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"a tender, sensitive portrayal."
- Publishers Weekly (starred)
"Smart, honest, and heart-achingly real."
- Kirkus Reviews (starred)
William Allen White Children's Book Award Masterlist 2019-2020
New York Times Editor's Choice
When Friendship
Followed Me Home
"This book soars...hopeful, glittering."
- Renee Dale, NY Times Book Review
People Magazine Pick - “Beguiling tearjerker.”
Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2016
Working Mother Magazine Top 10 of 2016
Best Books Summer 2016, Publishers Weekly
Amazon Best Beach Reads 2016
BEA Buzz Books 2016
Indie Next Pick Summer 2016
AudioFile Earphones Award Winner
Barnes and Noble Kids blog pick
School Library Journal Great Titles for Middle Graders
Junior Library Guild selection for Fall 2016
Nerdy Book Club, Best of 2016
Masterlist/State lists:
"Penetrating and honest."
“Entrancing, magical, tragic, and uplifting.”
“As funny and heartwarming as it is gut-punching... thoroughly engaging.”
“…a world of imagination and true friendship.”
— School Library Connection, starred review
Outstanding Merit
"Full of pace and laughter, bruises and heart. Paul Griffin is the sort of writer you're torn between telling the whole world about and keeping all to yourself."—Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief
"When Friendship Followed Me Home is both a beautiful book, and an honest book; it is, in fact, beautiful because it is honest. We see the pain of loss, and the glory of community. We see love in its many forms, and we witness the truth that love goes on despite all barriers. Cheer for Ben and Halley: it is kids like these who are our hope.” —Gary D. Schmidt,
author of Okay for Now
"'Friendship' is an absolutely beautiful, heart-expanding book. I cried, but more than that, I felt this giant balloon of love for everyone. This story convinced me all over again that love and imagination are life's biggest magic. It'll make you want to grab hold of everyone important to you and lick them on the nose."
—Rebecca Stead, author of When You Reach Me
"Some books change the way you see the world. Some change the way you breathe. This book will leave you breathless. This is Paul Griffin's best book yet—and that's really saying something."
—Patricia McCormick,
author of Sold
Audiobook read by Paul, available from Listening Library
Also available in
Spanish, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Hungarian,
Italian, Turkish, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Romanian
IN THE PRESS
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EventS
Jan 31 PS 32 Brooklyn, NY
Feb 28 NYPL/WHEELS HS Washington Heights, NYC
April 5 Belmont and Crossroads Brooklyn, NY
April 26 - 29 April is for Authors Palm Beach, Florida
May 31 BEA SLJ Day of Dialogue NYC, NYU
June 8 Syosset Library Syosset, NY
June 22-25 American Library Association Chicago, IL
Sept 26-Oct 3 Saving Marty tour TBA
October 9 Keystone State Reading Assoc. Hershey, PA
Oct 16, 17 School visits West Palm Beach, FLA
Oct 18-20 F.A.M.E. Orlando, FLA
Oct 21 Tweens Read South Houston, TX
Oct 23-28 Greater Rochester Teens Read Rochester, NY
ABOUT
After graduating Dartmouth College with a BA in Film Studies, I was well-prepared to find work as a butler and bartender, a cook and an EMT, a dog trainer, a driver. I washed dishes with Vin Diesel. I made movies and wrote short stories and plays, scripts and, yes, novels that more often than not featured the street mutts that had a habit of wiggling their way into whatever apartment I was living in at the time. I worked construction, loaded trucks, tutored and taught. The hardest and best work was the teaching. I started out with the Creative Arts Team, specializing in HIV/AIDS prevention and conflict resolution workshops. These days I work with organizations like Literacy for Incarcerated Teens and Behind the Book. Seeing young people learn how to tell their life stories in ways that might bring them a step closer to realizing their dreams----that's like finding treasure. I live with my family, human and canine, in New York City, which is chock-full of stories, not to mention characters.
PHOTO CREDIT: FRANCISCO ALIWALAS