I think the trick of writing a good picture book manuscript is to leave that space for illustration. An illustrated novel can do the same thing.

We put authors on such a pedestal, and it's a moment that humanizes the whole thing, and lends an absurdity to what otherwise is a "please sit with your hands on your lap" kind of event.

Every Librarian is a highly trained agent. An expert in intelligence, counterintelligence, Boolean searching, and hand-to-hand combat.

I love those adult writers with the pranking ethos, [Don] DeLillo and [Donald] Barthelme and David Foster Wallace. I don't see any reason not to bring those kinds of influences to bear on books for children.

Not only is a good prank harmless, but, like a good story, it reveals an essential truth that would otherwise be hidden.

Too often we tell kids pleasant stories devoid of truth, and stories without truth are not good stories. Our audience deserves more from us.

I think the trick of writing a good picture book manuscript is to leave that space for illustration. An illustrated novel can do the same thing.