Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.

Some people may contend that there is no image more charming that a child holding a puppy or kitten. But for me that's a distant second. When I see a child clutching a book... to his or her tiny bosom, I'm moved. Children can possess a book in a way they can never possess a video game, a TV show, or a Darth Vader doll. A book comes alive when they read it. They give it life themselves by understanding it.

Your house is all about routine, not the unexpected events of your life.

I pore over every word on the cereal box at breakfast, often more than once. You can ask me anything about shredded wheat.

An award does not change the quality of a book.

The Polar Express was the easiest of my picture book manuscripts to write... Once I realized the train was going to the North Pole, finding the story seemed less like a creative effort than an act of recollection. I felt, like the storys narrator, that I was remembering something, not making it up.

Following my muse has worked out pretty well so far. I can't see any reason to change the formula now.