Gary D Schmidt Books in Order

Schmidt retells Hawthorne's classic story of Ethan, a boy who grows up beneath a mountain profile said to resemble the noblest man of the age. It is a quiet tale about character, fame, and what goodness looks like.

This study looks closely at Robert McCloskey's picture books and novels, along with the craft behind their words and art. Schmidt considers how McCloskey shaped the feel of American childhood on the page.

Schmidt reexamines Hugh Lofting's life and the Doctor Dolittle books, arguing that kindness, peace, and moral purpose sit at the heart of the series. It is both biography and literary study.

This critical overview examines Katherine Paterson's life, major novels, and recurring concerns as a writer. Schmidt places books like Bridge to Terabithia in the wider story of children's literature and close reading.

Schmidt retells Bunyan's classic allegory for younger readers, following Christian's journey from danger and temptation toward the Celestial City. It keeps the adventure and symbolism while making the path easier to enter.

In this scholarly study, Schmidt traces the mouth of hell image across medieval art and religious culture. It is a focused look at how one vivid symbol carried fear, drama, and theology through the centuries.

After his mother dies, Cole moves with his grieving father to his grandparents' farmhouse in New Hampshire. Local legends, family love, and another devastating loss force him to reckon with guilt, memory, and survival.

Schmidt's critical study of Robert Lawson looks at the life and work behind books like Rabbit Hill and Ben and Me. It explores Lawson's art, storytelling, and place in American children's literature.

This biography introduces the Pilgrim leader William Bradford, tracing his journey from England to Plymouth and the hard years that followed. Schmidt focuses on faith, leadership, and the daily strain of building a colony.

Young Anson travels to Ireland expecting honor in service to the king, especially under his father's command. Instead he sees brutality up close and must decide whether obedience matters more than conscience.

This picture book retells legends of Saint Ciaran of Ireland, from his early longing for God to his life among people and animals. It has the feel of an old story told simply and with reverence.

This classroom-minded study looks at children's literature by genre and asks readers to think and write more carefully about how these books work. It is part guidebook, part invitation to read with sharper attention.

In the darkness of a concentration camp barracks, Mara tells stories to the children around her. The tales carry memory, faith, and flashes of hope into a place built to crush them.

Schmidt imagines what might happen after the Rumpelstiltskin bargain goes terribly wrong. Two boys race through danger and court intrigue to solve a riddle, uncover a missing prince, and learn what truly matters.

On a stormy night in Ireland, three peddlers tell stories to Donal O'Donnell and his wife, whose hearts are broken by loss. Their tales of wonder, sorrow, and grace begin to bring healing.

In 1912 Maine, minister's son Turner Buckminster befriends Lizzie, a girl from Malaga Island. Their friendship opens his eyes to racism, hypocrisy, and the cost of standing against the people in power.

After his grandfather dies, fourteen-year-old Cooper Jewett is left running a New Hampshire farm and wondering who he really is. Then politicians, secretive strangers, and a presidential campaign turn his life into a mystery.

A rich man and a poor man each think miracles happen somewhere else, until their ordinary actions meet in an unexpected way. This gentle retelling of a Jewish folktale shows how kindness can become the miracle itself.

During the 1967 to 1968 school year, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood is stuck alone with Mrs. Baker every Wednesday afternoon. Shakespeare, school disasters, and the Vietnam era slowly push him toward courage and a larger view of the world.

After a terrible accident shatters Henry Smith's family, he heads for Mount Katahdin with his best friend and dog. The journey forces him to face grief, prejudice, and the truth about the people he thought he knew.

Doug Swieteck lands in a new town with a violent father, a damaged family, and a reputation he didn't earn. Art, books, and a few people who really see him help him imagine a different life.

Born in poverty in colonial Peru, Martin de Porres grows into a healer and servant known for compassion toward the poor and the sick. This picture book introduces his life with warmth, faith, and a strong sense of justice.

When twelve-year-old Tommy Pepper comes home with a mysterious lunchbox, he is pulled into a strange battle tied to a distant planet. Schmidt mixes school life, family worries, and science fiction into a story about courage and trust.

Twelve-year-old Jack's family takes in Joseph, a troubled fourteen-year-old who is already a father. On their Maine farm, Jack begins to see Joseph's longing for his daughter, Jupiter, and the damage left by abuse and neglect.

This picture book biography follows Sojourner Truth from enslavement to freedom and public witness. Schmidt shows both her losses and her fierce resolve as she becomes a voice against slavery and for human dignity.

On the first day of middle school, Carter Jones opens the door to an English butler sent by a grandfather he never knew. Cricket, routine, and hard truths slowly help Carter's grieving family face what they have been avoiding.

On a snowy winter day, Samuel joins his father on a trading journey to find a milk cow for the family. Each bargain brings them closer to home, and teaches Samuel about patience, value, and quiet kindness.

Ethan can hardly wait for maple sugaring season to begin. As he watches late winter slowly turn toward spring, he learns that some of the sweetest things take time.

In 1968, grieving Meryl Lee Kowalski is sent to a Maine boarding school while homeless Matt Coffin tries to stay ahead of a dangerous past. Their unlikely friendship becomes a lifeline through grief, class divides, and hard choices.

Wilson, a beloved farm sheep, accidentally rides a truck into the city and has to find his way home before dark. He relies on the sounds he remembers and the bond he shares with Abigail and Tippy.

This picture book follows poet and gardener Celia Thaxter from childhood to her famous island garden. Flowers, birds, and the sea shape a life rooted in close attention to the natural world.

After losing his parents, seventh-grader Hercules Beal is assigned to perform the twelve labors of Hercules in real life. The project pushes him through grief and toward friendship, community, and a sturdier sense of self.

Jack Hurd is still carrying the promise he made to Joseph, and now little Jupiter may be taken from his family. As grief, loyalty, and old enemies close in, Jack has to fight for the sister he loves.

Over one summer day at a busy beach boardwalk, a shifting cast of tweens and families cross paths. Short linked chapters build a mosaic of friendships, worries, private losses, and small moments of joy.