“There was that special smell made up of paper, ink, and dust; the busy hush; the endless luxury of thousands of unread books. Best of all was the eager itch of anticipation as you went out the door with your arms loaded down with books.”
― Zilpha Keatley Snyder, The Velvet Room

I am so glad to see this book rated so highly on good reads.

I never forgot The Velvet room. I read it in my early years and it was, along with a precious few others, a favorite from childhood.

I understood Robin with her passion for reading and the way she fell in love with the Velvet room so much, and how it became her sanctuary.

This book, along with "The Changeling", one of the other works from this writer, remaining two very precious books on my forever favorites list.

The velvet room is a beautiful book that should be read in everyone’s childhood and if, as an adult you realize you missed it, don’t hesitate to pick up a copy as Robin and her velvet room will enthrall you ( )

A book from a bygone era, written in 1965, this a classic piece of tween literature set in the aftermath of the Great Depression, during the Dust Bowl era in California. The itinerant Williams family is jammed in their Model T trying to find work when they crash. Luckily, they find the chance to work on the local fruit orchard, picking/pitting apricots. The main character is the 12-year old daughter, Robin, who tends to wander off, discovering an abandoned mansion on the property. Robin is a likable character, befriending an old woman mysterious named Bridget, with her "family" of pets, including a cat, raccoon, birds, and a goat. Bridget senses a yearning in Robin, and gives her a mysterious key that ultimately leads to the Velvet Room, a sanctuary from the harsh realities of her life. The wealthy daughter of the property owning McCurdy family befriends Robin and they develop a true friendship. The story is poignant, with an underlying message that Robin must learn to stop hiding and learn to appreciate the good things she has in her life, such as family and friends.
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(Fiction, Children's Chapter)

In the woods next to her family’s new home, young Robin finds an abandoned house. Inside she finds beautifully decorated rooms, including her favourite: a room done entirely in plush – the velvet room of the title.

If I had read this as a child, I would have loved it. And I think it would stand up to a rereading as an adult. But finding it for the first time in my seventh decade was not a perfectly satisfying experience.

3½ stars ( )

What a delightful book! I read this as an adult last year, and was enchanted by the world and characters that Zilpha Keatley Snyder created. Her writing is gloriously full of detail that takes you into the time and place of the story, and makes you feel exactly what the little girl heroine is feeling. The best children's/young adult authors are those whose work is also appealing to adults. This must be a terribly difficult feat because so few writers for the young achieve it, if they even try (I'm not sure this actually is something to be striven for in this genre). Snyder is apparently a master at this.

This is the first of Snyder's work I've read, sorry to say. I am certain that if my library or bookmobile had had any of her books when I was growing up that I would've sniffed them out - I was always on the prowl for the weird and the supernatural, but since Snyder is such a talented author I can certainly enjoy her books now.

The Velvet Room is about a young girl who is given a wonderful educational opportunity and discovers a fascinating mystery along the way. She, of course, solves it, and the ending is quite surprising.

I highly recommend this book. ( )

Lovely book - about a young girl finding a haven in the library of a deserted mansion. ( )