When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a cowgirl, a detective, a spy, a great actress, or a ballerina. Not a dentist, like my father, or a homemaker, like my mother - and certainly not a writer, although I always loved to read.

That's my anxiety dream. I go to the library and all the books on my subject are out.

What's the point of thinking about how it's going to end when it's just the beginning?

I wanted to write honest books for kids because I didn't have those when I was a kid.

When I'm writing a book, you can't think about your audience. You're going to be in big trouble if you think about it. You're got to write from deep inside.

Librarians save lives by handing the right book at the right time to a kid in need.

Suppose there aren't any more A + days once you get to be twelve? Wouldn't that be something! To spend the rest of your life looking for an A + day and not finding it.