Teachers and librarians can be the most effective advocates for diversifying children's and young adult books. When I speak to publishers, they're going to expect me to say that I would love to see more books by Native American authors and African-American authors and Arab-American authors. But when a teacher or librarian says this to publishers, it can have a profound effect.

If we're trying to excite young people about reading, we need to be experiencingbookjoy ourselves so that we have references to make. It's important to be able to say, "You know, I read the most wonderful poem the other day. Let me tell you about it."

Writers are always diverse on the inside.

Your Texas is no different than my Texas.

I did realize, as do you, how blessed I was to know bookjoy, the private pleasure of savoring text.

I want children who feel embarrassed because they speak Spanish to realize that there are places where the beautiful Spanish they speak is an asset.

When I'm writing poetry, 99.9% of my writing begins in English. I spent most of my life in English, although I am bilingual.