I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everybody involved.

What would make me happiest is if kids read these books [Bink & Gollie] and think: there is so much to love in the world; and words are so much fun.

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.

I've been recognized in airports lots of places, but mostly getting recognized is at home.

Take this squirrel, for instance. Ulysses. Do I believe he can type poetry? Sure, I do believe it. There is much more beauty in the world if I believe such a thing is possible.

We must ask ourselves these questions as often as we dare. How will the world change if we do not question it?

I think of Mercy Watson like a superball; there's a bouncy kind of optimism to her stories. She allows me to play, and she makes me laugh. Hopefully readers feel the same way.