Laura Murray

Laura Murray (she/her) (LauraMurrayBooks.com) was a teacher before becoming an author. She is an enthusiastic and seasoned presenter with over fourteen years of experience visiting schools. Her humor-filled, rhyming picture book, The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School, is the first of a five-book, award-winning series, along with The Gingerbread Man Loose on the Fire Truck, The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas, The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo, and The Gingerbread Man & the Leprechaun Loose at School. Her books have been chosen for JLG, won the VA and IL Reader’s Choice Award, been nominated for ten other state awards, and are PW, B&N, and Amazon bestsellers. Laura was also honored to present at the Library of Congress with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. She has six new Graphic Novels for Emergent Readers– The Gingerbread Man: Class Pet on the Loose, GBM: Buttons on the Loose, GBM: Paper Airplanes on the Loose, GBM: New Friend on the Loose, GBM: Trick-or-Treaters on the Loose, and GBM: Astronaut on the Loose, all with curriculum connections! She loves exploring, reading, cake decorating, scuba diving, and connecting with students about reading and their own writing skills!

Click here to purchase signed copies of Laura’s books.

Testimonials:

“I have seen a lot of author visits over the years and I believe you were one, if not the, best I’ve ever seen. You were thorough and really showed your passion. I will definitely recommend your visit to other schools. I also really appreciated how much time and compassion you took to sign the books. You had an amazing feel for the kids and really held their attention! I thought all parts, your story, the writing and revision process, the interactive games were age appropriate and fun. We are writing all-about books and my students are fired-up to write their ‘own’ books now.” -Churchill Road ES, VA, 2nd Grade Teacher

“Your presentations received the most positive response of any other authors I’ve hosted in my seven years at Cardinal Forest. Your experiences as a teacher were evident in each of your three presentations, and your ability to connect with our audiences of 200 kids was superb. We’re looking forward to another visit in the future…and more Gingerbread Man books!” Cardinal Forest ES, VA, Librarian

“After meeting you virtually, the students took your advice and started writing stories. Their imaginations were rolling. How wonderful! One of my students asked me to send the writing contest information to his mother because he really wants to enter. It was absolutely amazing how your talk inspired them to write even more. Normally when we finish writing, the students do peer editing and revising. We decided today that they should meet with multiple people until they think their story is the best it can be. We discussed again how you had to revise over 50 times to create your book. It was amazing to see the energy! It excites me to see what might happen as the year progresses! Thank you again! We will treasure this for a long time.” -Rochester Elementary, IL, 2nd Grade Teacher

Books by Laura Murray

Releases August 4, 2026

Releases January 12, 2027