[5] According to Telgemeier, she knocked out two front teeth while in sixth grade and needed braces and multiple surgeries as a result.

[14] Telgemeier has said that the disciplined structure and schedule of publishing a weekly webcomic encouraged her to develop the autobiographical story Smile.

At that year's San Diego Comic-Con, Telgemeier met that editor's boss, who invited her to pitch an idea for Scholastic.

After Telgemeier mentioned she had been a fan of Ann M. Martin's The Baby-Sitters Club series, they asked her to work up a graphic novel adaptation.

[15][9] Scholastic, through its imprint Graphix, went on to publish four graphic novels in the series: Kristy's Great Idea, The Truth About Stacey, Mary Anne Saves the Day, and Claudia and Mean Janine.

[17] In 2009, Del Rey Manga released the graphic novel X-Men: Misfits, which Telgemeier co-wrote with her then-husband, Dave Roman.

[29] Telgemeier's ice cream flavor was called "Smile: Words & Pictures" which Salt & Straw said was "A pencil-inspired yellow and pink almond-infused sponge cake and Stracciatella ''pencil shavings'' are strewn about a notebook paper-esque canvas, in this case trusty vanilla ice cream.

[31] Scholastic later announced the title, The Cartoonists Club, co-written with Scott McCloud, with a publication date of April 1, 2025.

All five of her original graphic novels have made a The New York Times Best Seller list, as has at least one of her Baby-Sitters Club adaptations and X-Men: Misfits.