I believe, sometimes, that the whole world has an aching heart.

And so he was reading the story as if it were a spell and the words of it, spoken aloud, could make magic happen.

When I journal, I write about images that I've seen that I think might make good stories. I write about things that I hear that I think I can turn into a story. I write about the story that I'm working on and where I think it might go.

Magic is always impossible.... It begins with the impossible and ends with the impossible and is impossible in between. That is why it's magic.

The Tale of Despereaux came at the request of Luke, my friend's then-eight-year-old son, who asked, "Write for me the story of an unlikely hero with exceptionally large ears."

Besides, who ever asked you what you wanted in this world, girl? The answer to that question, reader, as you well know, was absolutely no one.

Going out and not only meeting the kids, but meeting the teachers and the librarians and seeing the world, fills me up.