I have lovely memories of Los Angeles in the 1930s. I came down to live with my mother's cousin and they invited me to come and go to junior college for a year.

Otis was inspired by a boy who sat across the aisle from me in sixth grade. He was a lively person. My best friend appears in assorted books in various disguises.

I wanted to be a ballerina. I changed my mind.

Didn't the people who made those license plates care about little girls named Ramona?

Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, In childhood.

I think the best teachers had a real interest in the subject they were teaching and a love for children.

The key to writing successful YA is to keep the adults out of the story as much as possible.