What I like most: Reading well-written sources that take me to another world for hours at a time - and being able to call that work! Also, of course, finding a gem of information that is either exactly what I was looking for, or else fits perfectly into the story in some way.

Libraries hold the wisdom of the world and the stories of the ages - available to everyone, free of charge!

Each of my books has taken me a different length of time to write - eight months for Seesaw Girl, eight months for Shard, three years for When My Name Was Keoko! The publisher takes another year and a half to work on the book, so altogether each book can take up to three or four years to publish.

I want all my books to provoke some kind of response in the reader, to make them think something or feel something or both, and for that to become a part of them and work into their own lives.

I often have trouble falling asleep at night, so when I'm lying in bed I think up stories. That's where I do a lot of my thinking. I also get a lot of ideas while I'm reading - sometimes reading someone else's stories will make me think of one of my own.

Reading for writers is like training for athletes.

I used to sit home with my computer and write. After the Newbery, I probably spend more than half my time on the road.