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Laurel Snyder

Laurel Snyder’s Followers (806)

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Laurel Snyder

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Influences
What isn't an influence? ...more

Member Since
July 2007


Laurel Snyder is the author of six children's novels, "Orphan Island," "Seven Stories Up," "Bigger than a Bread Box," "Penny Dreadful," "Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains OR The Search for a Suitable Princess" and "Any Which Wall" (Random House) as well as many picture books, including "Charlie & Mouse," "The Forever Garden," "Swan, the life and dance of Anna Pavlova," and "Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher."

A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a former Michener Fellow, she also writes books for grownups, and is the author of a book of poems, "The Myth of the Simple Machines" (No Tell Books) and a chapbook, "Daphne & Jim: a choose-your-own-adventure biography in verse (Burnside Review Press) and the editor of an anthology, "H
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Popular Answered Questions

Laurel Snyder This seems to be the big question!

:)

I'm working on a companion, that may or may not be published. It's not a sequel, but an origin story, a d prequel.…more
This seems to be the big question!

:)

I'm working on a companion, that may or may not be published. It's not a sequel, but an origin story, a d prequel. Abbie's tale. The beginnings of the island, and if I can pull it off, it will explain a lot of things.

There are two reasons I'm not writing a sequel. One is logistical, and that's simply that Jinny isn't a kid anymore, when she gets out of the boat. She's a young woman, in a sense, and so the sequel would be more YA and less middle grade.

The other, and more important reason, is this: I wanted the end of the book to be a question. I wanted you to think about it, and puzzle your own answers. I wanted to leave readers with that sense of longing that Jinny lives with. I understand that not everyone loves this, that some people want the answers. But different books do different things, and it was important to me that this one be a book people fought with a little, worked at, and pondered after they closed it. I hope that makes sense...

(less)
Laurel Snyder Thanks so much for the question! I'm puzzling that out right now. Not so much a sequel, but I've outlined a companion/prequel that I might take on.

I d…more
Thanks so much for the question! I'm puzzling that out right now. Not so much a sequel, but I've outlined a companion/prequel that I might take on.

I didn't envision the book as the start of a series, but a lot of people are asking me what comes next...

:)
(less)
Average rating: 3.91 · 28,465 ratings · 5,345 reviews · 37 distinct worksSimilar authors
Orphan Island

3.68 avg rating — 11,805 ratings — published 2017 — 22 editions
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Bigger than a Bread Box

4.01 avg rating — 3,721 ratings — published 2011 — 10 editions
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My Jasper June

4.20 avg rating — 2,547 ratings — published 2019 — 9 editions
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Swan: The Life and Dance of...

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4.31 avg rating — 1,607 ratings — published 2015 — 8 editions
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Endlessly Ever After: Pick ...

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4.37 avg rating — 1,437 ratings — published 2022 — 2 editions
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Charlie & Mouse (Charlie & ...

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3.94 avg rating — 1,491 ratings — published 2017 — 11 editions
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Penny Dreadful

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3.96 avg rating — 830 ratings — published 2010 — 9 editions
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Seven Stories Up

3.95 avg rating — 625 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions
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Charlie & Mouse & Grumpy (C...

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4.23 avg rating — 511 ratings — published 2017 — 8 editions
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Any Which Wall

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3.87 avg rating — 450 ratings — published 2009 — 8 editions
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More books by Laurel Snyder…

My big spring project…


I am reading the new biography of Roald Dahl…


and have decided I need an office!


Currently, my office is also the laundry room, and Chris' office, and the walk-thru between the kitchen and the deck, and the room we store crap in.  I need a place. A space. A spot.  But I cannot afford to renovate my house, obviously.


So… I want to turn my no-electricity-having, moldy, trashed, hole-in-the-roof shed in

Read more of this blog post »
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Published on February 25, 2011 08:12
Charlie & Mouse Charlie & Mouse & Grumpy Charlie & Mouse Even Better Charlie & Mouse Outdoors Charlie & Mouse Lost and Found Charlie & Mouse Are Magic
(6 books)
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4.05 avg rating — 2,705 ratings

The Riverman
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John Dollar
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Code Name Verity
Laurel is currently reading
by Elizabeth Wein (Goodreads Author)
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Quotes by Laurel Snyder  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Problems don't always get fixed. Lots of the time things are boring or dumb for no good reason. Or even terrible. And you can't do anything about it. That's life.”
Laurel Snyder, Penny Dreadful

“Everything had its purpose. If you waited long enough, a useless thing would become useful again.”
Laurel Snyder, Orphan Island

“But sometimes it doesn't matter whether someone is right or wrong. Sometimes you just have to love them when they need you.”
Laurel Snyder, Bigger than a Bread Box

Polls

What Book Shall We Read in November?

