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.

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

I don't think children's inner feelings have changed. They still want a mother and father in the very same house; they want places to play.

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.

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.

My favorite books are a constantly changing list, but one favorite has remained constant: the dictionary. Is the word I want to use spelled practice or practise? The dictionary knows. The dictionary also slows down my writing because it is such interesting reading that I am distracted.

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.