I didn't start working on children's books until I got a job at a book warehouse on the children's floor. When I started reading some of the books, I was so impressed.

This is a wonderful joke to play upon a prisoner, to promise forgiveness.

Anybody who puts a book into someone else's hands inspires me - teachers, librarians, booksellers, parents.

That you can go anywhere in America and get a book from a library is just the most amazing thing in the world. It's not a duty; it's a privilege and it's a joy. That joy is doubled and tripled and quadrupled if you read with other people.

The Tale of Despereaux is the story of an unlikely hero, a mouse, who falls in love with a princess and then must save her. It's a triumph of the human spirit, via a mouse.

What was it like...to have someone who knew you would always return and who welcomed you with open arms?

So, yes, at least from my end. You could say there's a lot of Alison [McGhee] in Gollie too.