Problem solving, and I don't mean algebra, seems to be my life's work. Maybe it's everyone's life's work.

In seventh grade...I found a place on the [library]shelf where my book would be if I ever wrote a book, which I doubted.

I was an only child; I didn't have a sister, or sisters.

If she can't spell, why is she a librarian? Librarians should know how to spell.

Don't stop now. Go ahead! Be readers all of your lives. And don't forget, librarians and teachers can help you find the right books to read.

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.

The humiliation that Jane had felt turned to something else--grief perhaps, or regret. Regret that she had not known how to act with a boy, regret that she had not been wiser.