Once I have the story in my head, I write it down. The illustrations usually come last.
I had a lot of reading problems growing up.
Nothing prevents boredom like a good book.
My books are just pure escapism for kids.
Having a sense of fun in books is a huge, huge deal, because a lot of times kids - even me when I got to third or fourth grade - don't associate reading with fun.
I think if you can show a kid that reading can actually be fun, it can make you laugh, inspire imagination - that can make a huge difference, that can help a child who's struggling with reading to really look at it differently.