Big M in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

Trouble

Henry Smith’s father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you. But Trouble comes careening down the road one night in the form of a pickup truck that strikes Henry s older brother, Franklin. In the truck is Chay Chouan, a young Cambodian from Franklin s preparatory school, and the accident sparks racial tensions in the school and in the well established town where Henry s family has lived for generations. Caught between anger and grief, Henry sets out to do the only thing he can think of: climb Mt. Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine, which he and Franklin were going to climb together. Along with Black Dog, whom Henry has rescued from drowning, and a friend, Henry leaves without his parents knowledge. The journey, both exhilarating and dangerous, turns into an odyssey of discovery about himself, his older sister, Louisa, his ancestry, and why one can never escape from Trouble.

Okay for Now

As a fourteen year old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming of age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the skinny thug that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer a fiery young lady who smelled like daisies would smell if they were growing in a big field under a clearing sky after a rain. In Lil, Doug finds the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a whole town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.

The Great Stone Face

Do you know the prophecy? asked Pastor Hooper. Ethan nodded. Someone will be born hereabouts who will look just like The Great Stone Face, and he will be the noblest person of his time. Ethan grows up in the shadow of The Great Stone Face. With everyone else in his village, he waits and wonders who will fulfill the prophecy. One by one, men of wealth and power are believed to be the likeness of The Great Stone Face, but as the years go by each one disappoints. Ethan begins to believe the prophecy will not be fulfilled in his lifetime, until a young child, seeing more deeply than all the rest, reveals the truth…
Gary Schmidt’s retelling of this classic story by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a moving look at the nature of goodness and a life well lived. And Bill Farnsworth has beautifully captured the period and the tale’s New England setting with images in the tradition of the Golden Age of Illustration.

In God’s Hands (With: Lawrence Kushner)

David and Jacob live in the same little, ordinary town, but it’s almost as if they’re from different worlds. David is so poor he can barely feed his family. Jacob is so consumed with staying rich he thinks about nothing but money. But the two men have one thing in common: they both believe that miracles are big, magical things that can only happen somewhere else, to someone else. But when Jacob wakes up from a nap in synagogue one day, sure that God has demanded twelve loaves of bread from him, all this changes in amazing ways you’d never expect. A delightful, timeless legend based on Jewish tradition, In God’s Hands tells of the ordinary miracles that occur when we really, truly open our eyes to the world around us. Endorsed by Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish Religious Leaders

Martin de Porres

As the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a former slave, Martin de Porres was born into extreme poverty. Even so, his mother begged the church fathers to allow him into the priesthood. Instead, Martin was accepted as a servant boy. But soon, the young man was performing miracles. Rumors began to fly around the city of a strange mulatto boy with healing hands, who gave first to the people of the barrios. Martin continued to serve in the church, until he was finally received by the Dominican Order, no longer called the worthless son of a slave, but rather a saint and the rose in the desert.

Robert Lawson

Twayne’s United States Authors Series presents concise critical introductions to great writers and their works. Devoted to critical interpretation and discussion of an author’s work, each study takes account of major literary trends and important scholarly contributions and provides new critical insights with an original point of view. An Authors Series volume addresses readers ranging from advanced high school students to university professors. The book suggests to the informed reader new ways of considering a writer’s work. A reader new to the work under examination will, after reading the Authors Series, be compelled to turn to the originals, bringing to the reading a basic knowledge and fresh critical perspectives. Each volume features: A critical, interpretive study and explication of the author’s works A brief biography of the author An accessible chronology outlining the life, work, and relevant historical background of the author Aids for further study complete notes and references, a selected annotated bibliography and an index A readable style presented in a manageable length

William Bradford

William Bradford came to the New World with the other Pilgrims in search of religious freedom. With great faith in God and in his own abilities, he established a stable colony, doing his best to be just and fair to his fellow colonists as well as to the Native Americans living in the area. After he became governor of the colony, he was reelected more than thirty times. Toward the end of Bradfords life, the community that he helped build began to split apart, something that troubled him deeply. But in enduring both triumph and heartache, he made a permanent mark on American history and left an inspiring legacy of unswerving faith in the God he loved. Filled with maps, paintings, and historical illustrations, this fascinating biography introduces readers to the dramatic story of the founder of Plymouth Colony.

Saint Ciaran

Of all green Ireland’s saints, Ciaran of Saighir was the first. Born early in the sixth century, Ciaran was called to bring the light of God’s name to a dark Ireland that had not yet heard it. While few facts are known of Ciaran’s life, author Gary Schmidt here tells the tale that lives on, a tale which is ‘as true as any story ought to be.’ Illustrated with luminous oil paintings by Todd Doney, Saint Ciaran is a remarkably beautiful story, full of faith and wonder, miracle and mysteries.

Edging the Boundaries of Children’s Literature (With: Carol J. Winters)

Edging the Boundaries is a genre based children’s literature sourcebook that emphasizes issues in thinking and writing about the literary qualities of children’s literature. This book examines the field by defining and discussing literature genres and their qualities. This book includes information and issues about literary genres, writing/thinking opportunities, teaching pointers for classroom use, and examples of the best authors and illustrators in each genre. For elementary school educators, or anyone interested in the genre of children’s literature.

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