307 ratings | 51 reviews | avg rating:4.76

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Holly Thompson

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.hatbooks.com/

Twitter

hatbooks

Member Since

October 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/hollythompson

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Holly Thompson (www.hatbooks.com) is a longtime resident of Japan originally from Massachusetts. A graduate of the NYU Creative Writing Program, she writes poetry, fiction and nonfiction for children through adults. She is author of the verse novels Falling into the Dragon's Mouth, The Language Inside, and Orchards; the picture books Listening to Trees: George Nakashima, Woodworker; One Wave at a Time; Twilight Chant and The Wakame Gatherers, and the novel Ash. She compiled and edited Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories, a collection of 36 Japan-related short stories, including ten in translation. Holly teaches writing in Japan and the U.S. and visits schools worldwide.

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Combine Editions
Holly Thompson’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 3,353 ratings · 615 reviews · 24 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Language Inside 3.88 avg rating — 1,342 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Orchards 3.76 avg rating — 1,258 ratings — published 2011 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	One Wave at a Time: A Story about Grief and Healing by Holly Thompson (Goodreads Author), Ashley Crowley (Illustrations) 4.41 avg rating — 181 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Twilight Chant 3.93 avg rating — 147 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Falling into the Dragon's Mouth by Holly Thompson (Goodreads Author), Matt Huynh (Illustrator) 3.68 avg rating — 138 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories by Holly Thompson (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Andrew Fukuda (Contributor), Charles De Wolf (Contributor) 4.11 avg rating — 110 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wakame Gatherers by Holly Thompson (Goodreads Author), Kazumi Wilds (Illustrator) 4.08 avg rating — 65 ratings — published 2007 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ash 3.74 avg rating — 66 ratings — published 2001 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Listening to Trees: George Nakashima, Woodworker by Holly Thompson (Goodreads Author), Toshiki Nakamura (Illustrator) 4.24 avg rating — 38 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	One Wave at a Time: A Story About Grief and Healing (Av2 Fiction Readalong, 294) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Holly Thompson…

407 posts
Holly Thompson's Blog

August Blogger for SCBWI

This summer I'm a guest blogger for SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). Watch for my posts every Thursdays throughout August on the SCBWI Official Blog.

I open Week 1 with "SCBWI: One Intro to Another, Learning from Each Other," focusing on individuals and moments that led to writing for young people, then joining the regional team of SCBWI Japan, volunteering my time,

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Holly’s Recent Updates

Holly Thompson wrote a new blog post August Blogger for SCBWI This summer I'm a guest blogger for SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). Watch for my posts every Thursdays throughout August Read more of this blog post »
Aug 09, 2025 12:27AM · like

More of Holly's books…

Quotes by Holly Thompson (?)

“lonely is when the language outside
isn't the language inside
and words are made of just 26 letters”
― Holly Thompson, The Language Inside

6 likes

“One warm morning in July, a ghost came to our breakfast table.”
― Holly Thompson, Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories

tags: anthology, ghosts, japan, teens

3 likes

“When a zashiki warashi came to live with you, good fortune smiled upon the whole house.”
― Holly Thompson, Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories

tags: anthology, japan, teens

1 likes

See all Holly Thompson's quotes »

Polls

What themed read (Asian Characters/Setting) would you like to read for November?

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

9 votes, 30.0%

Ink by Amanda Sun

6 votes, 20.0%

Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon

5 votes, 16.7%

Since You Asked by Maurene Goo

3 votes, 10.0%

The Poison Apples by Lily Archer

3 votes, 10.0%

Orchards by Holly Thompson

2 votes, 6.7%

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

2 votes, 6.7%

30 total votes

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