I don't want to lose hope.

Then from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat, so he gave up being king of the wild things.

My life in Brooklyn was in constant danger because of my bad health.

I had been reading a fabulous book [The Man Verdi, by Frank Walker] about [Giuseppe] Verdi, whom I adore.

I want to write something so simple, so short and so silly... and I want it to be for my brother.

'Hansel and Gretel' is one of the scariest stories ever written! Psychotic mother; stupid, inane father.

I think it is unnatural to think that there is such a thing as a blue-sky, white-clouded happy childhood for anybody. Childhood is a very, very tricky business of surviving it. Because if one thing goes wrong or anything goes wrong, and usually something goes wrong, then you are compromised as a human being. You're going to trip over that for a good part of your life.