With twins, reading aloud to them was the only chance I could get to sit down. I read them picture books until they were reading on their own.

One rainy Sunday when I was in the third grade, I picked up a book to look at the pictures and discovered that even though I did not want to, I was reading. I have been a reader ever since.

If you don't see the book you want on the shelves, write it.

I didn't start out writing to give children hope, but I'm glad some of them found it.

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.

We didn't have television in those days, and many people didn't even have radios. My mother would read aloud to my father and me in the evening.