Gary D. Schmidt Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Gary D. Schmidt is a renowned American novelist, who is famous for writing young adult and children’s fiction books. He has written many standalone books in his career, the most popular ones among them being First Boy, Okay For Now, and Lizzie Bright & the Buckminster Boy. In addition to being a noteworthy writer, he is also an English professor at the Calvin College. Author Schmidt was born and brought up in Hicksville, New York. He was highly underestimated by the teachers of the elementary school where he was studying. The teachers used to classify the students on the basis of their aptitude, a quality that Schmidt was greatly lacking. In relation to his initial education, he had said in an interview that he was a Track Three student, meaning that he was very stupid and dumb as a kid. It was only after a determined intervention from a dedicated teacher that Schmidt developed an interest in reading and subsequently found the right track in academics. This event also served as an inspiration for him to write the book called The Wednesday Wars.

Schmidt studied at the Gordon College during the mid-1970s. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in 1969 in English. Following that, he went on to study at the Illinois Univerisity at Urbana Champaign and earned his master’s degree in 1981, again in English. Finally, Schmidt graduated with a Ph.D. in 1985 in the subject of medieval literature. Since then, he has been employed in Calvin College’s English department as a professor. Author Schmidt won the Newbery Honor in 2005 for his book, Lizzie Bright & Buckminster Boy. This honor helped him to get the recognition for contributing distinguishingly to the American literature in the children’s books category. He is also a holder of the Printz Honor. Schmidt received his 2nd Newberry Honor for Wednesday Wars. In 2011, he followed it up with a sequel called Okay for Now, which became a finalist for the National Book Award.

Author Schmidt was diagnosed with first stage lymphatic cancer in 1996. While undergoing treatment, he came across numerous patients who were exposed to different forms of cancer. Schmidt used to talk to each one of them and listen to each of their stories. Later, all those stories inspired him to write his various future books. The stories of the cancer patients were primarily an encouragement for him to develop stories for children & young adults. Author Schmidt was married to Anne E. Stickney, who died in 2013. The marriage had taken place in 1979. Following the death of his beloved wife, Schmidt is left behind with their 6 children. Author Schmidt likes to describe himself as a practicing Christian. He takes active participation in the religious activities and thinks of himself as highly religious. He even loves to teach writing courses to aspiring writers and novelists. Schmidt has taken up many classes in detention centers and prisons. And all the experience of giving the prisoners a chance of having a respectful life influenced him to develop the novel, Orbiting Jupiter.

As of today, he resides on a farm located in Alto, Michigan. He likes to spend his free time in the company of the natural habitat around him. Schmidt loves to take care of his gardening plants, pet animals, and livestock. He enjoys being a reputed author and loves to read the books by other writers as well. Author Schmidt likes to give all the credit of his success in the writing field to the elementary school teacher, who was concerned about his academic studies and helped him to become a better student. He always offers his gratitude to his fans whenever they review his books with great comments. Schmidt is also grateful to all the fellow writers and critics, who review his books genuinely and suggest him the areas for betterment. Schmidt always looks for any scope of improvement in his stories and for this purpose he remains in constant touch with his fans on various literary platforms.

A very exciting book written by author Gary D. Schmidt is entitled ‘The Wednesday Wars’. It was released by the Clarion Books in 2007. Schmidt has done the plot’s setting in New York, United States and has mentioned the main characters as Holling Hoodhood, Mrs. Baker, and several other. The story begins by introducing Holling Hoodhood as a 7th-grade student studying in Camilli School. He is made to attend Mrs. Baker’s class on Wednesday afternoons when the other students are left for religious instruction. Holling knows that Mrs. Baker does not like him. He wonders why she makes him read William Shakespeare’s plays outside the class? Holling’s father tells him that he and his sister must show their best behavior because his business’ success depends very much on it. Holling Hoodhood worries that he might not be able to stay out of trouble because he has a lot more at hand than he can handle. In addition to the various school activities, homework, studies, and exams, Holling has to deal with bullies and angry rats. And when he looks for motivation to handle all these problems, he finds it in a place where he did not expect at all, that it, from Mrs. Baker. She helps him gather the courage to face his destiny and be true to his abilities.

Another mind-blowing book written by Schmidt in his literary career is called ‘Trouble’. It was published by Scholastic Books in 2008. The book consists of the chief characters in the roles of Henry Smith, Franklin Smith, Chay Chouan, and a few others. At the novel’s beginning, Henry is described as a seventh-grade student. His elder brother, Franklin, is considered a hero in the school. Henry is merely known as the brother of Franklin and doesn’t have any other feature to speak for him. Franklin is a good sportsman and is believed to have a bright future. But, his hopes get shattered when he meets with an accident. He gets seriously injured by Chay Chouan’s car while jogging. Chay gets arrested for reckless driving and due to the fact that he belongs to Cambodian refugees, a racial tension erupts in the locality. In the meantime, Henry prepares himself to climb Mt. Katahdin, which he and Franklin had planned before his accident. He believes that if he succeeds in achieving this milestone, the people will start looking at him with respect just like his brother. The writing of the book is filled with hilarious comedy and breathtaking imagery of nature that was very much appreciated by the readers.

One Response to “Gary D. Schmidt”

1. judith elzinga: 2 years ago

   Thank goodness for the teacher who mentored you. After a friend recommended The Wednesday Wars, I have read Lizzie Bright…Pay Attention Carter Jones, and am now reading Just Like That. I am 87 years old and feel that your writing is wonderful for any age. The situations and characters are outstanding as well as unique. Delightful, too.

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