At the thought of being eaten by rats, Despereaux forgot about being brave. He forgot about not being a disappointment. He felt himself heading into another faint. But his mother, who had an excellent sense of dramatic timing, beat him to it; she executed a beautiful, flawless swoon, landing right at Despereaux's feet.

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 image I had was very clear, and so in that way The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane began like other books.

How will the world change if we do not question it?

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

the story is not a pretty one. there is violence in it. And cruelty. But stories that are not pretty have a certain value, too, I suppose. Everything, as you well know (having lived in this world long enough to have figured out a thing or two for yourself), cannont always be sweetness and light.

But let's not speak of what might have been. Let us speak instead of what is. You are whole.