I can't believe there will ever be a time when the book is truly obsolete. It is the perfect technology and feeds the soul.

Teachers have almost stopped reading aloud to their classes because of the pressure of testing and tight curricula, but it is the books we read together and talk about together that bring us closer together.

The name we give to something shapes our attitude toward it.

The difference between writing a story and simply relating past events is that a story, in order to be acceptable, must have shape and meaning. It is the old idea that art is the bringing of order out of chaos.

If you could hold your nose to avoid a stink, or close your eyes to cut out a sight, why not shut off your brain to avoid a thought?

As I look back on what I have written, I can see that the very persons who have taken away my time are those who have given me something to say.

Kids often ask me if characters are real or made up - and I always tell them, 'I hope they're real but I made them up.'