I had a very wise mother. She always kept books that were my grade level in our house.

I feel sometimes that in children's books there are more and more grim problems, but I don't know that I want to burden third- and fourth-graders with them.

I grew up before there were strict leash laws.

Nothing in the whole world felt as good as being able to make something from a sudden idea.

I just wrote about childhood as I had known 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.

I write in longhand on yellow legal pads.