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

I was visiting my mother in Florida when the September 11, 2001 attacks happened. I was working on The Tale of Despereaux at that point. I had already gone into writing it with a great deal of trepidation and fear, and then this God-awful thing happens and it was really hard to even get back home to Minneapolis.

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

I didn't know anything about writing a screenplay, but somehow I ended up rewriting a screenplay.

Understand, I had absolutely no interest in writing; I wanted to be a Writer.

Nothing new ever happens in the books. It's the same old theme.

At least Lester had the decency to weep at his act of perfidy. Reader, do you know what 'perfidy' means? I have a feeling you do, based on the scene that unfolded here. But you should look up the word in your dictionary, just to be sure.