As a teacher you can see the difference in kids who have parents who were involved. That difference, by the time these kids get to the third grade, is drastic.

I'm a perfectionist - I could rewrite forever.

I'm sure there were times when I wish I had thought, 'Gosh, that might really embarrass mom and dad,' but our parents didn't raise us to think about them. They're very selfless and they wanted us to have as normal of a college life as possible. So really, we didn't think of any repercussions.

I didn't go to Latin America thinking, 'I'm gonna write a book. This is what I'm gonna do.' I went there to work for UNICEF and to learn.

I think I've become more like my mom just because of what we're both interested in, children and teaching and writing.

I don't have any children. I just have a cat, to my parents' dismay.

I don't know about the world, but I know kids. And I feel like sometimes kids don't get involved because they think, what can I do? I'm just a kid. And really kids can do so much.