I have chosen books that are getting a lot of attention and were published in September and October. Feel free to add books to the list, if they were published in September and October 2011

If you get the chance, check and see what your library has before you vote.

 
  7 votes 20.0%

 
  7 votes 20.0%

 
  6 votes 17.1%

 
  5 votes 14.3%

Breadcrumbs (write-in)
 
  3 votes 8.6%

 
  2 votes 5.7%

 
  1 vote 2.9%

 
  1 vote 2.9%

 
  1 vote 2.9%

 
  1 vote 2.9%

wonderstruck (write-in)
 
  1 vote 2.9%

35 total votes
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Topics Mentioning This Author

“Problems don't always get fixed. Lots of the time things are boring or dumb for no good reason. Or even terrible. And you can't do anything about it. That's life.”
Laurel Snyder, Penny Dreadful

“But sometimes it doesn't matter whether someone is right or wrong. Sometimes you just have to love them when they need you.”
Laurel Snyder, Bigger than a Bread Box

“Mom always says you can solve most problems at the library, and there's a lady there who's my friend. We could ask her about helping Bernice. She has to answer people's questions. It's her job.”
Laurel Snyder

“It's hard not to be happy when you're eating a big steak.”
Laurel Snyder, Bigger than a Bread Box

“Sometimes it's nice to be sick, to give up trying to function, to crawl into bed and be cared for a little.”
Laurel Snyder, Bigger than a Bread Box

19451 YA Reads for Teachers (And Any Other Adults!) — 1915 members — last activity Jul 22, 2025 08:45AM
We are a group of educators (teachers, media specialists / librarians, and home school teachers) parents and other adult fans of young adult and child ...more
65006 Q&A with Laurel Snyder — 82 members — last activity Jun 30, 2014 08:54AM
...February 25, 2012 to March 26, 2012... Author Laurel Snyder will be delighted to answer questions about her books, writing, the publishing industr ...more
16663 Mock Newbery 2026 — 3177 members — last activity Nov 18, 2025 04:30PM
A discussion group that reads, suggests, and enjoys current children’s literature, while searching for next years Newbery Award winning books.
220 Goodreads Librarians Group — 300756 members — last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
17983 Association of Jewish Libraries, Inc. — 12 members — last activity Feb 19, 2010 09:34AM
Professional organization of those who work with Judaica.
3983 Read Aloud Books — 63 members — last activity Jun 05, 2019 08:10PM
A place to discuss read aloud books. Open to anyone interested in children's literature. ...more
18202 Avid Bookshop — 313 members — last activity Sep 30, 2019 08:25AM
Avid Bookshop is a community-focused independent bookstore in Athens, Georgia. We sell new & used books at 493 Prince Ave. and online at http://www.av ...more
35109 Debut Author Panel Discussion and Q&A — 176 members — last activity Oct 28, 2020 04:14AM
From July 12 to July 18, these authors will be discussing their experiences as debut fiction authors. Each day, they will tackle a different question ...more
34560 Jewish Book Carnival — 1595 members — last activity Nov 19, 2025 04:16PM
This is the GoodReads group for the Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly forum for sharing links and information on Jewish books and the blogs that cover t ...more
6926 Black Oceanographers — 238 members — last activity Dec 14, 2010 12:38PM
This group is designed to discuss books published by Black Ocean, receive updates on publications and get news on author events. All are welcome, only ...more
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Comments (showing 1-7)    post a comment »
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Sandra Thanks for friending me Ms. Snyder! :)


Laurel Hey!

I followed the brouhaha this week vaguely, and then, fiddling around Goodreads, I realized that was YOU.

I'd like to apologize on behalf of all authors (not that anyone has authorized me to do that, but hey, why not? :) It's shameful when people get defensive and lash out.

None of us like getting bad reviews, but they're a chance to LEARN things, you know? Write better. And your pull-quotes were pretty inarguably awful.

I'm a fan of honest reviewing, even when the reviews are hard to read. Keeps us all on our toes.

keep it up!


Wendy Darling Hi Laurel, thanks for the friendvite! I look forward to snooping your shelves for more middle grade recommendations. Cheers.


Kaethe Glad you liked the review - I certainly liked the book.


Mary Elizabeth I can't wait to read "Penny Dreadful" ... I received it in the mail last week! It's at the top of my 'to-read' list!!!


message 2: by Maria (last edited Aug 26, 2008 10:44AM)

Maria Hi Laurel
Congratulations on the publication of 'Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains'

best wishes!


message 1: by Daniel (last edited Aug 25, 2016 12:37PM)

Daniel Laurel, I've written some Irishy books myself. I wandered around there when I was a kid. Got a movie about Isaac Bashevis Singer. I remember when he won the Nobel Prize. I used to deliver the Forward in which he wrote articles.


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