A window to the Universe

“Books were the window from which I looked out of a rather meager and decidedly narrow room onto a rich and wonderful universe. I loved the look and feel of books, even the smell... Libraries were treasure houses. I always entered them with a slight thrill of disbelief that all their endless riches were mine for the borrowing.” –  Zilpha Keatley Snyder

 

Born on this date in 1927, Snyder wrote 43 books for children and young adults – one per year during the height of her writing prowess - winning three Newbery Awards along the way.  Honors went to her adventure stories The Egypt Game, The Headless Cupid and The Witches of Worm, all remarkable works and really not that different from many of her others which seemed to me to be equally deserving of awards.      

She was the ultimate storyteller and in an article in The Writer she shared about how she approached her craft.  To see what she thought about her writing in her own words, check out this link:  http://www.zksnyder.com/writers.html

  

Snyder, who died in 2014, said she always dreamed of writing and couldn’t imagine any other profession.  “It grew from those dreams I always had as a child,” she said. “I think writing is an extension of a childhood habit - the habit of entertaining oneself by taking interesting bits of reality and building upon them.”

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