Twelve-year-old Robin is always getting in trouble for "wandering off," but can you blame her for trying to escape reality? A few years earlier, Robin's family lost nearly everything thanks to the Depression and, since, have become traveling workers, moving from seasonal job to seasonal job and never establishing the roots Robin so desperately needs. This is why Robin never allowed herself to feel "at home" anywhere. At first the latest stop at Las Palmeras Ranch seems no different, but that soon changes. Yes, there's new friendships with the Ranch owner's daughter and with a mysterious elderly woman who lives near the "village." But mostly there's Las Palmeras House, a deserted, boarded-up, wreck of a mansion that called to Robin from the first moment she saw it. After discovering a secret passage into the old house, Robin makes an amazing and incredible discovery... A discovery that must be kept secret at all costs... A discovery that keeps her coming back again and again... A discovery that becomes a near obsession... A discovery that may make it impossible for Robin to say goodbye when the time comes (and she knows the time will come). Will Robin learn what's truly important or will she let her new obsession consume her?Although written for younger readers (about 9-12), although an "older" book, I still found The Velvet Room to be a gripping page-turner. Not only is it a look at the Depression Era through the eyes of a child whose family has been deeply impacted. It is a wonderfully-written coming of age story. Definitely recommended!
The Velvet Room is one of my favorite childhood books which I'm glad to say, 40+ years later, is still a favorite. It's maybe a different story when reading it through adult eyes but the basic reasons I loved it at 10 are still there~ a good story about a family going through a rough time, a young girl about the age I was when I first read it who loves books and reading as I did then and now, who is trying to adjust to a new life with her family and the Velvet Room itself~ a turret window that can be closed in by velvet curtains, something I wanted then and still want now. I'm more aware now that the story takes place during the Depression when a lot of people lost all they had and like the Williams family became migrant workers driving town to town looking for work and a place to finally settle down and call home. There's a mystery to be solved, friendships made and of course lessons to be learned which all add to the enjoyment of this book.I still have my 1967 Scholastic Readers paperback with this cover but I recently bought the ebookjust to know that I can always have it. I also realized how many books Zilpha Keatley Snyder wrote that I missed as a child so I may have to catch up on some.
What do You think about The Velvet Room (2004)?
I remember running my hands across a shelf of books in the library, it was away from the area that i normally looked. I wanted to find something different and i had pulled out a bright yellow book, but then beside it was a faded copy of The Velvet Room and i took that instead. I'm glad i did, its a wonderful book. It's the type of book that even if you can't remember it exactly you'll never forget the feeling it gave you. I don't own it but i can go back to that musty magical room anytime i want.
—Diana Hanson
Very enjoyable Depression era story of a non-Okie family who nevertheless are forced to take to the road and live as migrant workers in their Model T after the father becomes ill and they lose everything. As the book opens, they are settling in a two room shack along the coast of California. Although far from ideal, it offers the opportunity to unpack and maybe even go to school, a prospect which appeals to middle daughter, Robin Williams, the protagonist.Robin is the classic curious child, prone to exploring, whether that be fields, books or empty buildings. Her 'wandering off' leads to meeting a quaint old lady who she befriends, which in turn leads to the discovery of the Velvet Room, her special place, the type of safe haven most of us dream about but don't find. Picking and pitting fruit keep the Williams family fed, but with the father's health still in a precarious state, the hard life of farm laborer is hardly optimal. An uplifting story which delights as much today as it did when first published in 1965 ... and as I'm sure it will continue to do!
—booklady
I have owned this book since I was a little girl. I have held on to it all these years because I treasured this book so much when I was growing up. I still remember bringing this book home from school on a Friday and reading it all night. I could not put it down. This book truly inspired me to keep reading and to never stop dreaming!I am sure that Lori circa 1972 would have given this book five stars. I remember very clearly feeling as though I were right there with Robin in the velvet room reading and dreaming away! While I was reading this book I was transported to another place and my imagination just soared. If only Zilpha Keatley Snyder had known how happy she had made a certain little girl!This was absolutely my all-time FAVORITE Scholastic book purchase! I hope this book is still inspiring little girls to grab a book and carry it off to some quiet, special place, and enjoy it!
—Lori
