Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love - a powerful, wonderful thing. And a ridiculous thing, too.

A friend of mine said Winn-Dixie is the way that people want the world to be and Tiger Rising is the way that it is.

You can always trust a dog that likes peanut butter.

Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.

The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story.

I think, oh my god, kids are reading, and they care about a book enough to come over and talk to me about a book that they care about. If I think about it as being a celebrity, it would freak me out. But I just think, lucky me, that I get to be a part of this whole thing.

There's a Buddhist precept that the only thing you deserve is the chance to do the work, and I've been given the chance to do the work.