I knew that there had been times in the past-terrible times-when people had destroyed others in haste,in fear, and had brought about their own destruction

I turn to books for a feeling of companionship: for somebody knowing what I have known.

Then I went home to continue my life, which had changed a little, as lives do every day, inching by microspecks forward toward whatever surprises are coming next.

Because of fear, they made shelter and found food and grew things. For the same reason, weapons were stored, waiting.

I don't for one second think about the possibility of censorship when I am writing a new book. I know I am a person who cares about kids and who cares about truth and I am guided by my own instincts, and trust them.

I tend not to think about audience when I'm writing. Many people who read "The Giver" now have their own kids who are reading it. Even from the beginning, the book attracted an audience beyond a child audience.

I think of every book as a single entity, and some have later gone on to become a series, often at the request of readers.