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Wendelin Van Draanen

Goodreads Author

Born

Chicago, Illinois, The United States

Website

http://www.wendelinvand.com/

Twitter

WendelinVanD

Genre

Young Adult, Children's Books, Mystery & Thrillers

Member Since

April 2013

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Wendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes series, and wrote Flipped which was named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century by SLJ, and became a Warner Brothers feature film with Rob Reiner directing. Her novel The Running Dream was awarded ALA’s Schneider Family Award for its portrayal of the disability experience.

Van Draanen is also the author of two short chapter-book series. The Gecko & Sticky books, are fun read-alouds, perfect for reluctant readers, and the Shredderman books—featuring a boy who deals with a bully—received the Christopher Award for “affirming the highest values of the human spirit” and became a Nickelodeon ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Hello! I loved you book 'Flipped', and I was wondering how you got inspiration for it?

Wendelin Van Draanen Hi, Hannah! When I was a classroom teacher I couldn't help but notice that the kids in my classes did the same thing I did at their age: Crush on…moreHi, Hannah! When I was a classroom teacher I couldn't help but notice that the kids in my classes did the same thing I did at their age: Crush on someone without really knowing them. Despite a teacher's best intentions, there's no coaching rational considerations into kids with crushes. What could we possibly know about how they're feeling, right? And since the best epiphanies come about through experience, I hoped that showing characters experience an evolution from seeing only the surface to seeing what lies beneath it might be a way to encourage thought on what love really is. The rest of the story built up from there. Thanks for asking! (Please visit my website if you're interested in knowing more--there's a lot there on Flipped.)(less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Wendelin Van Draanen I didn't notice the seed for The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones being planted. I just visited my mom every day at the care facility where she spent the…moreI didn't notice the seed for The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones being planted. I just visited my mom every day at the care facility where she spent the last two years of her life. I didn't see the story there--it was just something that was private and painful. Over those years I got to know the other residents as well as the caregivers. It wasn't until after my mom passed that I realized how much I'd witnessed, how much I'd learned. And then Lincoln's voice started up. That's what my characters do--one day they'll just start talking. Lincoln was who he was from that first voicing - funny, sweet, smart...and alone. A boy who uses writing as therapy, as escape. A boy who sees one world and wishes for another. A boy who needs to break free of his secrets.(less)

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Wendelin Van Draanen’s books

Average rating: 4.03 · 153,764 ratings · 13,951 reviews · 46 distinct works • Similar authors

	Flipped 3.95 avg rating — 89,516 ratings — published 2001 — 51 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Running Dream 4.31 avg rating — 21,683 ratings — published 2011 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (Sammy Keyes, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 5,351 ratings — published 1998 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Runaway 4.11 avg rating — 3,861 ratings — published 2006 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy (Sammy Keyes, #3) 4.07 avg rating — 2,419 ratings — published 1999 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Secret Identity (Shredderman, #1) 3.77 avg rating — 2,340 ratings — published 2004 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man (Sammy Keyes, #2) 4.07 avg rating — 2,305 ratings — published 1998 — 31 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception (Sammy Keyes, #8) 4.19 avg rating — 1,938 ratings — published 2003 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy (Sammy Keyes, #6) 4.10 avg rating — 2,085 ratings — published 2001 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary (Sammy Keyes, #5) 4.15 avg rating — 1,936 ratings — published 2000 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Wendelin Van Draanen's Blog

The One List Everyone Should Make

When I was a young girl, there was a list of chores posted on our family's refrigerator. It was actually more a grid than a list, and it was structured in a way that rotated the various chores among my siblings and me. Each day we'd be required to complete and check off every task in our column.

It was a good system because we alternated chores during the week, and we didn't fight about whose t... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 03, 2017 11:30

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Series by Wendelin Van Draanen

Sammy Keyes (18 books)
by

Wendelin Van Draanen (Goodreads Author)

4.12 avg rating — 29,542 ratings

Shredderman (4 books)
by

Wendelin Van Draanen (Goodreads Author)

3.86 avg rating — 3,545 ratings

The Gecko and Sticky (4 books)
by

Wendelin Van Draanen (Goodreads Author),

Stephen Gilpin

3.65 avg rating — 380 ratings

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Wendelin’s Recent Updates

Wendelin Draanen is now friends with Niña Jazmine
Mar 24, 2019 09:19AM · like
Wendelin Draanen made a comment on In Search of Juli Baker " Thank you, Chloe, for the information! I appreciate you taking time to share. And I'm glad you enjoyed both :-) "
Aug 05, 2017 08:48PM · see blog post
Wendelin Draanen made a comment on Given the Chance to Fly " Thank you, Kaelyn <3 "
Jul 29, 2017 08:29AM · see blog post
Wendelin Draanen made a comment on Sammy-opoly " Thank you! It would be a lot of fun. Keep your fingers crossed that it happens someday :-) "
Jul 22, 2017 09:43PM · see blog post
Wendelin Draanen made a comment on Mystery Solved! " Emma wrote: "Loved reading this - will definitely be looking at the winner and nominees, I did enjoy Larbalestier's Liar in the past" Thanks, Emma! "
May 04, 2017 09:21AM · see blog post
Wendelin Draanen made a comment on There's a Turtle on My Title! " It sure is! It's one of my favorite things :-) "
Mar 30, 2017 01:13PM · see blog post

More of Wendelin's books…

Quotes by Wendelin Van Draanen

“Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss...." He turned to me. "But every once in a while, you find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.”
― Wendelin Van Draanen, Flipped

tags: beauty, ebullience, enthusiasm, individuality, life, people

1285 likes

“My heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And for the first time in my life, I had that feeling. You know, like the world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and you're floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping you from drifting away is the other person's eyes. They're connected to yours by some invisible physical force, and they hold you fast while the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away.”
― Wendelin Van Draanen, Flipped

629 likes

“...Next time you're faced with a choice, do the right thing. It hurts everyone less in the long run.”
― Wendelin Van Draanen, Flipped

tags: honor, inspirational, right-and-wrong

549 likes

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Polls

What book would you like for our themed read (Characters with Disabilities) for October?

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

11 votes, 37.9%

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

9 votes, 31.0%

All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry

5 votes, 17.2%

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

4 votes, 13.8%

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

0 votes, 0.0%

29 total votes

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