🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Gary D. Schmidt
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.
All Book Series by Gary D. Schmidt
A Day at the Beach
Latest in the series · book 18 of 18 · published 2025 Co-authored · Ron Koertge
A Long Road on a Short Day
Book 6 of 8 · published 2020 Co-authored · Elizabeth Stickney
Celia Planted a Garden
Latest in the series · book 8 of 8 · published 2022 Co-authored · Phyllis Root
Edging the Boundaries of Children's Literature
Book 8 of 9 · published 2001 Co-authored · Carol J. Winters
Begin with a Bee
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2021 Anthology · Jacqueline Briggs Martin,Phyllis Root,Liza Ketchum,Claudia McGehee
Celia Planted a Garden
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2022 Co-authored · Phyllis Root
From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2020
From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2023
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Gary D. Schmidt?
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.
Which Gary D. Schmidt series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Phyllis Root Picture series, the earliest of Gary D. Schmidt's multi-book series: it opens with Begin with a Bee (2021) and runs to 2 books across 2021–2022, ending with Celia Planted a Garden (2022).
How many books has Gary D. Schmidt written?
Gary D. Schmidt has 46 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1850 and 2025. 2 of them belong to 1 named series — the largest being the Phyllis Root Picture series with 2 books — and 44 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Gary D. Schmidt's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Gary D. Schmidt's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Phyllis Root Picture (2021–2022, 2 books).
How are Gary D. Schmidt's books organised into series?
This guide splits Gary D. Schmidt's 46 books into 1 named series and 44 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Phyllis Root Picture (2 books, 2021–2022).