“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
in California in May of 1927, Snyder primarily wrote books for children and
young adults – at a rate of nearly one per year during the height of her
writing prowess. She won three Newbery
Awards along the way for The Egypt Game, The Headless Cupid and The
Witches of Worm. Often a blend of realism and the
supernatural, her books feature thoughtful, courageous girls or young women as the
protagonists.
A
graduate of Whittier College, Snyder was an elementary and middle school
teacher before she began writing fiction in the 1960s, starting with short
stories. Her 1964 debut novel Season
of Ponies made several bestseller lists, and she was soon writing full
time, completing 46 books between 1964 and 2011. She died in 2014.
Snyder
said even though she was a teacher first, she always dreamed of writing and
couldn’t imagine any other profession.
“It
grew from the 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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